Absolute Power

Rating:
Summary: Absolute Power is Absolutely Compelling
Review: "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" --Lord Acton. That truer words have never been spoken is proven by David Baldacci's thriller "Absolute Power".

Alan Richmond is the President of the United States, he is also an adulterer who finds himself in a lethal situation, when the woman he is beating up grabs a letter opener and tries to kill him. Poised outsided the door, Secret Service agents Burton and Collins hear him cry out for help and rush to his aid. They simultaneously shoot his attacker, the much younger wife of billionaire Walter Sullivan.

Quick thinking by Chief of Staff Gloria Russell, begins a coverup that would have been effective if only aging burgler Luther Whitney hadn't been trapped in the one-way mirrored vault by the President's lustful intentions. Luther sees the whole thing, and is horrified. He fully intends to just keep his haul and fade into the background until circumstances dictate that he needs to step in.

And so begins a page-turning thriller whose plot twists and turns in the established bestseller format. Absolute Power is a quick read and very hard to put down. It gives a view of what could happen if a corrupt President puts his loyal to the death Secret Service into an impossible situation.

Very impressive for a first novel, I can't wait for the next one!

Rating:
Summary: A great book for a summer vacation
Review: A David Baldacci novel is a great companion for a summer vacation, and Absolute Power is no exception. At the end of each chapter, I would convince myself that I could read "just one more chapter." It cost me some sleep but I was able to go through large chunks of the book in a sitting. Although not as good as Total Control, which I think was Baldacci's best effort, Absolute Power was still a page turner. Having seen the movie years ago, I was a bit skeptical to pick up the book but I am glad that I did. Although Baldacci has obviously tightened up his writing skills with his subsequent novels, Absolute Power is still packed with action, suspense, plot twists and good character development. I quickly found myself rooting for Luther Whitney, who although a career thief also has an abundance of courage, integrity and personal fortitude. If you are a Baldacci fan but have not yet read his first work, I strongly recommend picking up Absolute Power.

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Summary: Another lawyer turned writer -- but this one does it better.
Review: Absolute Power cast an absolute spell over me -- couldn't stop reading! This first novel by David Baldacci has unusual twists on the traditional tale of murder. Through a two way murder in a walk-in safe, a thief witnesses a murder and cover-up. It involves none other than the President of the United States. And that's just the opening chapter! Baldacci, like John Grisham, is a lawyer turned writer. Baldacci, of course, doesn't have the reputation of Grisham but I think he is a better writer. Unlike Grisham, each character in Baldacci's story is completely developed, although somewhat one-sided (good guys/bad guys) they are realistic.Baldacci has two characters, Seth Frank and Bill Burton who are family men with children. Baldacci could have padded pages with tender family scenes. Instead the reader only knows of them as the plot relates to them. Scenes that would naturally pull them into the picture, as when Seth is in the hospital, are deftly manuevered. Seth Frank and Bill Burton are foils for each other and the book, in a classic style, abounds with foils -- Kate Whitney and Jennifer Baldwin, Luther Whitney - the thief and Alan Richmond, the President. This is a well crafted story. I hope to see more from this promising new writer.

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Summary: Power Only Corrupts Those Who Lack High Moral Standards.
Review: Baldacci's first novel, "AbsolutePower" is a well-crafted suspense thriller which I enjoyed reading. It offers a super plot, well developed characters and a protagonist who is real and likeable.

Baldacci, like any good writer, has written a strong beginning; elderly, real-life burglar Luther Whitney, engaged in his criminal occupation, is caught in the web of a powerful spider while attempting to burglarize a home, but instead is forced to watch a brutal murder in which Alan Richmond, President of the United States is intimately involved. The reader is quickly hooked and steadily reeled in, until there is no way out for him but to read on to the end.

Protagonist Jack Graham, young lawyer and former lover of Luther Whitney's daughter, Kate, is inexorably drawn into the events by his desire to help Kate and her father, and, if possible, re-build the lost relationship he once enjoyed with Kate.

Seth Frank, chief homicide detective in the county where this crime occurs, is propelled by a sense of duty, as he attempts to piece together the clues that will unravel the mystery and reveal the perpetrator.

But, it's through President Richmond and the people around him that we are shown what this novel is really about. These people are all moral relativists. They neither believe in any objective standards, nor do they believe that truth exists. This is a dangerous combination of faults in anyone, but it's particularly dangerous when present in politicians or those in positions of power.

President Richmond is a man corrupted by the power of his office. He mistakenly believes that the most important person in the world is himself, and that he can do anything he wants to do. His top assistant, Gloria Russell, is driven by her lust for Richmond and a misguided quest for shared power. Secret Service Agent Bill Burton, victim of an overdeveloped sense of loyalty, does the expedient thing again and again, until finally he understands that a life without self-respect is a life not worth living.

This is an adult story for adult readers. Lord Acton is often quoted as saying, "Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely." It's from this famous quote that Baldacci's title is drawn. But let's not forget that power, no matter how absolute, will only corrupt if its possessor is devoid of high standards of morality. Freed of the sound restraining influence of moral values, a person can and often will exercise power badly. The result? Strife and turmoil in his own life and in the lives of those around him.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the dangers of moral relativism through the words and actions of fictional characters.

Rating:
Summary: Story is engaging
Review: But the writing leaves a lot to be desired. The opening line tells you what you're in for: "He gripped the steering wheel loosely..." According to Webster's, grip means to seize or hold firmly, so by definition, gripping cannot be done loosely. This is the sort of annoying, unprofessional writing you have to look forward to throughout the novel. If you're just looking for an engaging story, you will have to suspend quite a lot of disbelief, but you may find the idea of this novel intriguing. If you consider quality of writing to be important, don't get this one. It was bad enough that I have not been willing to spend my money on another Baldacci novel.