The Siege

by James Hanna

On November 23, 2000, one hundred inmates hold twelve guards hostage in the laundry dorm of The Indiana Penal Farm. Emergency squads are massed along the fence, awaiting the order to attack, while sharpshooters are perched like crows on top of the administration building. Tom Hemmings, a dorm counselor, has been conscripted to defuse the standoff. But the inmates are divided into rival gangs, the guards into feuding unions. And the prison administration has sparked the standoff by forcing cut-rate services upon the facility. As he enters the prison, Tom's heart starts to hammer. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad? And how will this nightmare end?

Genres: Thriller

274 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2013

About the author

Independent Press Awards gave A Second Less Capable Head and Other Rogue Stories a Distinguished Favorite Award. Electronic copies of A Second, Less Capable Head, The Siege, and Call Me Pomeroy are available to select readers interested in posting a review.

James Hanna wandered Australia for seven years before settling on a career in criminal justice. He spent twenty years as a counselor in the Indiana Department of Corrections and has recently retired from the San Francisco Probation Department, where he was assigned to a domestic violence and stalking unit.

James’ short stories have appeared in Old Crow Review, Sandhills Review, Edge City Review, Fault Zone, Eclipse, The Literary Review, Red Savina Review, The California Writers Club Literary Review, Zymbol, The Sand Hill Review, and Empty Sink Publishing, which has serialized some of the Pomeroy stories. Three of James’ stories were nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

James first published novel, The Siege, depicts a hostage standoff in a penal facility. It is available on Amazon in both print and Kindle versions. Call Me Pomeroy is James’ second published book.

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Siege is told in a gritty and realistic manner. The story is told in time sequence so you could see the event unfolding one hour at a time.

There were plenty of characters to meet and try to understand. I found likability to be missing for the most part. Everyone was tainted, jaundiced, or hardened by the system they worked and lived in. I did find the personal relationships between some of the characters to be interesting and hopeful.

The darkness of the material kept me from loving this book. When I read the book I needed breaks due to the harshness of the environment. If you enjoy realism and reading about a dirty, corrupt, and seedy prison underbelly this book will be perfect. It is well written and interesting.

[Linda Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking place in a Penal Farm, many inmates rebel and take 12 guards hostage to draw eyes to the way they are treated. The prisoners in the laundry dorm may have taken control, but they are divided between race, gang affiliation, and religion.

Tom Hemming is called in to bring the riot to a peaceful end. Not so easy ... tensions have crossed the boiling point and the anger is palpable. Who will live ..and who will die?

This is so well-written, it almost reads as a true-crime story. The reader sees and hears the riot teams as they surround the prison and snipers position themselves here and there. And as Tom is meeting with the lead man of the prisoners, politics, union problems, and prison administration are all pointing fingers at each other.

Part of the story is told in flashbacks and the things that led to this rebellion. The characters are very much believable. Hemming is a counselor who may be in over his head ... and wanting nothing more than to end the siege and living to talk about it.

There are plenty of inmates to follow .. some good, some bad. One of them is a pedophile, but a prison informant. And then there are the officers, one of whom enjoys killing inmates for fun.
This is a gripping psychological thriller and you won't want to miss a single page!

Many thanks to the author and Word Slinger Publicity who provided a print copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[Monnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the description and rave reviews, I picked this book with some degree of excitement when it was offered free through Kindle Unlimited. The term "psychological thriller" always gets my attention (my undergrad degree is in psychology, and while I didn't pursue that as a profession, human behavior remains a huge interest). Beyond that, it's based in my birth state of Indiana, where the author spent 20 years as a counselor in the Department of Corrections. Within the first couple of paragraphs, mention of sycamore trees and U.S. Route 40 (the former found all around me as a kid and the latter less than 30 miles from home), had me hooked.

Unfortunately, the hook never went any deeper. At least twice, I told myself to give it up, something I absolutely hate to do. Then, I convinced myself that if I could make it past the halfway point, I'd be able to stick with it. That I did - but all in all it wasn't a very pleasant experience.

On Nov. 23, 2000, 100 inmates captured 12 prison guards in the laundry dorm of the Indiana Penal Farm, and dorm counselor Tom Hemmings has been tapped to handle "negotiations" and get the situation under control before the worst happens. But he's not just dealing with the inmates' protest over lousy services; they're also members of rival gangs, and the guards are in labor unions that are at loggerheads as well.

Truth is, that bodes well for a terrific story, so just why it failed to hold my interest is hard to pin down. The writing is impeccable - it reads more like prose than a typical thriller novel (which I admit for me was more of a curse than a blessing). The many characters got a bit confusing, and somehow I just couldn't envision a prison counselor - much less guards and least of all prisoners - speaking in such a profound, esoteric manner that it was tough to wade through and didn't sound realistic coming from most of the characters. Until near the end, the story jumped around from place to place, usually forcing me to back up a few pages to determine whether the situation was present or past. And finally, although this alone had little bearing on my like or dislike, this is perhaps one of the most thoroughly depressing books I've read in a while.

All that said, at the time of this writing, 28 of the reviewers at Amazon.com had given it 5 or 4 stars. All I can say, then, is it simply wasn't my cup of tea. If it sounds like it's yours, I urge you to read what others have to say before you decide.

[Rob Slaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, and as usual, I received this book free in exchange for a review. Also as usual I give my candid thoughts below despite the delightful privilege of receiving a free book.

From the standpoint of narrative form the book is comprised of two parts. In the first 100 pages the narrator is in the midst of a hostage recovery effort but through the use of well-organized flashbacks we see the days that lead up to the incident in meticulous detail. The second part deals with the aftermath in a more straightforward narrative flow.

On the positive side, the writer quite obviously knows what he's talking about. This is NOT the parboiled Hollywood version of prison drama; this is the raw, gritty and complex reality of life in a prison and the best of its genre that I've ever come across. The author's style is rich and engaging painting a vivid picture of his setting and his very believable characters. If you want the truth behind life in prison administration this is probably the book you'll want to pick up first.

The only negative that I would note isn't really a negative so much as a caution to readers who might be looking for a guns-blazing action novel. This isn't that. As I said, this is real life and real life seldom lives up to the idiotic standard set by the movies. There are moments of what one would call "action" but for the most part the novel is one of psychology and tangled mental interactions between the varied cast of characters.

In summary, highly recommended if you like your novels with engaging ideas over fountains of blood and violence.

[Tory · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Siege is a marvelous first novel. But of course, Jim Hanna is an award willing short story writer. It's wonderful to read a story about a prison break and all of the intrigue that goes with it--guard's unions fighting like prisoners, prisoners in gangs, o one trusting anyone else-- with the story so intelligently written and beautifully constructed that you think it might be a piece of first-class literature. Loved the characters, especially Chester the molester and Hassan. Realistic ending--but I'm not giving it away!
Available Kindle now. Paperback comes in July 2014.

[Marta Tandori · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Indiana Penal Farm seems to be almost a benign misnomer for the 86-year-old penitentiary that houses medium-security prisoners and produces furniture and brooms in James Hanna’s taut thriller, The Siege. It’s guarded by men, some of whom used to be former GM factory workers, and is made up of inmate dormitories, a laundry dormitory, a hospital, a chapel, a school and a furniture factory, among others and hardly seems to be the likely locale for an uprising but on November 23, 2000, this is exactly what happened. With many of the inmates ganged up and the guards angry at the unions, the situation is a veritable powder keg that goes off when the prison administration forces cut-rate services on the facilities, angering the inmates to the point where they take many of the guards hostage. Tom Hemmings, a dorm counselor, has been assigned the daunting task of ending the standoff. The dialogue is minimal and the prose tight, all lending themselves to keeping the suspense amped up. The chaotically-tense situation within the prison is counter-balanced by Hemmings himself, by all accounts the least qualified for such an immense task. With two weeks spent in federal custody in his youth before escaping to Australia where he roamed as a draft resister, Hemmings’ subsequent Masters degree in criminology hardly makes him immune to a potentially violent death his unexpected position as riot negotiator affords him. While The Siege is high on tension and anger-fueled testosterone, it’s also an unapologetic expose that reveals the dirty politics, corruption and the blood money that sadly drive our penal systems today.

[Scarlett Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Trauma Associated with a Prison Siege

By Scarlett Jensen - November 4, 2015

Amazon Verified Purchase

Book review is long.

James Hanna invites us into the world of prison with his novel The Siege. The events surrounding a siege at the Indiana Penal Farm form the core of the story. We see how the tensions, painful emotions, thoughts and experiences of both the prisoners and their keepers come alive. We look through the eyes of the author who has spent years working as a counsellor in a prison and has first hand experience in the criminal justice system, so it rings with authenticity.
The notorious inmate uprising— the takeover of a laundry dormitory on the evening of November 22, 2000—Guards took back the dormitory on November 25, following a four-day siege. The battle made national headlines. Uprising led to bloodshed. Rival gangs seized the opportunity to settle scores. The division among the inmates were further evident.

We experience staff rivalries and hope that it would dissolve in the face of the inmate insurrection. Tensions between the unions suggest trouble. Which clans were more united, the union cliques or the inmate gangs ? The rule was that no unearned concession be given to the hostage takers . If not, they would just accelerate their demands and grievances.

Tom Hemmings is the catalyst in the story and he was bound by a natural order of events. The sequence was in fact gospel to him: first came the outbreak, in this case the inmate seizure of the laundry dorm, then the massing of troops along the perimeter fence, and finally, once diplomacy had failed, the issuance of an ultimatum.

Chester Mahoney was the inmate that worked on Tom’s conscience. Tom who has a master in Criminology should know the soul of a criminal but it is Chester that steers them between good and evil.
“You know what I want you for, Chester, is to implement a plan that will salvage us both.” We’ll go over the details when we meet. “ Tom was lost without direction. His honest to himself.

The author weaves a mix of people in the story : officials, a deacon, killers and child molesters, robbers and pimps. And some of the best con men in the world. “Thirteen hundred and counting, and most of them belong to gangs. We got three hundred staff members covering three shifts, but the unions won’t let them do their jobs. Outnumbered by agitators and cons. The only trump card we got is our guns.” You’re be meat here, you know? Meat in a prison sandwich.
The resemblance to Colonel Sanders seemed laughable The Hog,” Tom replied. “I don’t mind it all that much. In fact it’s a bit of a compliment.” The little man nodded. “More so than Chester the Molester. “He seemed to be a person of conspicuous accomplishment, a quality unaffected by even the triteness of his introspection.” After all, he confessed to a tryst with a girl of fifteen. There are souls to be saved in a laundry dorm.

Tom had an enduring need to rebel, and with nearly a hundred prison guards, he had already petitioned to halt the drug testing, a reminder enough that expectations were at hand. So with the promises that had been made at the union forum —higher wages, cheaper insurance, a revived grievance system, he acknowledges a role as ” an executive, meek in his own eyes.” The plan was a deviation from standard hostage protocol. Tom would meet directly with the leaders of the insurrection, record their demands, and acquire from them a gesture of good faith, hopefully the release of another hostage or two. The distress signal—“ It’s game time”— was to be radioed to the Control Unit only in the event that his life or the lives of the hostages, were threatened.

Tom knew that an overtime grievance, a spat with a supervisor, a challenge to a policy deemed arbitrary— these were the evils best vindicated by prison employees, the matters least likely to set him adrift. The hospital checkpoint was the point of no return, the location where he was to be received by the inmate envoy that would escort him the remaining fifty yards to the dormitory under siege. Few of the inmates had guns. And then would he fall as hero in death?
Would his life end today? Surely it would— probably with a shot from the dormitory or a stray bullet from one of the sharpshooters on the roof of the administration building. The personalities of his co-members were not an asset : Captain Harold Hawkins, by now his most consistent critic, and Bret Brewer, who only wanted justice for his union. What with jumping on bandwagons, rushing to judgment, and leaping to conclusions.

Chester told the Muslims he had fallen out of favour with the administration. “In times of anarchy, sir, grace is better assured by casting off yokes Tom’s reluctance; he did not wish to be reminded that his compass, his sense of direction , had fallen into the hands of a child molester” with a personal agenda.
The attack: shot ricochet on the pavement, the wallop on the checkpoint door, and then he, Tom, was deafened by the rifles of the point sharpshooters. The inmates, unhurt, were dashing like greyhounds back towards the dormitory It was several seconds before Tom realized that the sharpshooters were aiming at the gymnasium. He found himself in a vacuum. Given an abundance of snitches within the facility, informants less discriminating than Chester, the institution could not help but be aware of the budding insurrection, that death would hurry up and claim him.

“The forum had been a joke, an insult to his mission, yet every detail of it exploded from his memory like a flock of angry birds that death would hurry up and claim him. But what clue to his worth— the value of his mission— could reside in such nonsense. It’s a burden to us all, sir, especially the good officers who want to do their jobs and go home in one piece.”

Words of Nietzsche: If you stare into a void, the void will stare back into you . And if you have a weakness, the void will quickly find it. The conduct report on Chester indicated the charge : inciting a riot, but that seemed excessive in view of the material the little man had been accused of circulating: a single page of biblical excerpt. Suddenly, Tom knew that he would be acquiring his first unvarnished glimpse of the man. A ploy, might we call it something nobler? A final act of gumption from a rascal who has long ago squandered his cause. Chesterisms are valuable, used as ploys to navigate the prison system.
Demonstrations seemed directed at the Commissioner by staff marching . A promise, sir, that we will not be punished. Not for the crimes of others. We only wanted decent care for our sick. We only wanted reasonable prices for paltry goods, so we could settle our debts among one another. We never wanted blood on our hands.

The escape was evident to Tom the moment he stepped off the bus that morning. The K-9 Unit, a score of dogs and their handlers, had already assembled beneath the Central Watchtower while a dozen line officers, all carrying shotguns, were pairing up in front of the administration building.
Officer Yoakum was gliding before Tom” with the stealth of a bobcat, a stride so graceful that not the swaying of a branch or the snapping of a twig betrayed his movements. Was Yoakum seriously bent upon catching the escapees or did he simply want to keep out of range of the other shotgun teams?

“Rules of engagement they call it,” Yoakum said. “’ Cept that they make the rules while we do the engagin Yoakum smirked . “A bit,” he replied. “But I sell ’em through my snitches so I got my ass covered. They know I’ll rat ’em out to the rest of the dorm if they drop a dime on me. “ When Yoakum finally waved to him, Tom chambered a round and set the safety on his shotgun. Dead branches pawed at him, scratching his face, as he abandoned his position behind the oak.
“The inmates lay slack-jawed and peaceful upon the ground. They looked like children napping, a sight that belied their crank-rotted teeth and the dark blue swastikas printed upon their wrists and biceps. Obscured by a membrane of watery heat, they had retained their ethereality and Tom gazed upon them as though they were sacred.”

What Tom needed was an honest appraisal of his soul— an assessment that exceeded his guilt obsession or the sterile evaluation of an investigator. Efforts spare the lives of nobler men, but his complicity in a triple homicide— whether real or imagined —demanded a darker retreat. Salvation —as compelling an illusion as any— could only await him in the dormitory. He would have to go in there.

Chester is more saint than sinner the inmates proclaimed: And he was needed as a spokesman.
A hostage, Sarah, did not seem inhibited in the least, an indication that she had fallen under the protection of the Muslims pampering of the Muslims. The dorm housed “the pod-like quality of the inmates as they knelt in prayer, sat upon their bunks. While among them, was the killing of an officer by inmates. Since immunity for Perkins’ death was on the table, it was cleared the three of them had been shot in the back of the head.

The siege brings together members of the Critical Incident Stress Team, “a lanky nurse and an obese psychologist, who were conversing with several correctional officers. The officers, small wiry men, wore the pop-eyed look of sharpshooters who had been staring too long through telescopic rifle sights.” They were about to tattle on trash. Anarchists, dirty officers, Bible thumpin”.

Tom had once been a member of the stress team and considered its work indispensable. His own guilt-obsession, not to mention Sarah’s voluble state, seemed textbook examples of trauma displacement. Now, he felt only foreboding, a deep sense of doom, when the watchtowers came into view disapproval that was sadly merited. What was he, after all, but a failed negotiator , a penny boy to scoundrels, and a possible accessory to four homicides. The Commissioner wants someone to create a diversion, surprise.

About Perkins ‘murder, the authorities cannot be sure. A few of the sharpshooters think there was another rifle in the gym. There are still nine hostages left. Twenty ambulances are on standby. An inmate to help you create diversion in the dormitory. Fewer will die if we take them by surprise. “ if not you will be prosecuted as an accessory— an accessory to the murder of four inmates. You will stand trial alongside Yoakum.
We must take our facility back. The inmates have refused our terms. We must execute our attack as cunningly as possible. You should be able to handle it. When the tempest is tamed, we will have a new inventory. The call was received, the dormitory would be plunged into utter darkness. The attack would then begin and Tom would free the hostages.

Tom says: “You know what I want you for, Chester. To implement a plan that will salvage us both. Your powers are really quite remarkable. You could have used them to build yourself a fortune. You could have preached salvation from the highest of pulpits. You could have bilked thousands out of their savings and seduced their wives into the bargain. Why you have not done so is quite beyond me.”

The truth is, we are tired, scared, and sick of the entire business. Tom daresay we would have surrendered days ago were we not more frightened by the fanatics that command us, than the horde beyond our gates. Tom felt his stomach kick. So Chester was bailing on him. So the facility would not give the Devil his due. So the comedy of errors was continuing. Once again, he had misplaced his trust.

If we don’t end this siege, Hassan, your Muslims will be slaughtered like sheep. Tom knew he was staring into the heart of the void need to sequester the hostages. We need to create a diversion. We need to minimize the casualties. Are you going to help me or not? Has Tom got a secret agenda?
Hassan raised his head. “You would only be returning a courtesy.”

Aren’t you also playing games, can’t you even be honest with yourself? Hassan wanted to know. Was killing those Disciples a personal vendetta? Or were you acting in the line of duty. Amnesty and a steak for those inmates who are willing to go immediately into deadlock.
“It is then when Tom strikes dimensions of the void— an abyss that included not music or odes but the drawl of a siren over whom he could exercise not the slightest pretence. To return to the prison gave Tom a fleeting sense of liberation: a sensation inconsistent to the advanced state of the siege, its aura of dark and malignant finality. The snipers on the roof, whose numbers had almost doubled, impressed him more than ever as a flock of carrion birds while the attack force, now swollen to over fifty men, struck him as an army of seasoned mercenaries. Lounging like hirelings in front of the Administration Building, their shotguns seemed too dusty, their blue uniforms too rumpled , their waists too fattened with tear gas canisters and cartridge belts. Surely, they had families to worry about. Surely, they wanted to go home alive. But of them to discuss their strategy. It was time to create the diversion earned,”

Chester says: “Think of it, sir. I’m an old rascal, an unrepentant sinner, a man who has abandoned his followers. Yet he still “garnishes every word”.
Submission brings safer rewards. The Aryan Brotherhood and the Disciples quarrel with each other. The Muslims— they just ponder and pray . But everyone still wants amnesty for the death of Lieutenant Perkins and everyone still wants reliable commissary— We traded two sick hostages for a load of supplies— soup and Spam mostly and a few boxes of cigarettes. Ask the inmates to surrender peacefully for a steak. Perhaps a sermon will convince them to do that?
“November 25, 2000 7: 00 p.m. Chester opened the Bible and started to read, but his voice, which seemed suddenly too large for him, only accentuated his fragile appearance. His reversion to his persona therefore seemed desperate, not calculated , as though he were drowning without a life vest. But it was still a heroic moment, an assertion so rash , so utterly careless, that it could only have been born of a profound self-weariness.” The man was straying from the script. Instead of placating the inmates, calming them with the word of God, he was using the Bible like a sword. Had he forgotten the purpose of his mission or was he simply trying to rivet the attention of the inmates with which he stood upon the table, the confidence with which he now faced the rabble, had given him a dignity that overrode even his broken promise to the facility— his pledge to con and not rally the inmates. At least he betrayed us with a kiss.”

Book of Revelations,” he said. “Behold a pale horse, the bearer of Death, and Hades and tribulations follow him. But know that the Devil throws some into prison only that they may be tested. Be faithful unto death and you will reap the crown of life”. I have stumbled on my words, shaken like a child, and stolen the language of wiser men. It must truly be a bondsman’s blessing that a tongue so pathetic as my own, might raise you to the glory of the angels.”
Chester soon became a fixture on the farm crew, his tact and courtesy a buffer to his reputation as a renegade priest. The siege ended. The ratio of inmates to officers killed: A total of twenty-three inmates had lost their lives while only two officers besides Perkins had died. Be grateful you didn’t have to witness the attack like thunder in a morgue. You’re a fool if you think there was anything sacred about it, Tom.

It is a long summary but I found words to precious to leave out.

Scarlett Jensen
3 November 2015

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ‘slow paced’ prison thriller that benefits from its complexity.

First of all, The Siege is not a particularly fast paced book as the title and the blurb would suggest, however that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good read. The struggle between the inmates and the guards is, obviously, the main focus of the story, but there is also the added complexity of the internal struggles between the different factions of the inmates and unions of the prison guards. These additional conflicts better reflect real life situations as well as giving the book the depth it needed to compensate for its slower pace.

However, the slow pace of the book, particularly at the beginning does take away from the book as a whole. The first half of the story is littered with flashbacks and memories which add important context but stagnates the main story line and defuses any tension that had been built up beforehand. The main storyline is also not anything overly special, without too many big reveals or twists things resolve as expected in a slightly predictable manner.

The Siege is an enjoyable book to pick up and read as long as you don’t expect a masterpiece and are happy to sit back and go along with the more descriptive and thoughtful tone of the author rather than that of perhaps a more conventional thriller writer.

[Jennifer Tooker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I was provided a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review

Lockdown

The Siege follows the story of Tom Hemmings, a counselor at the Indiana Penal Farm. In November 2000, the laundry dorm is taken by a dozen inmates in response to the treatment at the facility. With the safety of 12 hostages at stake, Tom finds himself dealing with the group’s spokesperson, a fallen pedophile minister nicknamed “the Deacon”. If having to deal with the inmate population wasn’t tricky enough, Tom also finds navigating the entire prison system, with its warring unions, to be a bit of a trick. Tom finds it hard to tell the good guys from the bad as he treads lightly in an attempt to bring the Siege to a peaceful conclusion.

The first thing that struck me about the Siege was the method of storytelling used by Hanna. Told in a style both narrative and prosaic, The Siege is a book that gave my vocabulary a work out. In this day of more and more simplistic writing styles, it was oddly refreshing to pick up a book that made you think about what you were reading. While there were a few times that I felt that the descriptions were a little over the top, for the most part the writing style worked. As the story unfolded, it was clear that the inmates weren’t the biggest problem at the Farm. For the most part, and aside from a few flamboyant or outspoken characters, the inmates seemed to cope as only one could expect in a prison. When you throw in a couple of corrupt guards who have no problem bending the rules or planting evidence that’s when the situations can start to get tense. Couple that with substandard services supplied to the inmates to further degrade their dignity and then add rival gangs, religions and philosophies and you now you have a possible perfect storm to cause some major chaos. The novel spans a four-day period of time, however with the flashback pieces peppered in throughout the text, the reader can see that the four-day siege is the just culmination of several weeks of events.

While billed as a psychological thriller, I believe that this label falls short. The Siege for me was more of a methodical examining of the prison system through the eyes of the inmates and their captors. The psychological aspect was there with Tom’s dealings with Deacon and his willingness to readily do so even though he knew this person’s past. There was action in spots, although most of the novel was back story told in the form of flash backs leading up to Hemming’s part in ending the siege. The real take away here is the depiction of the prison system as a union run, for profit business more than a system where the incarcerated can find rehabilitation if desired to pay back a debt to society. As I read through The Siege, I couldn’t help but notice this aspect of the facility in every meeting with the staffers, the unions and the government. To an extent this was also present with the inmates. In the end, knowing Mr. Hanna’s background in the prison system it makes me wonder how much of this novel is fiction and how much is art imitating life.

[Shanell Meek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivatingly interesting from start to finish.

The Siege, is an intensely captivating story about prisoners taking guards hostage. This book kept me reading until the vey last page. It has an interesting insight into the prison world, one not unlike the outside. Just like the outside world you find different cultures, ideas, cliques, gangs and just the guys that want to fly below the radar just trying to survive. James Hanna did a superb job of identifying and spotlighting key players and describing the spiderweb of relationships within the prison walls. It’s a curious dynamic that the prisoners have amongst themselves. Often teetering on the brink of destroying each other. I found James Hannas insight into the minds of both the prisoners and the guards to be interesting and in depth. I’d say I would recommend this book to just about anyone except maybe a prisoner in the system, it would give the wrong person a few too much information to cause some serious riot type situations.

[Rachel Kester · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Siege: A Prison Uprising Redefines Justice is a book by James Hanna that tells of a November 2000 prison uprising. The prisoners at the Indiana Penal Farm take over the prison and capture the officers there. The prisoners lock them in a laundry room at the prison. Eventually, Tom Hemmings is sent to help calm the situation down. However, Hemmings finds that it’s difficult to figure out who the good or bad guys actually are.
The way Hanna writes this book is gripping. It’s filled with suspense and because Hemmings doesn’t know who is really on the side of good the story becomes very chaotic and even a little scary sometimes. You can feel the fear and anger of the characters in this book.
This novel is about 276 pages long which might be a little long for some people. However, it’s a suspenseful tale and well-written so you’ll fly through the book in no time. If you’re looking for a unique and thrilling read this novel is something you should check out.

[Kate Brackett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book caught my attention because I enjoy the Television series sometimes shown about life in prison. This book is no different. The prison is in chaos as the inmates take over, and within each gang there is an opposing rival. they all have their own prison lingo, their ways of living, and their own prison culture which emerges throughout the entire story. This book is inmates vs inmates, guards vs inmates and individuals thrown in the mix to try to diffuse and divert the situation before it ends badly. This book is not a quick read due to the complexity of the setting, characters and story, but nonetheless it was a good read.

[Jimmy Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prison, politics, violence, and culture.

James Hana has written a great story based on a group of well developed and relatable characters. The story setting is a prison in Indiana where we find tension building among the gangs and groups that have chosen sides behind the walls. Whether it's Tom the counselor, Chester the convicted child molester, Henry the prison guard, or one of the other characters, there is something for everyone to love or hate, to bond with or run from. A great presentation of a emotional and action packed story. I would recommend this one to everyone.

[Lynn McClelland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot a Little Thin

While the author writes well ... this work was like a slow-moving train when you are waiting at the crossing. I kept waiting for it to pick up speed, which didn't happen. Not one to give up easily ... I plodded along to the end of the philosophical banter. For some strange reason ... even the excitement of the siege itself didn't seem all that exciting. Maybe it's just me ...

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rather disturbing. I lived right here and didnt know thus was happening because it was the 1st yr after my husband's death.

Sad abuse of power!

[Frederick Crook · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Seige: A Psychological Thriller" is the story about a revolt within an Indiana penal farm which results in the inmates taking prisoners themselves, including a handful of prison guards. The protagonist is Tom Hemmings, who is smarter than your average bear. Therefore, he is not just another prison guard, but a dorm counselor. He meets in negotiations several times with an appointed spokesman, an older southern preacher by the name of Chester Mahoney, who is imprisoned for sex crimes.
Hemmings is ordered to meet with Mahoney, a character of intelligence who speaks extremely eloquently. Hemmings tries to compete with the wordsmith and after a time their banter gets a little tiresome. The story is quite complicated by issues between prison gangs and even has the added element of problems between the two labor unions representing the guard force.
The whole story seems quite realistic, from the weak excuse for the initial riot to the convoluted circumstances of each character and the internal politics of the state employees. Additionally, there’s not one person that I adhered to, or even liked. Talk about real, this is no "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", nor does it possess the heart wrenching, tragic characters of "The Green Mile", both by Stephen King.
That’s right, kids. It’s a very realistic story that, while as interesting as it is, never endeared me to a single character and I was happy when I was finished and not in the way I wanted to be. I can honestly say that I have never read anything that has had that effect on me. This reads more like an historical account than non-fiction.
There is a “love interest” for Hemmings, if she can be so called. Sarah Baumgardner, a guard released by the Muslim prisoners, seems overly willing to give herself to Hemmings, while maintaining a gruff and almost hostile attitude.
The most interesting character in the book is Henry Yoakum, a prison guard known for tracking down escapees, shooting them and planting firearms on the bodies rather than retaking them. He’s described as a Vietnam War veteran who is rather short, thin and as a result, is more likely to shoot first and never bother answering any freaking questions. Obviously, I came closer to actually liking him over any other character, but he was underutilized.
Hanna writes pretty well and I like his style with the exception of one rather perplexing compulsion of his that derails a lot of passages. There are countless occurrences of unnecessary colons, semicolons and dashes that ruin the flow of sentences. To me, they are more disruptive than the misuse of commas or even typos, which are like speed bumps. These separations are frequent and are more like toll booth stops where the gate is too damn slow to go up. Now, I may be only speaking for myself here. There are probably plenty of readers that would not even notice these issues. All I know is that I try to avoid the use of such things, where a comma or a new sentence would more than suffice.
So, overall, "The Siege: A Psychological Thriller" is well-written, though not-so-thrilling due to the mundane details included in the story. It gets a little too bogged down in flashbacks and digressions to earn more than 4 out of 5 stars. I really wanted to like this book more, but it’s just not for me. I do think James Hanna is more than capable of becoming competition for authors like Erik Larson or John Berendt, the writers of historical memoirs and nonfiction, so I wouldn’t be dissuaded from reading something else of his.

[Harmony Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed on behalf of The Review Board by Harmony Kent.

I received a PDF copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

While this book is listed on Amazon as a psychological thriller, I would have to start right off the bat by making it clear that this is in no way a thriller. I have labelled it Literary Fiction because this is where it firmly sits. If you are looking for an action-packed thriller, or a bit of drama, then this book is not for you. However, if you are drawn towards a sedate book, full of meticulous description, and a pedestrian-paced plot, then go out and grab this novel. Had I purchased this book based on its cover, book blurb, and classification, I would have been sorely disappointed, and more than a little annoyed. What’s in the tin, ain’t what’s on the packaging. It reads more like literary prose than any kind of fictional, psychological thriller.
The first part of the book (a substantial portion: about 60 – 70% in fact) keeps jumping backwards and forwards in time, and any time there is a hint of the possibility of some action, the reader is then immediately presented with yet more reminiscences and ruminations. Far too many characters are introduced all at once, and with the timeline shifting as it does, you never get a feel for any one of them. Also, I find it incredibly hard to envision prison guards, and inmates no less, speaking in such a profound and esoteric manner. I felt like I was wading through thick treacle when having to make my way through such unrealistic verbiage, and found the book tough going as a result. Now, this is not to say that I don’t enjoy an intellectual read, because I do. But when it is sold as something else entirely, I don’t think that’s playing fair.
In some ways, I wonder if this wouldn’t have been better presented as a book of fact, and factually based, instead of fiction based on a true story. This is due to its presentation style more than anything else. This book is well written, on one level, and well presented to the degree that I kept losing track that I was, in fact, reading a fictional story. So, it has the technical merit, but for me lost out on the artistic and imaginative presentation. It just didn’t do it for me, and wasn’t my cup of tea. However, if you come to this read prepared for a near-factual account of, and meticulously written, piece of prison history, then you will undoubtedly get much more out of it.
The book isn’t broken down into chapters, but rather into time stamps. However, due to the constant back and forth jumping in and out of memories, the time stamps come to mean little when attempting to navigate as to just where you are.
In summary, I would say my overriding impression is that this book is suffering from an acute identity crisis, and doesn’t fit the box it has been put in. I found it hard work and tough going. It gets 5 out of 10 TRB stars from me, which equates to 2.5 stars on other rating scales, rounded up to a very soft 3. I really wanted to love this book, but I just didn’t. I’m sorry.

[Phil Bolos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Siege: A Psychological Thriller by James Hanna follows Tom Hemmings as he attempts to negotiate an end to the prison riot at The Indiana Penal Farm. The inmates, about a hundred in total, had taken control of the laundry facility and had managed to take twelve guards hostage in the process. Riot teams are prepared to storm the compound and snipers take up positions in the surrounding buildings prepared to end lives if needed. As Tom moves to the front line to exchange terms with the spokesman for the inmates, it becomes clear that this is no “ordinary” riot. Anger and hostility had been boiling below the surface for a long time and Tom has a nasty feeling that he, and many others, will not make it through this alive. What makes it even worse is that Tom, through his counseling of inmates, knew that this day was coming.
The Siege lives up to its name as a psychological thriller. When I first opened this, I was expecting an Under Siege style book with lots of action and explosions galore. What I found it to be though was a close look not only at a small conflict in a prison, but an expression of how our society functions as a whole. The prisoners in the laundry dorm may have taken control, but they were divided between race, gang affiliation, and religion. To make matters worse, the officers on the outside were divided on union issues and the prison administration was even partly responsible because their failing programs led to much of the anxiety and anger felt by the prisoners. My only complaint about this piece is the amount of flashbacks that take place. Just when the story starts picking up, when the bullet hits the guardhouse door, we have a flashback. The backstory was necessary to understand character motives and desires, but I like a fairly continuous narrative without all the stops and gos. Aside from that, this was an excellent offering from a talented writer.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Siege is a well-written and thought-provoking psychological thriller. It takes an in-depth look into the hearts, minds and lives of not only the prisoners but the prison staff at the fictional Indiana Penal Farm. And, even though this is a fictional story, Hanna's background and knowledge allow him to bring a unique flavor to and offer an authentic perspective of the inner workings of the prison system. The characters are multi-layered, complex and vivid. Hanna does a great job of making you "feel" for the characters, whether it be anger, pity, understanding, revulsion, justification, empathy, disgust, fear, etc. Hanna also does not tiptoe around the less-than-pleasant aspects of prison life. His portrayal of the individual lifestyles and seedy goings-on behind bars is explicit, stark and hard-hitting. This book is not for the prim and proper or faint of literary heart.

The plot is well-crafted, if a little slow, at times. I was a bit put off and distracted by the frequent flashbacks. Quite often, just as the story began to really ramp up, a flashback would interrupt and bring the momentum of the plot to a screeching halt. For that fact, I had to give this a 4 star rating, instead of a 5.

*I received a gift copy of this book from the author in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book I would normally pick up but after reading the description of the book it sounded like one that would be a heart pounding page turner so I decided to give it a try. Can I just say that I am so glad that I decided to give this book a try!!! James Hanna's writing is phenomenal. If you enjoy reading a book that will keep your heart pounding from the beginning then this is definitely a book you want to pick up.

The Siege takes place at The Indiana Prison Farm. A group of inmates has banded together to start an uprising within the walls of the prison and have taken some of the guards hostage. We meet Tom Hemmings, a dorm counselor, who has been asked to step in and try to end this standoff. His task at times seems to be an impossible one and difficult choices must be made. You'll find yourself questioning who are the good guys and who are the bad in this particular situation. You'll see the brutality, hatred, racism and betrayal that takes place behind the walls of this institution and you will find yourself at times sympathizing with this group of characters in a way you never thought was possible. If you are looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish then this book is definitely for you!

[Jim Lion · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of metaphors that challenge the reader to think more deeply. It occurs during an inmate uprising at a prison late in the year 2000 during the infamous Bush-Gore contested election, and one cannot help but notice a connection between the two. It follows Tom Hemmings, a prison guard, through his various ruminations and fears and amours, as he plays a central role as reluctant negotiator with the inmates, a man who believes his days are numbered because either the prisoners, or one of his fellow guards, will put a bullet in him. Everyone has an agenda, a game to play, and integrity, or the lack of it, exists in equal measure on both sides of the divide. Overall I found this book a good read, but a slow and contemplative one. If I were to suggest any area for improvement, most long conversations revolved around finding the metaphor. Some people talk this way, but not everyone. Some folks keep their conversation at a more superficial level, and I found myself longing on occasion for a break from all the depth. Still, this is mostly a quibble. The Siege will give the reader something to think about, and that's worth it's weight in gold.

[Simón Gómez · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the word 'thriller' is mentioned referring to a book, one usually thinks about a super fast-paced, action packed type of story full of bullets, punches and kicks, explosions, guys flying all over the place, etc. But The Siege is a completely different thing. Here you will follow Tom, a prison guard who has gone into a prison riot in order to try and stop it, but how? You will discover the true definition of 'psychological thriller'.

The Siege gives us a peek into the raw reality of prison life, showing how prisoners live and kind of organize themselves, how they have to cope with fear and anxiety everyday, because they are also human, and how corrupt is the system on the inside as well as the outside of jail.

You will witness the troubles of a lot of really interesting characters here, prisoners and cops, each one with their personal problems, way of thinking and acting, complex personalities and plans, and you will find yourself loving or hating every one of them. No character in The Siege feels like a filler.

Very good work by James Hanna, a very unique take on the genre and worth every second spent reading it.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I received an advance copy of “The Siege” from the author, I dove in, having already become familiar with some of the book's characters through Jim Hanna’s readings at Open Mic events I attended.

Most of the book’s action takes place over a couple of days while a group of inmates hold guards hostage at the Indiana Penal Farm. Dorm counselor Tom Hemmings, the main character, is a complicated man who never seems quite comfortable in his role as hostage negotiator. Nonetheless, he becomes deeply enmeshed. Through his interactions with a gritty cast of characters, Tom seems to be working out some deep flaw in he perceives in his own character.

The Seige is a fascinating look at a prison from the inside, capturing the nuances of the relationships between inmates, guards, union representatives, and prison workers. There’s plenty of action, too, as the hostage situation moves towards resolution, all relayed in a voice that’s both contemplative and raw. I recommend this book if you want to immerse yourself briefly in a world most of us never experience.

[Vera Lam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling novel by a prolific writer – every page is well planned and written.
The Siege is a thrilling novel. Jim Hanna is a prolific writer. No questions about it. The dialogues are engaging; the prose is descriptive, flowing and exact. Each scene is well planned and wonderfully played out in front of my eyes.
The most exciting part of this novel is its realistic portrayal of the characters (especially of Hemmings and Yoakum) and their ‘interesting’ and ‘disturbed’ minds.
Perhaps Mr. Hanna’s experience as a correction officer gives him the keen understanding of the inmates and their psyche, because everything in The Siege is so real -- from the conversation about ‘V’et Nam experience’ to the negotiations with the inmates.
Though there are plenty of actions in The Siege, what I like the most is the unveiling of the relationships between the tough, gritty characters. It was a great pleasure to observe them in Jim's prose.
This is a must read for those who enjoy well-written thrillers.

[Chelseyam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn’t my first James Hanna book and I have to say I’m becoming a fan. The first novel I read of his was pretty hilarious, so I was a bit surprised when I cracked open this book (well, more scrolled through) and found such a serious story. It almost seemed like it came from another author, but the amazing voice behind Hanna’s writing stood out immensely.
From the get-go, this novel gets incredibly realistic and dark. If you’re sensitive to the true hatred that happens in this world, particularly in the corrections facility, then this might not be the book for you. All the same, it does shine light on the problems we currently have in the system that need to be addressed.
There’s a lot of great things about this book…just to name a few: realistic dialogue, great character development, a sense of realism that will send chills down your spine. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone that loves a thrill.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes place in a prison, which is out of control because the prisoners have taken some of the guards as hostages. Even though it is a book, it is written without skimping on any details, so you feel like you are in the prison, or at the very least can vividly picture it. In the first few pages, I had trouble keeping the characters straight, but when Tom is formally introduced, other things became clearer. He is someone who doesn’t take his job lightly, and is not so close-minded to think that everything is black and white. We are given a veritable birds-eye view of what is going on with everyone, which not only provides a rich story, but also makes you want to not take your eyes off the page. So many things happen in the span of the book, which only takes place over a few days. I would recommend this to people that enjoy complicated plots and thrilling novels.

[Jan Heart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book you can’t put out of your mind.
There is something mesmerizing about this book which drove me to finish it, sometimes in spite of my inclination not to. It was not a book I could love, but it was an excellent read nonetheless, challenging, frustrating but one which I still think about even though I’ve finished it and am reading completely different books.
James Hanna writes in a literary style so be aware that this is not what you may think of as your regular psychological thriller and the language and interaction between the characters is intricate and rich. The atmosphere is superbly sustained for both the events in the prison and outside and it’s a pretty bleak picture on the whole but with glimpses – sometimes ironic – of hope .

Original and compelling whether you like it or not!

[Cathi Grainger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Siege: A Psychological Thriller by James Hanna
This is not a book for any reader eager for an easy to read, made for TV or big screen movielike prison drama or action thriller. However, it is the perfect novel for every reader hoping for a thoroughly entertaining, enlightening, and powerfully written novel. Author James Hanna utilizes his expertise and understanding of the criminal justice system from his career in police work to share with us an exciting and thought provoking story of the desperation, depravity and devastation that happens within America’s prisons. We get a glimpse of not just the prisons themselves, but into the minds and souls of the incarcerated inhabitants, as well as those people in charge of those inmates. Hanna’s novel, The Siege, offers an explicitly frank and brutally factual look behind prison walls, in the guise of psychological thriller fiction.

[Kay Sunshine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prison Thriller
The Siege: A Psychological Thriller by James Hanna is about a prison riot in the year 2000 except it's more than that – it's a psychological thriller and I love this type of genre.

Having a background in criminology, this is a book that was something I was looking forward to. With that said, it wasn't perfect but then again, few books are. I did enjoy it however and felt that the writer definitely knew what he was talking about. It was well-written, gritty, and full of thrills and drama so I enjoyed it.

I've read another book by this author and he never fails to interest me. I do have to say that I enjoyed this book more than the first one I read so that's a sign (to me, anyway) that the author is growing or at the very least, growing on me.

It kept me reading and I enjoyed the characters very much.

[Renee Spicuzza · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Hanna’s, “The Siege: A Psychological Thriller,” is on par with some of the great writers, like Steven King. I could not stop reading his book, no matter how hard I tried because I could not wait to find out what the next event was going to be. The novel follows Tom Hemmings, a man who has gone into a hostage situation willingly to try and diffuse the situation. He doesn’t know who to trust, who to avoid, and who to get to in order to try and resolve the situation. The book is set up in a way that can be a bit confusing to try and follow because it can be a bit difficult to determine the difference between the present and past (the flashbacks). Besides the flashbacks, the novel is well-written and kept my attention for the entirety of the novel, with fast action and twists that I couldn’t see coming!