The Campaign: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: I Was Pleasantly Surprised
Review: I was able to purchase this book at a bargain basement price, and had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised, as this was an exciting and thrilling book to read.

These two sisters collaborated to write a very readable book about a political campaign for senator. Maybe I am jaded, but seeing the levels to which some of our politicians have stooped recently, I found the tactics and plot to be all too believable. OK, so maybe the international spy angle is a bit much. And maybe an incumbent Senator would not have 'friends' with capabilities such as Bob Grant's friends possessed. But, these things, as well as all the other angles, combined to make this book fun to read and rather captivating. Besides, Marilyn Quayle does have some experience with campaigns personally - maybe these things are not as far-fetched as I might think. . .

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a view from the other side.
Review: If you read many political thrillers--I don't mean works aboutinternational espionage and/or foreign military adventures, I meanbooks concerning domestic politics and culture--you know onething. The bad guys are always Republicans. I could name ten recent New York Times bestsellers right here to prove my point. But I won't because the review guidelines say I should stay focused on the book at hand. In The Campaign the Republicans happen to be the good guys. And that, more than anything else, distinguishes this book from other recent political thrillers. I found The Campaign to be at least as good as thrillers by John Grisham, Richard North Patterson, Stephen Frey, Daniel Silva and others. The plot and characters are believable, and the dialogue is realistic. The story is well-paced and tightly written, and there are plot turns and surprises that keep you guessing and interested. There are a couple of points where the tone does tend toward "rah, rah, rally round the Flag". But these are brief and certainly no more "offensive" or "propagandistic" than the stuff on the other side of the political spectrum turned out by the well-known thriller writers. At the very least, contrary to what some of the other reviews of this book have claimed, the plot is no more far-fetched than the plots that other thriller writers routinely come up with, the characters no less genuine, the dialogue no less true-to-life. As I've said, the only major difference between this book and other current examples of the same genre is that--for a change--the bad guys are Democrats. That plus the fact that the word "f___" doesn't appear in every third sentence. I find that refreshing. Now, maybe I'm out of the loop. I realize that most "enlightened" people--which I'm sure includes book editors and publishers--"know" that only Republicans would hurt other people to get what they want........... I recommend it as a quality thriller/suspense novel and also for it's courage to air views that are not often heard in the mainstream media. Finally, let me say that it's probably true that--as one of the other reviewers said--this book would not have been published if it hadn't been written by the wife of a former Vice President. However, that observation, instead of the indictment of the quality of the writing that it is intended to be, is in fact--however unintentionally-- a sad commentary on the mindset of political correctness that prevails in the U.S. publishing industry today. END

Rating:
Summary: Washington melodrama
Review: Marilyn Quayle and her sister Nancy Northcott have attempted to write an insiders' work of fiction, filled with political intrigue, about Washington D.C. In their book, Robert Grant, a black candidate for re-election to the Senate from Georgia, is thwarted in his attempts by a giant conspiracy. He is accused of adultery, drug dealing and murder and there is circumstantial evidence to back up each of these allegations. His college-age son is also a target and he is framed for drug use and possession at a party given by his friends. The characters in this book tend to be one-dimensional. Grant is portrayed as an ethical man whose behavior is a model of perfection, while his enemies are totally evil, with no redeeming qualities. The characters are either very good, very bad, or too weak to resist the evil around them. The plot becomes quite unbelievable as the President of the U.S. orders that Grant be shot on sight and yet he is allowed to enter the offices of CNN and do a national broadcast. Grant's son is betrayed by a close friend, but he embraces her despite the problems she has caused. Fiction is obviously untrue, but it would be nice to think that at least the plot in a work of fiction is plausible. This one is not!

Rating:
Summary: Top-rate political intrigue
Review: With all the novels out about conspiracies in the government that "go all the way to the top," it's hard to pick which one(s) to read. The Campaign is definately a good choice. An excellent plot and interesting characters carry the story all the way through, ending with a few surprising twists. This story also contains the most suspenseful scene I have ever read. Former First Lady Marilyn Tucker Quayle and her sister Nancy Tucker Northcott have written a book well worth reading.