Our American King

by David Lozell Martin

When America fell, she fell hard. Now chaos and calamity fill the vacuum left by a collapsing federal government. The strong and the armed prey on the law-abiding. Only the wealthiest Americans, who have bought up and seized every available commodity, get by unscathed. Protected by the United States Army and their own hired guards, the rich have made their deals. But no one is making deals on behalf of the Americans who have-not. John and Mary, a long-married couple, are starving to death in a suburb of Washington, D.C. In the delirium of starvation, John becomes convinced that an American king has risen up -- benevolent, uncorrupted, and able to restore faith and prosperity to the nation. Mary walks with her husband into the District of Columbia to see if there's any truth to this madness of an American king.

At the fence bordering the White House, which has been abandoned, overrun, and destroyed, John and Mary find a man who is hanging dead politicians "the way they spoke their words," upside down and backwards. John convinces this man, Tazza, that he can be king and that the people of America will find as much strength and goodness in serving a king as they did in practicing a democracy.

Charismatic, royal, and alpha, Tazza is adored by the American people. He converts marauders to his cause, organizes scavengers to feed the hungry, and seems destined to establish a beloved and benevolent American monarchy. But Tazza cannot escape the inevitability of history, and when the federal government returns, a war ensues that sweeps across America and lasts for decades.

In this conflict between forms of government, in a people's fight for survival, "Our American King" unearths massive forces and powerful truths and challenges readers with provocative questions: If a calamity destroyed the American government, who among us would survive? Who would die from weakness and fear? What kind of leaders would emerge?

In vintage Martin style, "Our American King" grabs the reader on page one and never lets go. This is a journey by turns dire and thrilling, authoritative and mythical, heartbreaking and magical. For decades now, David Lozell Martin's novels, including cult favorites "Lie to Me" and "The Crying Heart Tattoo, " have set the bar for powerful and eccentric thrillers. This new one is his most powerful yet.

Genres: Fiction, Post Apocalyptic

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 11, 2007

About the author

David Martin is the author of ten novels that range from the international bestselling thriller Lie To Me to the acclaimed love story, The Crying Heart Tattoo.

Reviews

[Melissa Marty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this a long time ago, but it was one I remember.

[Derek Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our American King is a story about the death and reconstruction of America and how a single charismatic figure can change history. In this novel this person is a king who personifies many of the traits people associate with America. The people swarm to him in defiance of the traditional corrupted democracy.
While the central concept of Our American King is fascinating, the characters are incredibly predictable and the attempts at humor are somewhat crass. Martin also relies on the “deus ex machina”, or the god of the machine. Many events occur that simply do not fit in with the plot and style of the story. This ruins the harsh reality that Martin tries to create. In other words, problems are more often solved by miracles and chance rather than through the intelligence or perseverance of the characters. Our American King has the feel of a novel that could have been great if the author had paid more attention to detail and less to his deadline.
I recommend this novel to those who enjoy the post-apocalyptic genre, but do not care about realism to any extent. I personally enjoyed it purely as entertainment, in my opinion it goes no farther than that.

[Jen]

Fuel runs out, the rich sequester themselves in impermeable compounds, half the population starves to death, and an American king rises on the merits of his indomitable charisma. But as he slowly goes mad, his summer-of-love utpoia slides into bloodthirsty dystopian territory. So goes David Lozell Martin's "Our American King." This story doesn't break new ground, but it is an easy and enjoyable read. Mary, the narrator, has a unique and intimate perspective that I enjoy (though sometimes when Martin tries to write from a female perspective, he gets it humorously wrong).



The most interesting parts of the book describe the physical ravages of hunger and the and people's spiritual hunger for a divine leader and a sense of connection to a legendary past. When Tazza gives his first speeches, the reader shares in the crowd's frenzied ecstasy.



The pacing is good, but foreshadowing is overused; a few surprises would have been welcome.

[R.G. Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

David L. Martin's books Lie to Me; Bring Me Children; and Tap, Tap are some of the quirkiest, scariest, and darkly humorous suspense novels I've ever read. Would that he would return to the style of those books: over-the-top villains with bizarre pathologies, page-turner plots,etc.

Our American King is a lackluster post-apocalyptic sequel to Facing Rushmore, itself an interesting read, but hardly as successful and alluring as the other books mentioned here. Martin narrates much of this book as a tale rather than allowing the story to unfold as a novel. There is little immediacy in the plot, although the ending is marginally more satisfying than most of what precedes it.

Tap, tap, Mr. Martin. Bring me villains, lie to me if you must, but come back from whatever dismal landscape inspired these last two books.

[Widespread · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good yarn that happens to be post-apocalyptic. Not a whole lot of thought-provoking ideas, just drama.

Probably like many others, I have found myself wondering where this nation is headed as the few very rich get exponentially wealthier, leaving the rest of us slobs behind, while we degrade our environment with unclean use of resources.

This idea, that the sordida plebs are cast out into the festering wasteland while the elite protect themselves in little bubbles, has crossed my mind often, and on a philosophical level, it was this concept that resonated with me the most.

*Spoiler alert*




I had a problem with the plot elements where the tribe attacks the rich folks and kills them all, including women and children. The tribe counted on government soldiers in Washington DC being unwilling to slaughter unarmed women and children, but the tribe itself has no problem doing it????

[Mark Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. It's so simple and so elegantly written, but one shouldn't step into it lightly. It's a post-disaster look at America, just a few months into the future. The society has fallen apart and people are killing and starving in the streets. What I love about it is how Martin uses the premise as an opportunity to speak about politics and citizenship. I had him on my show to read. Should I put a link here? I'll go ahead:
David Martin reads an excerpt from Our American King on KQED: The Writers' Block.

[Sean Evans]

I found the writing of this book to be typical of the "coastal eletist". The type who refers to the midwest as "fly-over country" and doesn't grasp that the bulk of the population of this country not only works for a living, but understands things like honor and duty. The author assumes that the "extremely rich" would be able to subvert the military, and enough of the working population to cause a swift collapse of the fabric of this country. I felt condecended to.

[Shana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Subpar dystopian novel imagines America after a social and economic collapse. The POV is from an elderly woman remembering her experiences -- she is intimately involved with the man who declares himself the king of America. Some of this was quite laughable, though I don't think the author intended it to be humorous. The bits with the invading Canadians and their killer exploding pigs, for example... It was a fast read, but still I wish I hadn't wasted the hours I spent on it.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

What could possibly be better than a comic novel where the poor finally exact some measure of revenge for the war placed upon them by the rich. Of course thing go awry, if not it would be a political polemic right? And nobody wants to read those. But an over the top and delicious fantasy none the less.

[Maura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eh. Didn't really do anything for me. I usually like books with a political and end-of-America theme, but this one was too simplistic to be thought-provoking, and the story & characters weren't engaging. I'm wondering if maybe it's supposed to be funny, but it didn't get more than the occasional chuckle out of me. Wish I hadn't bothered reading the whole thing.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty unique/funny right now, about the end of America. The one thing this, and Covenant Rising have in common (though both are completely and totally unrelated otherwise), is that they discuss how politicians and government screw up the general peoples lives because they do not care for them, only for the growing of their own fat pockets and displaying of their status/wealth.

[Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really hoped this book was exactly as the title suggested and not some metaphor for our current political situation. I was pleasantly satisfied and would gladly recommend this to somebody who fantasizes as to how great our nation would be with a monarch.

[Samuel Southwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts a bit slow but it was a pretty good read for what is was the rebuilding of a falling America. The only problem I had with the story is he never explained why America fell. Other then that it is a good story.

[S.J. Delos · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on the post-apocalyptic tale. There are some elements of the story that feel as if they could very well happen in the not too distant future. The story goes by quickly and at a pace that doesn't leave the reader bored.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it wrong that parts of this book made me laugh? Not the gutted bodies -- they weren't funny -- but the narrator's comments about Canadians. She cracked me up!

[Shaheen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating premise....development somewhat rushed, especially at the end.

[Lenore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun - couldn't put it down.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy read. Quite a dark story. Good ending though.

[Sumayyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Portrait of "this could happen here in the very near future." A very plausible American shattered dream. If you liked "1984" and "Electric Church" you should try this.

[Celine Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down. This book both scared and intrigued me.

[Astrid · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so poorly written, with such a hysterically nonsensical plot, that I consider it to have been written tongue-in-cheek. The Canadians, really?

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book about what happens when America falls. Super rich take all the resources and a King emerges. Love this book so much

[Brack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this version of the uprising. Just as I have always suspected!

[Karyn]

It started out very promising, but became increasingly unbelievable and silly.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kept me reading - but not much point I thought.