Splintered

by Thomas London

Once upon a time, Pinocchio was a real boy who couldn’t tell a lie. Now he’s a politician who can’t seem to tell the truth. As a junior analyst with a powerful lobby firm, nobody was more anonymous than Pinocchio. But when a chance encounter leads to his being labeled, “The Last Honest Man in Washington,” Pinocchio becomes the toast of the town - and an unwitting pawn in a corrupt congressman’s political game. With his new career taking a toll on his marriage - and his relationship with his aging father - Pinocchio finally tells a lie so outrageous that he reverses the magic that once made him a “real man,” and he transforms back into a wooden puppet - live on C-SPAN. Now he has just one week to undo the spell, or he will end his days as a worthless splinter of wood, but to do that, he’s going to need the help of a drunken fairy and a family of talking insects... Part satire, part thriller, "Splintered" is a genre-shattering look at American politics that takes readers on a whimsical journey from the halls of Congress to the beaches of the Caribbean, and on to an amazing dreamland where anything is possible. About the "Splintered" is the debut novel of playwright and award-winning screenwriter Thomas London. A journeyed explorer, Mr. London’s style is influenced by both his passion for history and his love of exotic locales - both of which feature in his upcoming work, "The Masada Option." Mr. London is a veteran of the Armed Services, holds an M.A. in Entertainment Business, and is an avid automobile and motorbike enthusiast. He currently spends his time in Los Angeles, California and in Ireland.

429 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2015

Reviews

[Richard Leach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite the story

Would wish the proofreading had uncovered the many misuses of words, but all in all a great tale. More to come?

[Madeline Ahrend · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairy-tale for adults. An adult retelling of the tale of Pinocchio which is at times funny. Satire at its core.

[P Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The real joy of this book is suspending your disbelief and just letting the book and its tale take you over. You won’t be disappointed. Reading this fairytale was such a treat. It almost comes across as a cartoon when you’re reading it. If you love political satire you will swallow this book whole and recommend it to other satire lovers. In fact, if there isn’t a genre called political fantasy adventure, there should be. This is surely a bestseller in that category.

In some ways, the book was a re-telling of the Pinocchio tale and in other ways, it’s very different. There’s silly humor, dry humor and of course political humor. Poppa was by far my favorite character. His dialogue was superb.

I’m not sure what to compare this book to. I’ve only read one other similar tale and that was Goldman’s, The Princess Bride. This book is better in its own way. It’s book for today’s world. I think it’s a must read if you enjoy modern fairytales.