Hey all I’m back with a book that I find myself rather torn over from the good folks at Tor. It’s The Evil That Men Do by Robert Gleason!
Plot Synopsis: Income inequality and the offshore hoarding of illicit black funds have reached such extremes that the earth’s democracies are in peril. The oligarchs are taking over. The People worldwide, however, are rising up, and they demand that the UN seize and redistribute all that illegal filthy lucre. But it will not be easy. The world’s oligarchs will not go gently.
Mikhail Putilov, Russia’s strongman; J. T. Tower, the American president, and Wahid al-Waheed, the Saudi Ambassador to the US will do anything to stop and destroy this global expropriation moment. Only three people can stop them: the crusading, muckraking, investigative journalist, Jules Meredith; ex-CIA agent, Elena Moreno; and her boyfriend, the ex-Special Forces Operative turned cybersecurity billionaire, John C. Jameson. If these three fail, democracies around the world will die; and the Age of the Great Global Oligarchs will begin.
Plot: I say I’m torn because while I enjoyed the story and found it to be a thrilling ride, it really was too close to reality. It also opens up on a truly horrific scenario that absolutely shouldn’t be read by kids. While there is lots of fiction here the fact that it so closely resembles our actual reality is both disturbing and thrilling. I will say that Mr. Gleason absolutely blasts our current commander in chief with the fictional J.T. Tower, and I’m all for having that particular man be belittled as he truly deserves it. There was one particular line from Putilov that stuck with me the most and truly rang home to me as an American regarding his American counterpart.
“And yet he was President of the United States. To elect a man like that president, America had to indeed be a land of… lunatics.”
Characters: The entire cast is great, but again the resemblance to our reality makes me uncomfortable.
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Overall: If you can get over the fact that cast and plot is so closely tied to reality, this is an exciting and enthralling read.
For those who like: Politics, Thrillers, Action, Drama, Captivating Plot, Intriguing Cast of Characters.
Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, or the story and characters striking a bit too close to the real world.