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Tommy Carmellini #7
Liberty's Last Stand
New York Times bestselling author Stephen Coonts delivers another nail-biting thriller starring CIA Director Jake Grafton and his right-hand man, Tommy Carmellini. The president of the United States stands on an outdoor stage, flanked by powerful members of his administration and party. Television crews are preparing for broadcast. High above the stage, on a nearby rooftop, a decorated sniper adjusts the scope on his rifle.Afterwards, America will never be the same.Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini suddenly find themselves on the wrong side of the law when a public act of violence throws the country into chaos just before a presidential election. After martial law is declared and rioting begins, Grafton and Carmellini must risk everything to unravel a massive conspiracy and help a new resistance movement rise up against an unimaginable enemy…
537 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 13, 2016
897 people are currently reading
1235 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Coonts
180 books755 followersStephen Coonts (born July 19, 1946) is an American thriller and suspense novelist.
Coonts grew up in Buckhannon, West Virginia, a small coal-mining town and earned an B.A. degree in political science at West Virginia University in 1968. He entered the Navy the following year and flew an A-6 Intruder medium attack plane during the Vietnam War, where he served on two combat cruises aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). He accumulated 1600 hours in the A-6 Intruder and earned a number of Navy commendations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war he served as a flight instructor on A-6 aircraft for two years, then did a tour as an assistant catapult and arresting gear officer aboard USS Nimitz (CVN-68). His navigator-bombardier was LTjg Stanley W. Bryant who later became a Rear Admiral and deputy commander-in-chief of the US naval forces in Europe.
After being honorably discharged from duty as a lieutenant in 1977, Coonts pursued a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree at the University of Colorado, graduating in 1979. He then worked as an oil and gas lawyer for several companies, entertaining his writing interests in his free time.
He published short stories in a number of publications before writing Flight of the Intruder in 1986 (made into a movie in 1991). Intruder, based in part on his experiences as a bomber pilot, spent 28 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists in hardcover and launched his career as a novelist. From there he continued writing adventure-mysteries using the character from his first book, Jake Grafton. He has written several other series and stand-alone novels since then, but is most notable for the Grafton books.
Today Coonts continues to write, having had seventeen New York Times bestsellers (out of 20 books), and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife and son.
Taken from Wikipedia
Learn more about Stephen Coonts on the Macmillan website.
Coonts grew up in Buckhannon, West Virginia, a small coal-mining town and earned an B.A. degree in political science at West Virginia University in 1968. He entered the Navy the following year and flew an A-6 Intruder medium attack plane during the Vietnam War, where he served on two combat cruises aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). He accumulated 1600 hours in the A-6 Intruder and earned a number of Navy commendations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war he served as a flight instructor on A-6 aircraft for two years, then did a tour as an assistant catapult and arresting gear officer aboard USS Nimitz (CVN-68). His navigator-bombardier was LTjg Stanley W. Bryant who later became a Rear Admiral and deputy commander-in-chief of the US naval forces in Europe.
After being honorably discharged from duty as a lieutenant in 1977, Coonts pursued a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree at the University of Colorado, graduating in 1979. He then worked as an oil and gas lawyer for several companies, entertaining his writing interests in his free time.
He published short stories in a number of publications before writing Flight of the Intruder in 1986 (made into a movie in 1991). Intruder, based in part on his experiences as a bomber pilot, spent 28 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists in hardcover and launched his career as a novelist. From there he continued writing adventure-mysteries using the character from his first book, Jake Grafton. He has written several other series and stand-alone novels since then, but is most notable for the Grafton books.
Today Coonts continues to write, having had seventeen New York Times bestsellers (out of 20 books), and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife and son.
Taken from Wikipedia
Learn more about Stephen Coonts on the Macmillan website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 349 reviews
August 13, 2019
The tease for this reads, "a new resistance movement rise up against an unimaginable enemy…" Not so much! This is a direct attack on the elected president of the United States by a maniacal, unbalanced, fear and race baiting right wing author. Stephen Coonts is a seditious, treacherous, anti-American bigot. Liberty's Last Stand is Coonts diatribe of hatred of all things non-Anglo-American. Coonts spews vitriolic assaults against Americans, the American political system and all that it stands for. Coonts has no need for application of the U.S. constitution as in his mind, he knows better. Despite shrinking ice caps, Coonts denies proof of climate change. Coonts has no need for the Supreme Court, as he wants prayers displayed everywhere. Separation of church and state? Mr. Coonts would force religion on courts, legislative chambers and peoples whether wanted or not. 0 of 10 stars
August 1, 2025
A few weeks ago I was contacted by the publishers of this book and asked if I would agree to read this book and write a review for GR in exchange for an ARC of the book. I have done this before and have usually found the experience interesting if not also enjoyable and I readily agreed. I have now finished the book and wish I had never been asked and that I had never agreed to read it. I found this reading experience neither interesting nor enjoyable. I have not given this book any stars as I believe it doesn't deserve any and if I could give negative stars I would. This was a very unpleasant read as the author is clearly very talented and the book has the elements of a very good thriller. Unfortunately, the author has elected to use his talent in what I consider a dishonorable manner. I enjoy reading a good thriller and when I buy one in the bookstore or online I do so for the entertainment they offer. When an author, however, uses his fiction as a platform for his personal political agenda then he deceives his readers and abuses their trust and that is what this author has done in this book. This book is right wing political propaganda masquerading as entertaining fiction. If the author has political beliefs that he would like to espouse and make public then he should write them in book form and publish them for sale on the non-fiction shelf of the world's bookstores. If people are interested in his beliefs then they can buy his book. To place these thoughts in the mouths of fictional characters is a fraud on the unsuspecting reading consumer and the author and publisher should be ashamed of themselves. I am unfamiliar with this author and after this experience I can assure that I will never read another of his books and would urge others to be cautious as he has proven to be untrustworthy inspite of his talent.
As for the book itself well it's nonsense of major proportions and the author as a former Navy pilot and lawyer knows or should know it. It is a thinly veiled attempt to mock President and Mrs. Obama as well as Hilary Clinton besides promoting his own political agenda. In this book the author describes all illegal aliens and most African Americans as welfare parasites. He describes Muslims as fanatic jihadists bent on killing innocent children and women. The prologue alone was difficult to read but he goes on. The book makes clear his opposition to any sort of minimum wage, any rights for the LGBT community, the right of a woman to choose, the right of public employees to unionize, and regulation of the marketplace in any form. He is also a climate change denier if that was necessary to point out along with the rest of these positions. And how does he go about delivering these beliefs to his readers? In a story about a "fictional" U.S. president named Barry Soetoro and his wife Mickey. President Soetoro is an African American with a white parent that is a Democrat in the last year of his second term. The presumptive nominee of his party for the next election is a white woman named Claire Hinton. Is all this subtle enough? Well if it is then let me point out that the action of this book starts in August of 2016. That's not a mistake, August of 2016, a few months from now during the term of office of the current president, Barack Obama. The author has created a fictional avatar of our current president and then has him committing a host of crimes that are beyond belief. Using the pretense of three terrorists incidents that cause significant loss of life the fictional president declares martial law, suspends habeas corpus, dismisses Congress, closes the courts, suspends the Constitution, and starts arresting political enemies and placing them in concentration camps. He does this with an indescribable and unbelievable ease because every political and military leader in the country seems to cower and accept these decrees. If doing something like this was so easy don't you think President Nixon would have discovered this and used it? This is absurdity in the extreme but the silliness continues.
After committing what amount to a coup d'etat and declaring himself a dictator the fictional president runs into a hiccup in his plans. It seems there is one state that isn't prepared to kowtow to this new form of government and they decide to secede from the union. Anybody want to guess which state? Of course it's Texas. What better cliche could you ask for except that the governor of Texas being named John Wayne? Relax as the author apparently had some restraint. So after describing a ludicrous government takeover the author launches into an equally moronic blueprint for armed resistance to a military invasion of Texas by the U.S. armed forces. Of course the Texans succeed in almost bloodless fashion because they are Texans. The ammosexuals of this country will seize on this book because it will inflame their paranoia and give them something to rationalize their irrational fears. Thank you Mr. Coonts as this is just what our country needs right now (read sarcasm).
The book ends with the author revealing a desire for a constitutional convention to create a new United States with a stronger protection of the rights in the the 10th Amendment. I could start discussing the author's positions as revealed in this book but that would be wrong. I'll wait and see if the author does what he should have done and publish a book in which his political positions are stated openly and clearly so the reader has a choice. Right now this is a review of his fiction which I consider nothing more than conservative political pornography. This book should carry a warning label for the benefit of innocent reading consumers. I now need to find a book that will clear my mind of this piece of filth.
As for the book itself well it's nonsense of major proportions and the author as a former Navy pilot and lawyer knows or should know it. It is a thinly veiled attempt to mock President and Mrs. Obama as well as Hilary Clinton besides promoting his own political agenda. In this book the author describes all illegal aliens and most African Americans as welfare parasites. He describes Muslims as fanatic jihadists bent on killing innocent children and women. The prologue alone was difficult to read but he goes on. The book makes clear his opposition to any sort of minimum wage, any rights for the LGBT community, the right of a woman to choose, the right of public employees to unionize, and regulation of the marketplace in any form. He is also a climate change denier if that was necessary to point out along with the rest of these positions. And how does he go about delivering these beliefs to his readers? In a story about a "fictional" U.S. president named Barry Soetoro and his wife Mickey. President Soetoro is an African American with a white parent that is a Democrat in the last year of his second term. The presumptive nominee of his party for the next election is a white woman named Claire Hinton. Is all this subtle enough? Well if it is then let me point out that the action of this book starts in August of 2016. That's not a mistake, August of 2016, a few months from now during the term of office of the current president, Barack Obama. The author has created a fictional avatar of our current president and then has him committing a host of crimes that are beyond belief. Using the pretense of three terrorists incidents that cause significant loss of life the fictional president declares martial law, suspends habeas corpus, dismisses Congress, closes the courts, suspends the Constitution, and starts arresting political enemies and placing them in concentration camps. He does this with an indescribable and unbelievable ease because every political and military leader in the country seems to cower and accept these decrees. If doing something like this was so easy don't you think President Nixon would have discovered this and used it? This is absurdity in the extreme but the silliness continues.
After committing what amount to a coup d'etat and declaring himself a dictator the fictional president runs into a hiccup in his plans. It seems there is one state that isn't prepared to kowtow to this new form of government and they decide to secede from the union. Anybody want to guess which state? Of course it's Texas. What better cliche could you ask for except that the governor of Texas being named John Wayne? Relax as the author apparently had some restraint. So after describing a ludicrous government takeover the author launches into an equally moronic blueprint for armed resistance to a military invasion of Texas by the U.S. armed forces. Of course the Texans succeed in almost bloodless fashion because they are Texans. The ammosexuals of this country will seize on this book because it will inflame their paranoia and give them something to rationalize their irrational fears. Thank you Mr. Coonts as this is just what our country needs right now (read sarcasm).
The book ends with the author revealing a desire for a constitutional convention to create a new United States with a stronger protection of the rights in the the 10th Amendment. I could start discussing the author's positions as revealed in this book but that would be wrong. I'll wait and see if the author does what he should have done and publish a book in which his political positions are stated openly and clearly so the reader has a choice. Right now this is a review of his fiction which I consider nothing more than conservative political pornography. This book should carry a warning label for the benefit of innocent reading consumers. I now need to find a book that will clear my mind of this piece of filth.
March 24, 2016
I received this book free from the publisher.
I have always promised to give any book 50 pages to get me interested. If it cannot grab my attention by then, it will never do so, and is most likely not worth the pay-off at the end. And yet I cannot push myself to make it into chapter five on page 58. Your experience might be different. I can only relate how I feel about the book.
Coonts appears to have taken every single divisive issue in Washington politics over the past few decades and used them to write a tome about one political party taking over the government at the expense of its citizens. Switch the political parties and the story is just as ridiculous. He portrays his story as the inevitable conclusion with the unilateral suspension of habeas corpus, revocation of the bill of rights, control of all media and detention of anyone potentially expressing a dissenting opinion than that of the President-cum-dictator. Fine. I guess you need to have a backdrop for your story. But the premise being more than a bit absurd leaves this as less than an enjoyable read.
Even setting aside the disgust that the backdrop instills in the reader, the style gets a bit distracting. At first, I was annoyed when chapters intermittently switched between first and third person. Then it started occurring several times within the same chapter. It took me out of the story. Should I be omniscient, or only know what the speaking character knows? Should I chock a fragmented sentence up to being the thought of the speaker, or is it a simple grammatical mistake on the part of the author?
My recommendation once this book becomes available in eBook form is to download the sample chapters from Amazon for Kindle readers and read them before potentially wasting your money on buying this book. I am willing to bet you will thank me later for the suggestion.
I have always promised to give any book 50 pages to get me interested. If it cannot grab my attention by then, it will never do so, and is most likely not worth the pay-off at the end. And yet I cannot push myself to make it into chapter five on page 58. Your experience might be different. I can only relate how I feel about the book.
Coonts appears to have taken every single divisive issue in Washington politics over the past few decades and used them to write a tome about one political party taking over the government at the expense of its citizens. Switch the political parties and the story is just as ridiculous. He portrays his story as the inevitable conclusion with the unilateral suspension of habeas corpus, revocation of the bill of rights, control of all media and detention of anyone potentially expressing a dissenting opinion than that of the President-cum-dictator. Fine. I guess you need to have a backdrop for your story. But the premise being more than a bit absurd leaves this as less than an enjoyable read.
Even setting aside the disgust that the backdrop instills in the reader, the style gets a bit distracting. At first, I was annoyed when chapters intermittently switched between first and third person. Then it started occurring several times within the same chapter. It took me out of the story. Should I be omniscient, or only know what the speaking character knows? Should I chock a fragmented sentence up to being the thought of the speaker, or is it a simple grammatical mistake on the part of the author?
My recommendation once this book becomes available in eBook form is to download the sample chapters from Amazon for Kindle readers and read them before potentially wasting your money on buying this book. I am willing to bet you will thank me later for the suggestion.
June 14, 2016
So far, reading this book is like reading the Facebook posts of my right-wing friends. Help!!! I've been trying to convince myself to hide their posts and now I've agreed to read this???? I will soldier on for as long as I can.
I was contacted by the publisher to ask if I would like an advance copy of this book. I usually say no to unsolicited books. I have too many books that I really really want to read to read something that is not compelling. I glanced over the author's profile and for some unknown reason, said yes.
This was the most hate-filled, thinly disguised bit of political propaganda I have ever been exposed to. The story is just a collection of all the fantastical, ridiculous, hate-fueled, myths about our president the paranoid population has somehow bought into, strung together into a novel parading about as a patriotic truth. I certainly don't mind reading books that disturb me. I love a good controversial topic to shake up my way of thinking. But I wanted to burn this book when I was only a few pages in. Holy mother of Jesus I wanted to sink to the level of a pompous censor and destroy this piece of trash. But I didn't. I'm not sure what the heck I'm going to do with it. The vile thing is sitting on my floor collecting dust while I decide the best way to get it out of my house. But one thing I know. I will only take a give-away book if I have a reason to believe it is something that I want to read. One that I have asked for. And I have also taken the plunge and hidden all those facebook friends who have posted some of this same hateful rhetoric, who I should have hidden (or defriended) a long time ago.
I was contacted by the publisher to ask if I would like an advance copy of this book. I usually say no to unsolicited books. I have too many books that I really really want to read to read something that is not compelling. I glanced over the author's profile and for some unknown reason, said yes.
This was the most hate-filled, thinly disguised bit of political propaganda I have ever been exposed to. The story is just a collection of all the fantastical, ridiculous, hate-fueled, myths about our president the paranoid population has somehow bought into, strung together into a novel parading about as a patriotic truth. I certainly don't mind reading books that disturb me. I love a good controversial topic to shake up my way of thinking. But I wanted to burn this book when I was only a few pages in. Holy mother of Jesus I wanted to sink to the level of a pompous censor and destroy this piece of trash. But I didn't. I'm not sure what the heck I'm going to do with it. The vile thing is sitting on my floor collecting dust while I decide the best way to get it out of my house. But one thing I know. I will only take a give-away book if I have a reason to believe it is something that I want to read. One that I have asked for. And I have also taken the plunge and hidden all those facebook friends who have posted some of this same hateful rhetoric, who I should have hidden (or defriended) a long time ago.
Read
June 13, 2016Zero. I've always thought Coonts as a guilty, harmless pleasure.
Made it to about page 60 and the politics here just sickened me.
Made it to about page 60 and the politics here just sickened me.
July 1, 2016
A blatantly slanted right wing book, thinly veiled as fiction. I'm a big Coonts fan, but would not recommend this book to anyone.
July 1, 2016
Horrible, politically slanted mess.
October 21, 2016
I'm not giving this book 1 star because the story is boring or the writing is bad. I'm giving it 1 star because it is just plain sick and pathetic. Allow me to explain.
First of all, I am politically very conservative. On a scale of 1-10, I'm probably an 8. I am NO fan of Obama or Hillary Clinton. However, this book turns Obama (actually it's a very thinly veiled character named Barry Soetoro who is supposed to be Obama) into a dictator who intentionally takes total control of the U.S. government, causing Texas to secede from the union and go to war with the U.S. It's the type of nonsense that turns average conservatives into hardcore right wing psychos.
I'll admit I think that many liberal policies and practices have been very harmful to this country and things will get worse if Clinton is elected. However, the violence and division in this book is just sick and uncalled for, especially the ending when Obama...oops, Soetoro...is brought to bloody justice. Am I supposed to celebrate the notion of the President having his throat cut so he bleeds to death in front of his wife Michelle...oops, Mickey?? Conservatives should be embarrassed by this book because it makes us all look like morons.
My first and last Stephen Coonts book.
First of all, I am politically very conservative. On a scale of 1-10, I'm probably an 8. I am NO fan of Obama or Hillary Clinton. However, this book turns Obama (actually it's a very thinly veiled character named Barry Soetoro who is supposed to be Obama) into a dictator who intentionally takes total control of the U.S. government, causing Texas to secede from the union and go to war with the U.S. It's the type of nonsense that turns average conservatives into hardcore right wing psychos.
I'll admit I think that many liberal policies and practices have been very harmful to this country and things will get worse if Clinton is elected. However, the violence and division in this book is just sick and uncalled for, especially the ending when Obama...oops, Soetoro...is brought to bloody justice. Am I supposed to celebrate the notion of the President having his throat cut so he bleeds to death in front of his wife Michelle...oops, Mickey?? Conservatives should be embarrassed by this book because it makes us all look like morons.
My first and last Stephen Coonts book.
August 1, 2016
I have enjoyed Stephen Coonts' books in the past but this one is right wing propaganda and not entertaining at all. I also kept going hoping that at some point he reveal a satirical point of view or something tongue in cheek. Instead, it was a poorly disguised attack on President Obama and his administration. I will never read or purchase one of his books again.
March 24, 2016
As a political thriller, Liberty's Last Stand touches on all the hot button political issues of 2008-2016 and the various fears of Americans. President Soetoro wants to stay in power despite elections in just months. When Islamic terrorists strike is several American cities, he declares martial law, vacates constitution liberties, and disbands Congress. He starts arresting Conservatives and those who opposed him placing then in camps as he shuts down the media. In Texas the people decide to secede from Soetoro's version of the United States in order to maintain their rights and freedoms and Civil War breaks out. When I started reading at 1800, I couldn't put it down until I finished at 0300 the next morning. This was a free advance read copy through Goodreads.com. The only objection to the story was the consistent misuse of a lower case "m" in the term "Marines." - Semper Fi
May 2, 2016
Stephen Coonts: Liberty Last Stand
This review is posted on my blog, WroteTrips. https://wrotetrips.wordpress.com/2016...
I received and Uncorrected Page Proof from Regnery Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This is the first Stephen Coonts novel I’ve read, and it will be the last. It is a thinly veiled right-wing diatribe denouncing the current administration. How thinly veiled? The novel takes place in August 2016, with a lame duck president U.S. president named Barry Soetoro and his wife Mickey. Claire Hinton, a white women, is the nominee of his party for the next election, and is expected to lose in a historic landslide defeat.
Racism and social elitism masked as plot devices portrays undocumented workers and African-Americans as welfare parasites. All Muslims are not only jihadists, but rapists and child molesters. Mexico receives special treatment as the source of both low skilled, illegal labor, and drugs. Rural poor whites get their share of derision as “pill-billy” gun-toting thieves, murderers, and rapists.
I found the double standard Coonts applied throughout the novel appalling. Without giving away any information not stated on the book’s cover, the U.S. society collapses as the result of a political insurrection. During the subsequent upheaval, it is apparently fine for white suburbanites to use lethal force and unrestrained violence to protect their property and acquire food, water, and medicine; but people of color are depicted murdering thieves and rioters when they do the same. Rural citizens are armed, stupid; dangerous drug-addicts, unless they volunteer to be cannon fodder.
Liberty’s Last Stand is scheduled to be in bookstores June 13, 2016. I imagine it will be controversial, which will drive sales up, an unfortunate consequence.
This review is posted on my blog, WroteTrips. https://wrotetrips.wordpress.com/2016...
I received and Uncorrected Page Proof from Regnery Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This is the first Stephen Coonts novel I’ve read, and it will be the last. It is a thinly veiled right-wing diatribe denouncing the current administration. How thinly veiled? The novel takes place in August 2016, with a lame duck president U.S. president named Barry Soetoro and his wife Mickey. Claire Hinton, a white women, is the nominee of his party for the next election, and is expected to lose in a historic landslide defeat.
Racism and social elitism masked as plot devices portrays undocumented workers and African-Americans as welfare parasites. All Muslims are not only jihadists, but rapists and child molesters. Mexico receives special treatment as the source of both low skilled, illegal labor, and drugs. Rural poor whites get their share of derision as “pill-billy” gun-toting thieves, murderers, and rapists.
I found the double standard Coonts applied throughout the novel appalling. Without giving away any information not stated on the book’s cover, the U.S. society collapses as the result of a political insurrection. During the subsequent upheaval, it is apparently fine for white suburbanites to use lethal force and unrestrained violence to protect their property and acquire food, water, and medicine; but people of color are depicted murdering thieves and rioters when they do the same. Rural citizens are armed, stupid; dangerous drug-addicts, unless they volunteer to be cannon fodder.
Liberty’s Last Stand is scheduled to be in bookstores June 13, 2016. I imagine it will be controversial, which will drive sales up, an unfortunate consequence.
November 5, 2016
Twenty years ago, we were big fans of Coonts’ military thrillers featuring his hero Jake Grafton, the stories reminiscent of Clancy’s Jack Ryan series. We were rather surprised but excited to see this 11th entry about Grafton, having thought, as we presume most fans had, that with the prior entry published over a decade ago in 2003, that Grafton had run his course. What awaited in “Last Stand” was a shocking disappointment to say the least.
The plot is borderline silly. In reaction to a weekend of domestic terrorist incidents, the President, a Democrat, declares martial law, suspends the Constitution, relieves Congress, and starts jailing anybody and everybody who won’t toe the line. Ironically, the Pres seems remarkably like a Donald Trump imitator, who is used as a scapegoat for the author’s political diatribe and vitriol about the entire American political scene – party politics mostly aside. That pervasive element of the book was horrible to say the least.
Meanwhile, Jake Grafton is jailed as an obvious dissident, but his role barely rises above a bit part as he is so injured from brutal treatment during interment that he is virtually out of service for most of the book, although his rescue attempt by co-star Tommy Carmellini was mildly suspenseful.
Meanwhile, the State of Texas secedes and proceeds to outwit the now shaky federal government whose military is virtually on strike in rebellion to all the turn of events. The wiles of Texas were perhaps the most entertaining facet of the tale.
Otherwise, there is no reason to read this terrible tome, little better than one man’s rant against the US Government and the entire political scenario of modern times. Would this have even been published by an unknown author??
The plot is borderline silly. In reaction to a weekend of domestic terrorist incidents, the President, a Democrat, declares martial law, suspends the Constitution, relieves Congress, and starts jailing anybody and everybody who won’t toe the line. Ironically, the Pres seems remarkably like a Donald Trump imitator, who is used as a scapegoat for the author’s political diatribe and vitriol about the entire American political scene – party politics mostly aside. That pervasive element of the book was horrible to say the least.
Meanwhile, Jake Grafton is jailed as an obvious dissident, but his role barely rises above a bit part as he is so injured from brutal treatment during interment that he is virtually out of service for most of the book, although his rescue attempt by co-star Tommy Carmellini was mildly suspenseful.
Meanwhile, the State of Texas secedes and proceeds to outwit the now shaky federal government whose military is virtually on strike in rebellion to all the turn of events. The wiles of Texas were perhaps the most entertaining facet of the tale.
Otherwise, there is no reason to read this terrible tome, little better than one man’s rant against the US Government and the entire political scenario of modern times. Would this have even been published by an unknown author??
August 16, 2016
I've read and enjoyed Stephen Coonts' Jake Grafton novels, but this is, sadly, unlike any of the others. This is a hate filled polemic.
I'm a Marine Corps veteran, a former peace officer - so not exactly a left winger but this book spews positions that are bizarre.
President "Barry Soetoro" (yes, a name that Barrack Obama used - Soetoro was his step father) is a second term president at the the end of his term - August 2016. He is the son of a black father and white mother - his wife is "Mickey" (Michelle). The Democratic candidate is Claire Hinton (mix the first few letters). Soetoro has a plan - arrest Republicans and make himself dictator. He arrests the CIA director, broadcasters are arrested and handcuffed while on air and taken to prison camps. (Jade Helm and Homeland Security are part of the plot)
He has allowed immigration to "increase the number of non white voters". The black population is referred to as "ghetto rats". Muslims are all pederasts - child molestors (this is said by several different characters). The US is in crisis because Soetoro has allowed same sex marriage and abortion. (I can respect those who are opposed to these, but this book is hateful and ugly about it).
How hateful is the book? Barry and Mickey (Barack and Michelle) are also portrayed as Sado-Masochists with Mickey domineering Barry. Sad part is, if it hadn't been a targeted attack on one man, it might have been a decent read.
Note that this book was not published by Coonts' regular mainstream publisher, but a publisher that lists itself as "conservative".
I'm a Marine Corps veteran, a former peace officer - so not exactly a left winger but this book spews positions that are bizarre.
President "Barry Soetoro" (yes, a name that Barrack Obama used - Soetoro was his step father) is a second term president at the the end of his term - August 2016. He is the son of a black father and white mother - his wife is "Mickey" (Michelle). The Democratic candidate is Claire Hinton (mix the first few letters). Soetoro has a plan - arrest Republicans and make himself dictator. He arrests the CIA director, broadcasters are arrested and handcuffed while on air and taken to prison camps. (Jade Helm and Homeland Security are part of the plot)
He has allowed immigration to "increase the number of non white voters". The black population is referred to as "ghetto rats". Muslims are all pederasts - child molestors (this is said by several different characters). The US is in crisis because Soetoro has allowed same sex marriage and abortion. (I can respect those who are opposed to these, but this book is hateful and ugly about it).
How hateful is the book? Barry and Mickey (Barack and Michelle) are also portrayed as Sado-Masochists with Mickey domineering Barry. Sad part is, if it hadn't been a targeted attack on one man, it might have been a decent read.
Note that this book was not published by Coonts' regular mainstream publisher, but a publisher that lists itself as "conservative".
March 28, 2017
Disappointing
Honestly, I think it is a dump book. The story plot is like a movie with lots of missing gaps. What made me disappointed most was that the author tried to portray Obama as the evil president. Specifically, that was the left-wing conspiracy of taking over the America. This book is like badly made of propaganda for right wing people to take up against the government. I just glad that I am done with this book.
Honestly, I think it is a dump book. The story plot is like a movie with lots of missing gaps. What made me disappointed most was that the author tried to portray Obama as the evil president. Specifically, that was the left-wing conspiracy of taking over the America. This book is like badly made of propaganda for right wing people to take up against the government. I just glad that I am done with this book.
July 6, 2016
This book's anti-Obama/liberal politics is obnoxious and takes away from what could be an interesting story. I've read a few other books in the series and while there was some minor political commentary, it was completely tolerable. However, Coonts went too far, creating a story that's a compilation of right wing anti-government fears and conspiracy theories.
June 24, 2016
Wow
There were many times I struggled to finish this book. I will leave it to those who read to be there owe judge. But I do not recommended it.
There were many times I struggled to finish this book. I will leave it to those who read to be there owe judge. But I do not recommended it.
June 13, 2016
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With Liberty’s Last Stand, Stephen Coonts has delivered the most provocative, politically incorrect book I’ve ever read…and I loved every single page!
When the United States President, Barry Soetoro, decides he doesn’t want to leave office, even though his two terms are up, he takes a play out of Winston Churchill’s playbook, acting upon the famous quote: "Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
After several successful terrorist attacks on American soil, President Soetoro stuns the world by declaring martial law. In a speech made to the American people, the president also announces that he’s sending Congress home and shutting down the court systems.
Additionally, the media, for the time being, will be censored as the FBI works to track down any terrorists and stop any additional attacks. Oh, and the upcoming election, well, forget about it. That’s been suspended as well.
Soetoro, though, is just getting started. He then rounds up all of his political adversaries, along with anyone who speaks out against his actions or questions his methods (namely conservative talk radio hosts, as both Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are mentioned), and has them all taken to concentration camps. Also rounded up are citizens’ guns, no exceptions.
Suddenly, America is no longer a free country as Soetoro trades in the presidency for a dictatorship, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Well, at least not until one state rises up and defies Soetoro in every way imaginable.
When the Governor of Texas decides he’s had enough and is thoroughly convinced that his state could thrive on its own, separate from the other forty-nine states, he holds a vote. Turns out the people of the great Lone Star State agree with their governor, and Texas opts to secede from the United States.
A new constitution is written, heavily mirroring the original U.S. Constitution, and the Republic of Texas is born. Soetoro, upon hearing the news, is furious.
As the people of Texas scramble to unify and develop a plan of defense, knowing full well that Soetoro is going to unleash the power of the United States military on them, Tommy Carmellini is frantically trying to figure out how to break his friend and mentor, ex-CIA Director Jake Grafton (who was rounded up with other conservatives), out of one of Soetoro’s maximum security camps.
The two plot lines, which are equally thrilling, are brilliantly woven together and masterfully crafted to make Liberty’s Last Stand certifiably un-put-downable. Coonts isn’t playing around with this politically-charged thriller, and he absolutely crushed it.
Throw out whatever ingredient you crave the most in a thriller, and Coonts nailed it.
Tension? Imagine the newly formed Republic of Texas military preparing themselves psychologically to kill American warriors (and vice versa) who, just days ago, were their fellow countrymen.
Action? It’s nonstop from the first page to the last. From a pissed off rancher who takes on illegal smugglers using his land to bring drugs into America, to an all-out second Civil War, Coonts brings the heat in a big way.
Suspense? Without spoiling anything, the last two hundred pages are especially intense. Trust me, you’ll be racing to see how this one ends.
Basically, whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it here, including some humor sprinkled in throughout. Heck, even the style in which Coonts pieces the chapters together is well done, making the story play out like a movie as the narrative switches between characters and the plot unfolds.
In the end, this is a thought-provoking thriller about a group of heroes who challenge a corrupt government and refuse to blindly follow along as their rights are forcibly stripped away.
When liberty is threatened, few will stand up and fight to retain their freedom. Set in the modern day, America is no stranger to fighting wars–but she’s never been in one quite like this.
MY THOUGHTS
Obviously, this book isn’t going to be for everyone. While the protagonists are all conservative, right-winged individuals, the chief bad guy is a democratic president who’s on a power trip unlike anything America has ever seen. For that reason, I can see people either completely loving this book or absolutely hating it, with little middle ground in between.
I found the plot fascinating, as if Coonts took all of the major, hot-button political issues and threw them all into a blender before hitting the “mix” button. And while the PC crowd will likely suffer an aneurysm reading this, I was captivated by it and didn’t want it to end.
If you’re sensitive to reading stuff that differs from your political beliefs and ideology, then I’d suggest picking up a different book this summer. But if you’re open-minded and on the hunt for a great political thriller, few are better than Liberty’s Last Stand.
BOOK DETAILS
Note: While both Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini, Coonts’ best-known series characters, are present here (Carmellini has more screen time), neither completely steals the show. This was obviously written to highlight a great ensemble cast, and the story is mostly driven by new characters.
Author: Stephen Coonts
Pages: 544 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Regnery Publishing
Release Date: June 12, 2016 (Order now!)
With Liberty’s Last Stand, Stephen Coonts has delivered the most provocative, politically incorrect book I’ve ever read…and I loved every single page!
When the United States President, Barry Soetoro, decides he doesn’t want to leave office, even though his two terms are up, he takes a play out of Winston Churchill’s playbook, acting upon the famous quote: "Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
After several successful terrorist attacks on American soil, President Soetoro stuns the world by declaring martial law. In a speech made to the American people, the president also announces that he’s sending Congress home and shutting down the court systems.
Additionally, the media, for the time being, will be censored as the FBI works to track down any terrorists and stop any additional attacks. Oh, and the upcoming election, well, forget about it. That’s been suspended as well.
Soetoro, though, is just getting started. He then rounds up all of his political adversaries, along with anyone who speaks out against his actions or questions his methods (namely conservative talk radio hosts, as both Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are mentioned), and has them all taken to concentration camps. Also rounded up are citizens’ guns, no exceptions.
Suddenly, America is no longer a free country as Soetoro trades in the presidency for a dictatorship, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Well, at least not until one state rises up and defies Soetoro in every way imaginable.
When the Governor of Texas decides he’s had enough and is thoroughly convinced that his state could thrive on its own, separate from the other forty-nine states, he holds a vote. Turns out the people of the great Lone Star State agree with their governor, and Texas opts to secede from the United States.
A new constitution is written, heavily mirroring the original U.S. Constitution, and the Republic of Texas is born. Soetoro, upon hearing the news, is furious.
As the people of Texas scramble to unify and develop a plan of defense, knowing full well that Soetoro is going to unleash the power of the United States military on them, Tommy Carmellini is frantically trying to figure out how to break his friend and mentor, ex-CIA Director Jake Grafton (who was rounded up with other conservatives), out of one of Soetoro’s maximum security camps.
The two plot lines, which are equally thrilling, are brilliantly woven together and masterfully crafted to make Liberty’s Last Stand certifiably un-put-downable. Coonts isn’t playing around with this politically-charged thriller, and he absolutely crushed it.
Throw out whatever ingredient you crave the most in a thriller, and Coonts nailed it.
Tension? Imagine the newly formed Republic of Texas military preparing themselves psychologically to kill American warriors (and vice versa) who, just days ago, were their fellow countrymen.
Action? It’s nonstop from the first page to the last. From a pissed off rancher who takes on illegal smugglers using his land to bring drugs into America, to an all-out second Civil War, Coonts brings the heat in a big way.
Suspense? Without spoiling anything, the last two hundred pages are especially intense. Trust me, you’ll be racing to see how this one ends.
Basically, whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it here, including some humor sprinkled in throughout. Heck, even the style in which Coonts pieces the chapters together is well done, making the story play out like a movie as the narrative switches between characters and the plot unfolds.
In the end, this is a thought-provoking thriller about a group of heroes who challenge a corrupt government and refuse to blindly follow along as their rights are forcibly stripped away.
When liberty is threatened, few will stand up and fight to retain their freedom. Set in the modern day, America is no stranger to fighting wars–but she’s never been in one quite like this.
MY THOUGHTS
Obviously, this book isn’t going to be for everyone. While the protagonists are all conservative, right-winged individuals, the chief bad guy is a democratic president who’s on a power trip unlike anything America has ever seen. For that reason, I can see people either completely loving this book or absolutely hating it, with little middle ground in between.
I found the plot fascinating, as if Coonts took all of the major, hot-button political issues and threw them all into a blender before hitting the “mix” button. And while the PC crowd will likely suffer an aneurysm reading this, I was captivated by it and didn’t want it to end.
If you’re sensitive to reading stuff that differs from your political beliefs and ideology, then I’d suggest picking up a different book this summer. But if you’re open-minded and on the hunt for a great political thriller, few are better than Liberty’s Last Stand.
BOOK DETAILS
Note: While both Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini, Coonts’ best-known series characters, are present here (Carmellini has more screen time), neither completely steals the show. This was obviously written to highlight a great ensemble cast, and the story is mostly driven by new characters.
Author: Stephen Coonts
Pages: 544 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Regnery Publishing
Release Date: June 12, 2016 (Order now!)
December 26, 2016
I picked this novel up from the library for some fast-moving, thriller fiction to pass the holidays. I read Coonts first novel in the first edition and I enjoyed Grafton's fictional career for several novels, so what the hell - this should be interesting, no?
Wow. This fiction is quite interesting! This novel is a real view into the inner workings of the fevered, right-wing zeitgeist of contemporary Unites States. Another Goodreads reviewer called this Coonts novel "political pornography;" I simply call it sad. Clearly Coonts' fictional end of the USA was written before the most recent election (but wait, there's still time for martial law and predictions fulfilled!) and in anticipation of more "progressive, liberal oppression." I wonder if he's happy with how it is all turning out?
Yet, after finishing (!) this book, I'm left to wonder when Coonts became so angry, so hateful, and so convinced that our divided nation can only be saved through the salvation of a holy baptism lead by spooks, military veterans and contemporary, right-wing conservative ideals. Maybe Coonts was always this upset with the course of his country. Or maybe the election of a minority president eight years ago was enough to declared war on at least half the citizens of our nation? Either way, after finished this book, I was convinced the reviews would be universally loved or universally hated - and in reading the reviews here on Goodreads, I was not wrong. So, here's the challenge to readers who really like this novel: try to read it with the words Drumpf in the place of Sotero, "right wing ideology" for "progressive, liberal beliefs," "crackers with rifles" for "inner city rioters," and "New York" for "Texas." You'd get the same, sad political pornography disguised as the end of the USA.
If I could give Coonts' book ZERO stars and have it count in the overall tally, I would. I guess the "one star" it gets (the one and only I have ever given on GoodReads) will have be enough to register what, in the end, is a truly awful book.
If you want a better fictional account of the end of our current way of life, spend some time reading John Michael Greer's Twilight's Last Gleaming or his forthcoming Retrotopia. Or even James Howard Kunstler's World Made By Hand. Don't waste your time on Coonts.
Wow. This fiction is quite interesting! This novel is a real view into the inner workings of the fevered, right-wing zeitgeist of contemporary Unites States. Another Goodreads reviewer called this Coonts novel "political pornography;" I simply call it sad. Clearly Coonts' fictional end of the USA was written before the most recent election (but wait, there's still time for martial law and predictions fulfilled!) and in anticipation of more "progressive, liberal oppression." I wonder if he's happy with how it is all turning out?
Yet, after finishing (!) this book, I'm left to wonder when Coonts became so angry, so hateful, and so convinced that our divided nation can only be saved through the salvation of a holy baptism lead by spooks, military veterans and contemporary, right-wing conservative ideals. Maybe Coonts was always this upset with the course of his country. Or maybe the election of a minority president eight years ago was enough to declared war on at least half the citizens of our nation? Either way, after finished this book, I was convinced the reviews would be universally loved or universally hated - and in reading the reviews here on Goodreads, I was not wrong. So, here's the challenge to readers who really like this novel: try to read it with the words Drumpf in the place of Sotero, "right wing ideology" for "progressive, liberal beliefs," "crackers with rifles" for "inner city rioters," and "New York" for "Texas." You'd get the same, sad political pornography disguised as the end of the USA.
If I could give Coonts' book ZERO stars and have it count in the overall tally, I would. I guess the "one star" it gets (the one and only I have ever given on GoodReads) will have be enough to register what, in the end, is a truly awful book.
If you want a better fictional account of the end of our current way of life, spend some time reading John Michael Greer's Twilight's Last Gleaming or his forthcoming Retrotopia. Or even James Howard Kunstler's World Made By Hand. Don't waste your time on Coonts.
May 15, 2016
"Liberty's Last Stand" is destined to become a classic among freedom-loving patriots. Through fiction, Steve Coonts has assumed the mantle of a 21st Century Thomas Paine, giving voice to truths that millions of Americans hold in their hearts, but are afraid to express.
Political correctness, liberal intolerance, willful blindness, and the cudgel of labeling opposing views "racist" have brought angry, frustrated American citizens to the precipice of revolt, because the current "King's" arrogance leaves no alternative.
This book is a loud-and-clear caution for Washington's elites, particularly REgressive liberals bent on shredding the Constitution: Overreach at your peril. Uber-arrogant elected officials and their mindless minions in the news media, IRS, EPA, Justice Department, and other bloated government bureaucracies absolutely MUST read and heed "Liberty's" unambiguous warning shot across the bow. There will not be a second.
I received an uncorrected advance reader copy of this book.
Political correctness, liberal intolerance, willful blindness, and the cudgel of labeling opposing views "racist" have brought angry, frustrated American citizens to the precipice of revolt, because the current "King's" arrogance leaves no alternative.
This book is a loud-and-clear caution for Washington's elites, particularly REgressive liberals bent on shredding the Constitution: Overreach at your peril. Uber-arrogant elected officials and their mindless minions in the news media, IRS, EPA, Justice Department, and other bloated government bureaucracies absolutely MUST read and heed "Liberty's" unambiguous warning shot across the bow. There will not be a second.
I received an uncorrected advance reader copy of this book.
August 30, 2016
There's an unwritten law that at some point in an author's career they must deviate from pure fictional entertain and inject their worldview into the books they write. The standard deviation seems to be between four and twelve books published, though I've seen some that jump out of the gate as nothing more than thinly disguised polemics.
Once the author dives off this particular cliff, they tend to hit the rocks with a big splatter. They seem incapable of cutting in their ideals with a scalpel; instead they employ a broadsword to hack and slash dogma into their fiction.
Stephen Coonts joins the company of Stephen King, Tom Clancy, and Barry Eisler for using the platform of his fiction as a bully pulpit for his personal politics. Speeches injected into the mouths of fictional characters are no less speeches, and are even less entertaining. In Liberty's Last Stand, we get a LOT of speeches.
As a thriller, this one missed the mark. It wasn't very thrilling, nor was it particularly suspenseful. The action was somewhat predictable, and the conclusions rather simplistic, when not outright ridiculous.
If you want to reinforce your anti-liberal bias, then dive right in an indulge yourself. I enjoyed the Texas-secession pieces of this book because, well, I'm a Texan and kicking the feds in the gnads has a certain wicked appeal. (In a purely hypothetical way, Mr. NSA reviewer, I promise.) I gave it three stars on the strength of the kick delivered to the crotch of our masters in Washington.
If you're the type of person who likes Mr. Obama's policies, and believes Hillary's just the bomb, you should probably pass this one up.
In future, I would ask Mr. Coonts, et al, to be maybe just a tad more subtle in how you sculpt the message. Think scalpel, not broadsword.
Once the author dives off this particular cliff, they tend to hit the rocks with a big splatter. They seem incapable of cutting in their ideals with a scalpel; instead they employ a broadsword to hack and slash dogma into their fiction.
Stephen Coonts joins the company of Stephen King, Tom Clancy, and Barry Eisler for using the platform of his fiction as a bully pulpit for his personal politics. Speeches injected into the mouths of fictional characters are no less speeches, and are even less entertaining. In Liberty's Last Stand, we get a LOT of speeches.
As a thriller, this one missed the mark. It wasn't very thrilling, nor was it particularly suspenseful. The action was somewhat predictable, and the conclusions rather simplistic, when not outright ridiculous.
If you want to reinforce your anti-liberal bias, then dive right in an indulge yourself. I enjoyed the Texas-secession pieces of this book because, well, I'm a Texan and kicking the feds in the gnads has a certain wicked appeal. (In a purely hypothetical way, Mr. NSA reviewer, I promise.) I gave it three stars on the strength of the kick delivered to the crotch of our masters in Washington.
If you're the type of person who likes Mr. Obama's policies, and believes Hillary's just the bomb, you should probably pass this one up.
In future, I would ask Mr. Coonts, et al, to be maybe just a tad more subtle in how you sculpt the message. Think scalpel, not broadsword.
December 3, 2018
What’s worse 1 star or no stars?
Stephen Coonts has taken his usual cast of characters and applied them to some political commentary. In an effort to provide a cautionary tale about the evils of the liberal approach to government he creates a completely implausible story. If you support the political views this might hold some entertainment as the right wing of America stands up, fights other Americans, and ultimately leads to the assassination of most of the executive branch. In the end, I couldn’t believe the premise or the action of the characters.
To his credit, Mr Coonts explains his motives in a blog post http://www.coonts.com/blogs/stephen-c...
I actually forced myself to read to the end. I didn’t feel I could be as critical as I expected to be without going to the end. I wanted to see how this would wrap up and how he would resolve a broken America. He really didn’t.
I don’t expect to bother reading any more of his books.
Stephen Coonts has taken his usual cast of characters and applied them to some political commentary. In an effort to provide a cautionary tale about the evils of the liberal approach to government he creates a completely implausible story. If you support the political views this might hold some entertainment as the right wing of America stands up, fights other Americans, and ultimately leads to the assassination of most of the executive branch. In the end, I couldn’t believe the premise or the action of the characters.
To his credit, Mr Coonts explains his motives in a blog post http://www.coonts.com/blogs/stephen-c...
I actually forced myself to read to the end. I didn’t feel I could be as critical as I expected to be without going to the end. I wanted to see how this would wrap up and how he would resolve a broken America. He really didn’t.
I don’t expect to bother reading any more of his books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2017
This is my second book by Stephen Coonts so I'm not a long time fan. My first book was the recent Tommy Carmellini, The Art of War, LOVED it.
I've only finished 25% of Liberty's Last Stand, and I'm struggling. The beginning was a good thriller, jihadist mass killing people on trains, stadium, suicide bomb the usual. Texas ranch drug mule event was also interesting. But so far it's very lacking Jake Grafton. In certain chapters it is written in first person perspective of Tommy. *Scratch my head* Is this a Tommy Carmellini series rather than a Jake Grafton #11?
Many parts in this book is all too real. Many events are similar to current headlines; entertaining yet disturbing at the same time. I like the book enough to finish it, but I feel it took way too long. The fun started after 80%.
I've only finished 25% of Liberty's Last Stand, and I'm struggling. The beginning was a good thriller, jihadist mass killing people on trains, stadium, suicide bomb the usual. Texas ranch drug mule event was also interesting. But so far it's very lacking Jake Grafton. In certain chapters it is written in first person perspective of Tommy. *Scratch my head* Is this a Tommy Carmellini series rather than a Jake Grafton #11?
Many parts in this book is all too real. Many events are similar to current headlines; entertaining yet disturbing at the same time. I like the book enough to finish it, but I feel it took way too long. The fun started after 80%.
Read
November 2, 2018It’s probably not fair to to rate and review this book as I read only the prologue. But the authors political opinions are made blatantly clear in the first two pages with racism front and center. I’m just thankful I didn’t waste any of my money on this book and chose to instead borrowed it from the library.
September 20, 2016
Ridiculously biased political views spouted by the author. What every Canadian thinks a Trump supporter's thoughts are put to paper. First Stephen Coonts book I have not enjoyed, very disappointing.
October 12, 2016
It was a rant by an author running off about his extreme right wing views
January 21, 2019
Crap
Coonts has lost his mind, spewing invective disguised as action fiction. Not worth your time and effort, unless you’re up for political bitching. I’m done with this author.
Coonts has lost his mind, spewing invective disguised as action fiction. Not worth your time and effort, unless you’re up for political bitching. I’m done with this author.
February 27, 2024
Despite only 7% of the reviews being 1 star (probably from people who didn't even read the book) 3 one-star reviews are featured in the Community Reviews section. I guess I know where Goodreads stands politically. Blatant bias. This is a wonderful "what if" book about the dangers of unfettered socialism. Like Atlas Shrugged, it takes Socialism to its logical Fascistic end. It is a warning.
November 21, 2017
I had been a follower of Stephen Coonts since Flight of the Intruder and have read most if not all of his works. Loved his characters of Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini. It took me about 50 pages into this book and I was absolutely sick to my stomach. I finished the book because that is my custom no matter how bad. It just takes me longer. I could only read about an hour at a time. This book takes his two main characters, Jake and Tommy and completely ruins them. This book is not even a thinly veiled attack on pretty much everything the alt-right believes is gold. All our countries problems are due to having a black president, immigration, Mexicans, liberals, blacks, politicians, courts, education. You get the drift. If you haven't read any Jake Grafton books before you would have no idea who the character is, same for Tommy. The other characters that are introduced in the book have no background or depth to speak of. The plot is straight out of the Turner Diaries. It is preposterous and borderline slanderous to Federal Law Enforcement, Police officers, Military, teachers, etc. I am not some far left liberal. I was raised by poor parents in a factory town, I was a police officer for over 30 years, worked in a very rural enviorment. I understand that there is to be some artistic license given to authors in their plot and characters. This plot was not thought out it appears to be just an attempt to give the conspiracy theorist and alt right some legitimacy. There are so many plot holes, blatant misconceptions, and obvious racist drool. The ignorance and ineptitude of this fiction is sad. I guess you can never tell who is actually a racist just by reading their past works.
August 5, 2016
Blatantly political
I've been a Grafton fan since Flight of the Intruder was new; while I appreciate everyone is entitled to their views, I was highly disappointed that the latest instalment crossed the thick line between fictional techno-thriller and blatant political statement.
I'm not phased by the plot but think the overlay of political view commentary took it to far, and took a lot away from the usual high quality of Coonts novels.
As a result I found it hard reading. Not for the view taken - I'm from the other side of the planet and have no dog in that fight.
If you're a Coonts fan you'll probably like it, but really with the effort to squeeze so much into the page count, character and plot development suffered and i think "not up to the standard" of earlier works in the franchise.
I've been a Grafton fan since Flight of the Intruder was new; while I appreciate everyone is entitled to their views, I was highly disappointed that the latest instalment crossed the thick line between fictional techno-thriller and blatant political statement.
I'm not phased by the plot but think the overlay of political view commentary took it to far, and took a lot away from the usual high quality of Coonts novels.
As a result I found it hard reading. Not for the view taken - I'm from the other side of the planet and have no dog in that fight.
If you're a Coonts fan you'll probably like it, but really with the effort to squeeze so much into the page count, character and plot development suffered and i think "not up to the standard" of earlier works in the franchise.
December 3, 2017
I was lucky enough to receive this as an advance read. Have you ever thought what would happen if a president was able to seize control much like a dictatorship? Well this book delves into a scenario and a potential way it could play out. Makes you think if things could really progress this far and have our military have to ask the question. Do I fire on our own people? The story is packed with action and moves very quickly....If you like political - military kind of thrillers then you must read this.
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