Text 12440, 122 rader
Skriven 2005-05-06 09:22:32 av John Hull (1:379/1.99)
Ärende: Political Fiction
=========================
* Originally by: LEE LOFASO (1:123/140), 05 May 05 22:33.


05 May 05 22:33, LEE LOFASO wrote to ALL:

 LL> Hello Everybody,

 LL> Here is a list of political fiction, with authors and their works 
 LL> -

 LL> Allyn, Rob          Front Runner
 LL> Anonymous           Primary Colors
 LL> Archer, Jeffrey     Shall We Tell the President
 LL> Buckley, John       Statute of Limitations
 LL> Buckley, William F. Tucker's Last Stand
 LL> |                   A Very Private Plot

Clancy, Coonts, Harold Coyle, Dale Brown, David Poyer, and Patrick Robinson are
normally classed in the Military/Techno Thriller genre, which is generally
credited to Tom Clancy as originator.  Plot lines are heavily influenced by
military technology that is either currently in use or in the pipeline.

Tom Clancy's first book, The Hunt for Red October, was so technically accurate
that he created massive consternation in our nuclear submarine community.  He
got a number of visits from government agents wanting to know how he was so
well informed.  His book was also supposedly required reading among Soviet sub
commanders.  Clancy's work deals mostly with the covert and special forces side
of things.  Steven Coonts has gone much the same route with Navy Air as his
specialty.  Harold Coyle's books center around the Army's tank forces, and Dale
Brown is Air Force.  David Poyer centers each book around a particular
geographic hotspot, Patrick Robinson uses a particular type of warship class as
his jump-off point.

The point here is that it is military technology that drives the plots of these
books, not politics.  To be sure, all of them have political aspects but only
as required by the plot to ensure continuity.        


 LL> Clancy, Tom         Executive Orders
 LL> |                   Patriot Games
 LL> |                   Red Rabbit

The most political of Clancy's books are The Cardinal in the Kremlin, Patriot
Games, and most of all Rainbow Six.  All of his books should be read in order
of publication because most have a recurring set of characters and prior
knowledge of them in previous books enhance enjoyment of the later ones.

 LL> Coonts, Stephen     America


Coonts has also used a continuing set of characters, following their exploits
and careers through seven or eight novels.  His are probably the most developed
characters of any of the authors in this class.  Again, read them in
publication order to get the most enjoyment.  None of his are standouts in a
political sense, but all use political plot devices to enhance the story.



 LL> Cussler, Clive      Deep Six
 LL> |                   Fire Ice

Cussler's work is centered around one character, Dirk Pitt, and several of his
comrades.  The plots are not political or military like those above, although
Pitt works for a government agency called NUMA (National Underwater Marine
Agency), sort of a combination of NASA, Wood's Hole, Scripp's, with Coast Guard
style organization.  Their primary function is research of anything in the
underwater marine realm or having an impact on same.  The plots normally center
around some historical anomaly, or a what-if scenario based on a historical
twist.

Pitt is a sort of James Bond of the marine world, and gets into some
fantastical situations.  The stories are pure escapist thrillers, and Cussler
is a prolific writer.  He has also done a number of non-fiction books dealing
with famous shipwrecks, and has actually formed a civilian company based on his
NUMA agency.  He is responsible, through NUMA, for finding some of the world's
most famous wrecks such as the Confederate submarine Hunley, and the CSS Texas,
and a number of other around the world.  The currently playing movie "Sahara"
with Matthew Maconaghy and Penelope Cruz is based on one of his more popular
novels of the same name.  Its very well done.  Much better than the rendition
of "Raise the Titanic" done some years ago starring Martin Sheen of Pitt. 
Maconaghy is a perfect fit as Dirk Pitt, and had a lot of fun in the role, and
it shows in the film.

There are no political standouts in Cussler's lineup.  Just great, escapist
thrillers with a set of characters that soon become old friends.



 LL> Drury, Allen        Pentagon
 LL> Flynn, Vince        Transfer of Power
 LL> |                   Third Option
 LL> |                   Separation of Power
 LL> Heywood, Joseph     The Domino Conspiracy
 LL> Holland, William    The Wheel of Justice
 LL> Ludlum, Robert      The Icarus Agenda
 LL> O'Connor, Edwin     All in the Family
 LL> Oates, Joyce Carol  Angel of Light
 LL> Sebastian, Tim      Last Rights
 LL> Vidal, Gore         1876
 LL> |                   Empire
 LL> |                   The Smithsonian Institution
 LL> Wallace, Irving     The R Document
 LL> Woods, Stuart       The Short Forever

As a general rule, one should not mix fiction, even highly political fiction,
with non-fiction as a basis for making any kind of political assumptions about
anything.  The fictional stuff, while entertaining and useful as plot devices,
generally won't fly in the real world.

Personally, I would not include Primary Colors in this list either, since it
was a thinly veiled expose of the Clinton's early years.  By stepping over the
line into the realm of fiction, the author was able to write about things that
most likely would've ended up in court otherwise.


John 

America:  First, Last, and Always!
Go to www.madgorilla.us for all your Domain Name Services at the lowest rates.

--- Msged/386 TE 05
 * Origin:   (1:379/1.99)