New Political Fiction

The Rules of the Game / by Leonard Downie
Sarah Page is a Washington Post reporter covering the national politics and the current presidential race. When Page’s investigation of the new Democratic nominee exposes corruption at the highest levels, she finds that some things are more important than the truth (i.e., national security) when it comes to big time politics. (FIC DOWNIE)
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Pursuit of Honor / by Vince Flynn
Washington, D.C. is in physical and political disarray after a terrorist attack on the National Counterterrorism Center (NCC) has killed 185 Americans. In the wake of things, White House officials as well as members of Congress are incensed about the extreme counter-terrorist initiatives taken which have seemingly endangered many lives. But NCC operative Mitch Rapp knows his business just like he knows the immediate measures he and other members of his agency must take in order to ensure National Security. (FIC FLYNN)
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Ultimatum / by Matthew Glass

In the near future, Joe Benton is president of the United States when he learns that the global warming damage and rising seas will mean that over thirty million coastal US residents will need to be relocated. Doing his best to negotiate internationally for help in the process, Benton comes up against his toughest political battle as the US butts heads with China in a high-stakes diplomatic affair. (FIC GLASS)
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The Capitol Game / by Brian Haig

A small independent company makes a miraculous scientific discovery: a metallic polymer which can reinforce any substance with the equivalent of 30 inches of steel. One of the privileged few to catch wind of the invention, Wall Street Banker Jack Wiley intends to enlist one of the country’s most powerful corporations, the Capitol Group, to takeover the small company. But he runs into problems when various Washington officials and members of the Pentagon begin investigating the deal. (FIC HAIG)
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Marine One / by James Huston
When the White House official helicopter, Marine One, crashes during flight killing everyone including the President, an investigation is immediately undertaken. WorldCopter, the parent contractor of Marine One, hires US attorney Mike Nolan to help defend the company against legal allegations and look deeper into the tragedy. Nolan arrives on the scene to discover some non-quite-right things about both the accident and the intended destination of the flight--Camp David--which gets him thinking that there may have been more than one reason for the fatal accident. (FIC HUSTON)
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The Confirmation / by Ralph Reed

There are many, many problems to confront during newly-elected U.S. President Bob Long’s tumultuous first few months in office. But he might catch a break when a chance to appoint a conservative judge to the Supreme Court falls into his lap, an act which would appease the masses of evangelicals and right wing partisans who voted him into office. Of course things are never that easy as Long’s appointee Marco Diaz succumbs to a series of vicious character allegations by the democratic caucus. (FIC REED)

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The Overton Window / by Glenn Beck

Wealthy bachelor Noah Gardner is more interested in living the high life than anything having to do with politics. But when his new girlfriend Molly Ross introduces him to a conspiracy theory called the Overton Window, laying the premise that American public perception could be manipulated en masse, Noah begins to pay a little more attention to the country’s well-being and swiftly takes action when the Overton Window plan is initiated. (FIC BECK)
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Capitol Betrayal: A Novel / by William Bernhardt
Disappointed Washington lawyer Ben Kincaid has just lost his bid for a Senate seat and is at the white house working on legal issues for the new President Roland Kyler when the nation comes under missile attack. Kincaid and the rest of the White House Staff retreat to the underground bunker where amidst all the chaos, Kincaid must help mediate an increasingly tense atmosphere which includes an attempt by the vice-president to seize power. (FIC BERNHARDT)

Smiley's People / by John Le Carré

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John Le Carré is the pen name for David John Moore Cornwell, a former operative in the MI5 and MI6 departments of the British secret service who's been a full-time author of espionage novels for several decades. Le Carre's 1963 novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was an international best-seller and established the author as a luminary new talent in spy fiction. Numerous other successes would follow in later years. Among his all-time most popular works are those comprising "The Karla Trilogy" which document the pursuit of a rival Soviet agent, code name "Karla". Smiley's People (1979), the final book in the series, is a shining example of Le Carré at his best.

"Do you know why they call Karla 'The Sandman'? He has a way of putting to sleep whoever gets close to him."

George Smiley has effectually been "retired off" from his job with the British secret service department known as "The Circus" after an incident in which a rogue agent working under him, a mole, was caught leaking information to the enemy. But when an old friend and former allied agent Vladimir (code name "The General") desperately relays a message to special branch requesting a private rendezvous, The Circus has no choice but to recall George immediately. Though necessary precautions are taken by both parties to ensure confidentiality, Vladimir never makes the appointment and is later found dead, having been shot in the face at close range with no detectable details, clues or culprits. The Circus promptly dismisses the incident as a lost cause, politely insinuating that with Vladimir having been out of the loop so long, nothing of consequence could have been extracted from the former Soviet defector.

But Smiley knows his hold friend well, just as he himself has always known a great deal more than he ever lets on. He knows Vladimir wouldn't ruffle any feathers unless something were of the utmost importance. With a little snooping around and a few visits to some old friends, George is soon able to retrieve the message Vladimir was trying to relay, information which swiftly gets the attention of the bullish heads at the Circus and promptly re-immerses George into the murky realm of undercover operations. It's a world where casual, often dubious acquaintances hold the key to revelations and critical intelligence maneuvers are required by a man in the know, a man like George Smiley, a man who, ironically, now feels far more at home than he ever could in retirement. Swiftly taking the evidence left him by Vladimir and applying it to his own well-networked system of people and information, George proceeds through an intricate sequence of interconnected events, slowly becoming wise to the slippery trail of the ever-elusive Soviet super spy "Karla", the most instrumental USSR agent in the history of the Cold War.

James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Ryan have nothing, repeat nothing on George Smiley. Likewise for their respective creators (Ian Fleming, Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy), whose ultra-glamourized, ever-romanticized concept of authentic intelligence barely gets past fancy gadgets and expensive apparel and could never compare to the fastidious, sveltly polished work of Le Carré. Smiley's People almost makes you wish the Cold War were still on. The material, while initially complex and extensive, becomes so mentally intriguing that the reader can't help but be engrossed by the structure of the story. And it achieves this absent of any explosive action sequences. The passive mannerisms, contemplative nature and deftly executed procedures of George Smiley--a figure the very antithesis of flashy cool; he's an old, unappealing, slow-speaking reject--offer a well-developed, uniquely alluring character who may seem solitary but could never be deemed a romantic "lone wolf" type as he must rely on, who else, his "people" for everything. The irreplaceable Alec Guinness stars as Smiley in the BBC's 1982 miniseries which took home 4 Emmy's and was nominated for 6 others.

The Holcroft Covenant / by Robert Ludlum

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Robert Ludlum's 'Bourne' series has made waves in recent years as film versions of each novel have exploded onto the big screen. But his numerous other works have long held an appeal among readers of popular fiction. Published in 1978, The Holcroft Covenant follows a New York architect who inherits several hundred million dollars as part of a covert Nazi pact.

In the final stages of World War II amidst the downfall of the Third Reich, Nazi financiers secretly made plans for a future they'd never see. The plot, involving hundreds of millions of dollars, would involve their descendants in a worldwide effort to 'reconcile' with the victims of Hitler's atrocities. Over three decades later, Noel Holcroft (son of the chief financier) is summoned to Geneva to be let in on the pact. Together with the descendants of the other two financiers, Holcroft is bequeathed the money to be incorporated--supposedly--in compensating war victims and their families.

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Such a noble purpose is indeed worth the time and effort--removed from his job as a New York City architect--needed to connect with his two co-inheritors. But things are hardly as straightforward as the Swiss banker made it sound in Geneva. 'Other' people, apparently in on things all along, now seek to alter the pact's 'intentions' by eliminating its major players--essentially marking Noel as a wanted man. With every step a potential pitfall, Noel embarks on seeking out the other two benefactors--both still in Germany--to help follow through on his father's wishes, doing his best to navigate a maze of treacherous leads and misinformation along the way.

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The 'spy' label tagged to this book may not work as well as 'thriller'; a not just action-packed but action-paced story, riding one adventure into another up until the final confrontation. Even as it relegates the plot's finer points into the background leaving its share of stones unturned, readers won't have a problem attaching interest to the protagonist throughout his various escapades, compelled along by the action and suspense toward a worthy climax. Those familiar with Ludlum will recognize his tried-and-true methodology of interweaving characters and multiple settings, a combination always making for a gripping page turner.