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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Hellfire Club is a historical fiction novel set in 1950s Washington, D.C. The story follows Charlie Marder, a freshman congressman who uncovers a world of secret societies, backroom deals, and dangerous power plays. The downside is several plot twists were predictable but some were not.
Tapper blends real historical figures with fictional intrigue, delivering twists and betrayals that keep you guessing. If you enjoy fast-paced stories with hidden agendas and moral dilemmas, this book is a thrilling read.
Tapper blends real historical figures with fictional intrigue, delivering twists and betrayals that keep you guessing. If you enjoy fast-paced stories with hidden agendas and moral dilemmas, this book is a thrilling read.
This was fun; i grabbed it because I like Jake and he's a Dartmouth alum :-) but it's a fun story about corruption in Washington during the post WWII period. The Hellfire Club is a clandestine group copying the original in London when Ben Franklin was posted there. If you wish it you will find parallels with today's politics. The new McCarthyism?
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would because I would consider it a political thriller rather than a mystery. There IS a mystery, but at one point one of the characters said exactly what I was thinking about how it wasn't a very good one. On to my assigned reading - the next book in the series: The Devil May Dance.
A fun read. A bit “Da Vinci Code comes to DC,” but fun. I did end up learning a lot as I googled things mentioned in the book - from Margaret Chase Smith’s McCarthy speech, to wartime dirigibles, to Benjamin Franklin and the Hellfire Club. Jake Tapper clearly had a good time researching DC of yore. And there are quite a few winks and nods to what’s old is new again.
This comes straight from the Dan Brown school of fiction, where it's pretty good to take to a beach or on a plane, but reads pretty cornily when you're bearing down a little more.
Using actual historical figures as characters (and giving them actions and dialogue) is a pet peeve of mine -- it never comes off well to me -- and Tapper relied on that a lot, especially in wrapping things up.
The plot moved and kept me engaged, but there are better examples of the form out there.
Using actual historical figures as characters (and giving them actions and dialogue) is a pet peeve of mine -- it never comes off well to me -- and Tapper relied on that a lot, especially in wrapping things up.
The plot moved and kept me engaged, but there are better examples of the form out there.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Y'all. Y'ALLLLL. You need to read this shit NOW. It is so bad it's amazing!
OK so to be fair, I really like Jake Tapper as a journalist on CNN. He's solemn, he's informed, he's measured, and he's experienced. I also respect him very much as an historian, because he knows his shit and is incredibly-educated about issues relating to wars, veterans-rights, etc. His passion and insights are real and credible.
What is INcredible is JUST HOW BAD THIS DUDE IS AT WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION!
I mean Jeebus, where do you start? OK let's begin with the technical styling. "Hellfire Club" is absolutely juvenile and amateur-levels of writing. And yes, there are simple styles of writing that can make for exciting reads (The DaVinci Code, par example). But Jake Tapper ain't no Dan Brown. The descriptions of action in Hellfire Club are choppy and not logically-translated in real time (some of the one-on-one fight sequences are detailed and seem to stretch for pages, while on the opposite side of the room a character is still pulling a gun out...slowly). The dialogue is beyond stilted-- it sounds like a middle-school play! "Margaret, where are my cuff links?" "I don't know, Jack, I'm your wife not your maid!" "But Margaret, you're also a scientist. How could you not know facts like where my cuff inks are?" "Haha, oh Jack, you're such a silly man, I'm glad that I am your wife and my name is Margaret. And yes I am a scientist, Jack, but I'm also named Margaret." Good God above it's amazing to read. I also have a special place in my heart for how anemic Tapper's vocabulary becomes when he attempts describing women ("She was beautiful, her hair was long and wavy, her dress as sexy and alluring as moonlight on a river" kind of stuff). I particularly appreciated the tiny detail that when two of the characters have sex, the post-coitus talk involves the guy looking for his underwear, and his wife casually saying, "It's on the lampshade, dear."
I. Live. For. Garbage. Like. This.
OK so he's not Shakespeare, I initially thought. I know he's a history buff, so I'm sure he'll bury some fascinating historical nuggets into this bad boy.
Except that he didn't bury anything, and they're not "nuggets". Rather than make subtle throwaway mentions of 1950s life, Tapper goes all in on the WEIRD FLEX approach. Like the time when two characters are in a library and need to check out a book, it's totally legit that one character just RANDOMLY launches into a monologue about how convenient it is to use this newly-patented photocopy technology, and how Xerox is an up and coming new business we should all keep an eye out for (or whatever, I didn't actually give enough of a shit to pay attention to his history nerd jerk-off moments). Or a "casual" mention of Pres. Eisenhower doesn't want to approve the new bill that will make Hawaii a state. Or like how several plot points depend on cutesie little devices like the brand new, state of the art BABY MONITOR the Congressman was gifted by a lobbyist. Or good thing we could see the bad guys at night with these NIGHT VISION GOGGLES that the military is selling to civilians now that the war is over (that's WORLD WAR II, by the way, in case you missed it!). These facts are seriously so sloppily jammed in, I cannot tell you how delicious I find writing this bad.
Maybe the most ridiculous aspect of Jake Tapper's opus is that it doesn't seem to find itself ridiculous at all. The hero's wife is part of a research expedition that turns out to be an elaborate long-game operation run by the Communists as a way to get to her husband, and her husband's father who it ALSO turns out works for the government and is part of secret operations for the president!? SURE! Or the fact that the climax involves the revealing of double agents holding our heroes at gun point beneath the Capitol building while some of them are tied up and the bad guys reveal their elaborate plans? HELL YES! NOT INSANE AT ALL! And of course, like all good stories, we MUST end with our brave patriot driving off in a car with his wife after literally being asked "Where to now?" and not getting an exact answer, just driving into that uncertain future.
YAAAAAAASSSSSSSSS.
Next time you need a palette-cleanser, please treat yourself. This thing is so dumb that it's wonderful. It was not a hate read for me, because I assure you I enjoyed every ludicrous moment.
Can't wait to read the sequel Jake! Or not. I'd also be fine with not reading it or anything like it at all ever again!
OK so to be fair, I really like Jake Tapper as a journalist on CNN. He's solemn, he's informed, he's measured, and he's experienced. I also respect him very much as an historian, because he knows his shit and is incredibly-educated about issues relating to wars, veterans-rights, etc. His passion and insights are real and credible.
What is INcredible is JUST HOW BAD THIS DUDE IS AT WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION!
I mean Jeebus, where do you start? OK let's begin with the technical styling. "Hellfire Club" is absolutely juvenile and amateur-levels of writing. And yes, there are simple styles of writing that can make for exciting reads (The DaVinci Code, par example). But Jake Tapper ain't no Dan Brown. The descriptions of action in Hellfire Club are choppy and not logically-translated in real time (some of the one-on-one fight sequences are detailed and seem to stretch for pages, while on the opposite side of the room a character is still pulling a gun out...slowly). The dialogue is beyond stilted-- it sounds like a middle-school play! "Margaret, where are my cuff links?" "I don't know, Jack, I'm your wife not your maid!" "But Margaret, you're also a scientist. How could you not know facts like where my cuff inks are?" "Haha, oh Jack, you're such a silly man, I'm glad that I am your wife and my name is Margaret. And yes I am a scientist, Jack, but I'm also named Margaret." Good God above it's amazing to read. I also have a special place in my heart for how anemic Tapper's vocabulary becomes when he attempts describing women ("She was beautiful, her hair was long and wavy, her dress as sexy and alluring as moonlight on a river" kind of stuff). I particularly appreciated the tiny detail that when two of the characters have sex, the post-coitus talk involves the guy looking for his underwear, and his wife casually saying, "It's on the lampshade, dear."
I. Live. For. Garbage. Like. This.
OK so he's not Shakespeare, I initially thought. I know he's a history buff, so I'm sure he'll bury some fascinating historical nuggets into this bad boy.
Except that he didn't bury anything, and they're not "nuggets". Rather than make subtle throwaway mentions of 1950s life, Tapper goes all in on the WEIRD FLEX approach. Like the time when two characters are in a library and need to check out a book, it's totally legit that one character just RANDOMLY launches into a monologue about how convenient it is to use this newly-patented photocopy technology, and how Xerox is an up and coming new business we should all keep an eye out for (or whatever, I didn't actually give enough of a shit to pay attention to his history nerd jerk-off moments). Or a "casual" mention of Pres. Eisenhower doesn't want to approve the new bill that will make Hawaii a state. Or like how several plot points depend on cutesie little devices like the brand new, state of the art BABY MONITOR the Congressman was gifted by a lobbyist. Or good thing we could see the bad guys at night with these NIGHT VISION GOGGLES that the military is selling to civilians now that the war is over (that's WORLD WAR II, by the way, in case you missed it!). These facts are seriously so sloppily jammed in, I cannot tell you how delicious I find writing this bad.
Maybe the most ridiculous aspect of Jake Tapper's opus is that it doesn't seem to find itself ridiculous at all. The hero's wife is part of a research expedition that turns out to be an elaborate long-game operation run by the Communists as a way to get to her husband, and her husband's father who it ALSO turns out works for the government and is part of secret operations for the president!? SURE! Or the fact that the climax involves the revealing of double agents holding our heroes at gun point beneath the Capitol building while some of them are tied up and the bad guys reveal their elaborate plans? HELL YES! NOT INSANE AT ALL! And of course, like all good stories, we MUST end with our brave patriot driving off in a car with his wife after literally being asked "Where to now?" and not getting an exact answer, just driving into that uncertain future.
YAAAAAAASSSSSSSSS.
Next time you need a palette-cleanser, please treat yourself. This thing is so dumb that it's wonderful. It was not a hate read for me, because I assure you I enjoyed every ludicrous moment.
Can't wait to read the sequel Jake! Or not. I'd also be fine with not reading it or anything like it at all ever again!