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The Way Of The Shadow Wolves: The Deep State And The Hijacking Of America
This is the story of an Arizona Tribal police officer who stumbles onto one of the of the biggest cases in the history of the Southwest. He is a member of an elite group within the Native American communities known as The Shadow Wolves. What comes with his discovery is the uncovering of massive corruption in places where he once had placed his total trust.Shadow Wolves is a book of fiction based on reality. Both author's have worked with, confronted, and seen the power of the Deep State and the manner in which many federal government agencies willfully violate the Constitution and the laws of the land in service to special interests.The 2016 election has for the first time made many American citizens aware that the Deep State is very real; that the mainstream media is a fake news media offering a false narrative designed by the secret intelligence world in service to special interests.The fight for America's soul is taking place far from Washington, D.C. This is a story of one small group of patriots fighting the good fight.
- GenresFiction
240 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2017
50 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
About the author
Steven Seagal
4 books7 followersAmerican actor, Aikido specialist, blues musician, self described and owner of an Asiatic energy drink. Mostly known for his roles in action movies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
March 9, 2024
The Way of the Shadow Wolves is, no joke, the worst thing I’ve ever come across. For nearly a decade, that’s been The Lovely Bones, but now movie star, friend of Vladimir Putin, and serial rapist Steven Seagal has come along to take the top spot. Congrats, Steven.
This novel is not a novel so much as one of your uncle’s racist Facebook posts expanded into a book. “Expanded” is a generous term though, since at least 50% of it is just repeating information we already knew or describing actions in meticulous detail with all the passion of a tax form. The “plot” follows John, an American Indian warrior known as a Shadow Wolf, whose connection to the spirit world gives him “power over some people and many snakes.” He stumbles across something suspicious and gets wrapped up in a massive conspiracy to destroy the United States, classic thriller stuff. There’s no investigating though, John just gets gut feelings about things and is correct 100% of the time, since collecting evidence is for pussies. Even after learning about what’s going on, the book continues to have him interrogate some prisoners to learn the same info again and again. I swear 20% of the page count is made up of that.
Several chapters consist of villains, who we’ve never heard of before and will never hear from again, explaining their evil plans to their henchmen (and the audience) in explicit detail. With some asides to whine about how hard it is to be a wealthy white man in America, of course. (Hey remember how Steven Seagal is definitely a rapist?)
I could go on about all the factual inaccuracies in here, but that would make me go over the character limit. Suffice to say almost every far-right fever dream is reflected here. My personal favorite is how the villains are a combination of Hezbollah, ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood, the U.S. government, Iran, the Mexican government, and the Sinaloa Cartel, all groups that actively hate and murder each other in real life. Here they’re all secretly working together, because obviously everyone who opposes you is on the same side, because Seagal has a child’s understanding of how the world works.
Here are some excerpts, both for comedy and so you know how badly this is put together:
John made a ghost move, evading the thrust.
"We got warrants ... federal warrants." He waved some papers at John, indicating that he was holding the warrants in his hand.
"Look! Look at what you've done. I'm going to die. The pain is unbelievable... it's very bad. Do something!" Ali shouted.
”There’s this kid who has something going on that makes me wonder what is actually going on.”
”I ain’t got no family. What I do got is friends… That I can count on. They’re my blood. I’m their blood. You got that?
I award this no stars. Its score is “Latter Stages of AIDS" out of five.
Update: More thoughts here- https://youtu.be/aeLV7WCGcXA
This novel is not a novel so much as one of your uncle’s racist Facebook posts expanded into a book. “Expanded” is a generous term though, since at least 50% of it is just repeating information we already knew or describing actions in meticulous detail with all the passion of a tax form. The “plot” follows John, an American Indian warrior known as a Shadow Wolf, whose connection to the spirit world gives him “power over some people and many snakes.” He stumbles across something suspicious and gets wrapped up in a massive conspiracy to destroy the United States, classic thriller stuff. There’s no investigating though, John just gets gut feelings about things and is correct 100% of the time, since collecting evidence is for pussies. Even after learning about what’s going on, the book continues to have him interrogate some prisoners to learn the same info again and again. I swear 20% of the page count is made up of that.
Several chapters consist of villains, who we’ve never heard of before and will never hear from again, explaining their evil plans to their henchmen (and the audience) in explicit detail. With some asides to whine about how hard it is to be a wealthy white man in America, of course. (Hey remember how Steven Seagal is definitely a rapist?)
I could go on about all the factual inaccuracies in here, but that would make me go over the character limit. Suffice to say almost every far-right fever dream is reflected here. My personal favorite is how the villains are a combination of Hezbollah, ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood, the U.S. government, Iran, the Mexican government, and the Sinaloa Cartel, all groups that actively hate and murder each other in real life. Here they’re all secretly working together, because obviously everyone who opposes you is on the same side, because Seagal has a child’s understanding of how the world works.
Here are some excerpts, both for comedy and so you know how badly this is put together:
John made a ghost move, evading the thrust.
"We got warrants ... federal warrants." He waved some papers at John, indicating that he was holding the warrants in his hand.
"Look! Look at what you've done. I'm going to die. The pain is unbelievable... it's very bad. Do something!" Ali shouted.
”There’s this kid who has something going on that makes me wonder what is actually going on.”
”I ain’t got no family. What I do got is friends… That I can count on. They’re my blood. I’m their blood. You got that?
I award this no stars. Its score is “Latter Stages of AIDS" out of five.
Update: More thoughts here- https://youtu.be/aeLV7WCGcXA
January 15, 2018
I knew this would be bad, but this was not fun bad. So many ludicrous conspiracy theories and hateful garbage, but not with that true Neil Breen insanity to put it over the top into true entertainment. It needs more magic rocks, is what I guess I am saying. Or less conviction that Obama loves terrorism. And it was poorly written in a way that makes me wonder if Steven Seagal has ever read a book. Like, dude, if a character is yelling for five lines of dialogue you don't need to follow it up with "He was upset." Or at least find a more interesting way to say the guy was upset. If you had told me Seagal farmed this job out to a twelve year old who writes Alex Jones fan fiction I would believe you.
August 13, 2018
This shit is fully insane. The full title is
The Way of the Shadow Wolves: The Deep State and the Hijacking of America
; it's a novel, it stars Steven Seagal, it is David-Icke-level conspiratorial. If you can find a copy I absolutely recommend you pick it up, this may have finally accomplished my life-goal of finding
The Room
of literature.
February 20, 2018
Okay so unlike Modelland, I read this book specifically to laugh at it, and in this, I was only a little bit disappointed!
It's very dull overall--despite the premise, almost nothing happens, okay, people just talk about it a whole lot--but it did have its moments, like when John's mom is kidnapped by jihadists and all she has to say about it is "Oh no!" or when one of the jihadists is bitten on the leg by two rattlesnakes one time each and he says "Look! Look at what you’ve done. I’m going to die. The pain is unbelievable... It’s very bad.”
Mainly what I liked about it is, it's the kind of bad that you can learn from, as a writer.
* Just say what you mean, FFS. Why the heck are you getting all precious about never naming the biracial, Muslim POTUS with the unverifiable background, whose divided loyalties are destroying America? Yours is not an unbreakable code, good sir.
* Don't write a cheque your story doesn't even try to cash. It's true that there's an ever-increasing number of Shadow Wolves in the book--mostly male, but that's beside the point, except in the sense that he goes out of his way to emphasize the disparity every time the numbers come up--and much is made of their superiority and importance, but ultimately their status is meaningless, okay, it figures into the story not at all, and the Yoda of the book gets his head perforated out of nowhere, and nobody is even like "Man, how did the greatest Shadow Wolf of our time get waxed without complication?" That's how pointless it is.
If it doesn't actually matter whether or not your characters have magic powers, just don't give them magic powers, weirdo. Plenty of people chant at some point during the day. They have not, to date, foiled a nationwide terrorist attack.
OR HAVE THEY!
(No. No, they have not.)
PS: if you want people to be super-impressed with your Shadow Wolves thing, maybe don't have them rely on MMA to get their shit done. (And if you can't help yourself, don't use a lot of MMA jargon, okay, fight scenes are boring enough for the most part without making me Google the name of some fancy kick.)
* Don't make a point of introducing new characters if those characters have no larger purpose in the story. SO MANY TIMES, he was like "Blahdy blahdy blah," said So And So, and I was like "Oh shit man, did I have a stroke, who the hell is So And So?" thinking I'd read about him and forgotten, but I hadn't, okay, in the next paragraph, Seagal (or his ghostwriter) explained who So And So was as if it mattered...
...and then we never saw him again.
(Except for Perky. A dude named fuckin' Perky reappeared a few times. Then disappeared.)
* At least TRY to make sense, a little bit. Or if you can't, ask a friend! The main premise of this book is that over the past seven years, tens of thousands of jihadists have entered the US across the Mexican border, with the wildly enthusiastic help of all branches of government, finance and corporate interests, with the goal of destroying America, because... of some stuff, okay?! NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, QUITE FRANKLY!
This has gone undetected, all this time, but then someone fucks up unceremoniously and the protagonist finds some minor evidence of it, and somehow dismantles the entire scheme over the course of something like three days, mostly by talking to people. Not even important people. All he has to do in the end is question some randos and expose the larger scheme to the GP, and everything comes crashing down.
The naivete of this idea is both beautiful and tragic to me.
There's a lot of little stuff too, though, like the aforementioned murder of the Yoda figure, which on top of the improbability of it is meant to demoralize the protagonist, as a plot point, but doesn't really seem to. Also, like I said, his mom gets kidnapped by jihadists, and he drops everything to save her, essentially turning his back on hundreds of thousands of innocent people who could die in terrorist attacks while he's otherwise engaged, but...
...when another character makes a similar decision, he's so grossed out by it, like his is the only mom who matters. Of course most people feel this way, bud, but it doesn't really suit his supposed worldview, yeah?
(Also, his mom is spirited away to a cave in an area famous for rattlesnakes who have congregated there to fuuuuuuuuck, yet all it takes to throw the whole operation into disarray is to throw a snake at somebody--a snake the thrower found somewhere and stowed in a bag, in case it might come in handy someday.)
Don't even get me started about the law enforcement situation, okay, it is a fuckpile of insanity.
* "Show, don't tell" can be difficult to explain, but you should still try to figure it out. Very, very little actually happens in this book. It is genuinely mostly just people talking about things that have already been done or planned. Somehow, this massive story and all its subplots and themes spread out over fewer than 250 pages, most of them wasted on overly-detailed descriptions of peoples' movements and expressions and how people reacted to them.
It reads more like a rambling outline than a book, more like a love letter to the protagonist, written by someone who doesn't know how to put anything into words.
John is big. John is intense. John likes coffee.
Doesn't he just come alive for you, when I put it like that?
I wasn't being sarcastic, okay, this book could be taught in a writing class, it has tremendous potential, but it squanders that potential every chance it gets, as if it wants to offend you, in this specific way.
Except for when his mom says "Oh no!" to jihadists.
That is gold.
It's very dull overall--despite the premise, almost nothing happens, okay, people just talk about it a whole lot--but it did have its moments, like when John's mom is kidnapped by jihadists and all she has to say about it is "Oh no!" or when one of the jihadists is bitten on the leg by two rattlesnakes one time each and he says "Look! Look at what you’ve done. I’m going to die. The pain is unbelievable... It’s very bad.”
Mainly what I liked about it is, it's the kind of bad that you can learn from, as a writer.
* Just say what you mean, FFS. Why the heck are you getting all precious about never naming the biracial, Muslim POTUS with the unverifiable background, whose divided loyalties are destroying America? Yours is not an unbreakable code, good sir.
* Don't write a cheque your story doesn't even try to cash. It's true that there's an ever-increasing number of Shadow Wolves in the book--mostly male, but that's beside the point, except in the sense that he goes out of his way to emphasize the disparity every time the numbers come up--and much is made of their superiority and importance, but ultimately their status is meaningless, okay, it figures into the story not at all, and the Yoda of the book gets his head perforated out of nowhere, and nobody is even like "Man, how did the greatest Shadow Wolf of our time get waxed without complication?" That's how pointless it is.
If it doesn't actually matter whether or not your characters have magic powers, just don't give them magic powers, weirdo. Plenty of people chant at some point during the day. They have not, to date, foiled a nationwide terrorist attack.
OR HAVE THEY!
(No. No, they have not.)
PS: if you want people to be super-impressed with your Shadow Wolves thing, maybe don't have them rely on MMA to get their shit done. (And if you can't help yourself, don't use a lot of MMA jargon, okay, fight scenes are boring enough for the most part without making me Google the name of some fancy kick.)
* Don't make a point of introducing new characters if those characters have no larger purpose in the story. SO MANY TIMES, he was like "Blahdy blahdy blah," said So And So, and I was like "Oh shit man, did I have a stroke, who the hell is So And So?" thinking I'd read about him and forgotten, but I hadn't, okay, in the next paragraph, Seagal (or his ghostwriter) explained who So And So was as if it mattered...
...and then we never saw him again.
(Except for Perky. A dude named fuckin' Perky reappeared a few times. Then disappeared.)
* At least TRY to make sense, a little bit. Or if you can't, ask a friend! The main premise of this book is that over the past seven years, tens of thousands of jihadists have entered the US across the Mexican border, with the wildly enthusiastic help of all branches of government, finance and corporate interests, with the goal of destroying America, because... of some stuff, okay?! NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, QUITE FRANKLY!
This has gone undetected, all this time, but then someone fucks up unceremoniously and the protagonist finds some minor evidence of it, and somehow dismantles the entire scheme over the course of something like three days, mostly by talking to people. Not even important people. All he has to do in the end is question some randos and expose the larger scheme to the GP, and everything comes crashing down.
The naivete of this idea is both beautiful and tragic to me.
There's a lot of little stuff too, though, like the aforementioned murder of the Yoda figure, which on top of the improbability of it is meant to demoralize the protagonist, as a plot point, but doesn't really seem to. Also, like I said, his mom gets kidnapped by jihadists, and he drops everything to save her, essentially turning his back on hundreds of thousands of innocent people who could die in terrorist attacks while he's otherwise engaged, but...
...when another character makes a similar decision, he's so grossed out by it, like his is the only mom who matters. Of course most people feel this way, bud, but it doesn't really suit his supposed worldview, yeah?
(Also, his mom is spirited away to a cave in an area famous for rattlesnakes who have congregated there to fuuuuuuuuck, yet all it takes to throw the whole operation into disarray is to throw a snake at somebody--a snake the thrower found somewhere and stowed in a bag, in case it might come in handy someday.)
Don't even get me started about the law enforcement situation, okay, it is a fuckpile of insanity.
* "Show, don't tell" can be difficult to explain, but you should still try to figure it out. Very, very little actually happens in this book. It is genuinely mostly just people talking about things that have already been done or planned. Somehow, this massive story and all its subplots and themes spread out over fewer than 250 pages, most of them wasted on overly-detailed descriptions of peoples' movements and expressions and how people reacted to them.
It reads more like a rambling outline than a book, more like a love letter to the protagonist, written by someone who doesn't know how to put anything into words.
John is big. John is intense. John likes coffee.
Doesn't he just come alive for you, when I put it like that?
I wasn't being sarcastic, okay, this book could be taught in a writing class, it has tremendous potential, but it squanders that potential every chance it gets, as if it wants to offend you, in this specific way.
Except for when his mom says "Oh no!" to jihadists.
That is gold.
July 9, 2021
my friend patrick recommended me another book.
i will no longer let him control my life with book suggestions
i will no longer let him control my life with book suggestions
i will no longer let him control my life with book suggestions
i will no longer let him control my life with book suggestions
i will no longer let him control my life with book suggestions
i will no longer let him control my life with book suggestions
i will no longer let him control my life with book suggestions
i will no longer let him control my life with book suggestions
i will no longer let him control my life with book suggestions
i will no longer let him control my life with book suggestions
June 11, 2022
Technically completely inept and fuelled by deranged right wing conspiracy theories. In its treatment of Muslim characters it borders on hate speech. This book is appalling in every conceivable way.
May 23, 2018
A little precursor to all this: I’m writing this on the first real break I’ve had since starting up classes again. The past four months have been a whirling dervish of going to classes, studying, and test-taking. I decided to use the first real amount of free time I’ve had in a long while to read: “The Way of the Shadow Wolves: The Deep State and the Hijacking of America”, a book that drew my attention due to the sole fact that it was Steven Seagal’s brain child (delivered into this world stillborn by ghost-writer Tom Morrisey) and has been received about as well as a train wreck. This little bit isn’t really important to the review, I just want it here as a bit of an introduction to the insanity that is about to unfold for those who aren’t familiar with the book.
Looking back on 2017, I sometimes wonder what the crowning moment in that all-around unchecked dumpster fire that comprised that year and I think I’ve found it. This book: “The Way of the Shadow Wolves: The Deep State and the Hijacking of America” is the summation of that year (it was released in October 2017). This book is a monument to our sins, erected to mock our Daedalus-ian attempts to be better than we actually were and swat us down mid-flight. This book is divine retribution meted out by some Lovecraftian eldritch being long since forgotten and left to languish in some pelagic pollution-riddled ocean who has arisen from the depths like a fart in still waters to exact its revenge on us.
Okay.
That’s a bit of a harsh opening, but I’m going to leave it as it is in order to explain why I’m wasting my time on this. After all, I’m wasting an hour writing this on top of the three days I took to read it. Why do this, why share this, why? Is it because I am some sort of internet gremlin who thrives off of tearing apart poor writing? Is it because of the foreword written by [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/d... Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa whose men burned down a house with a tear gas canister (that likely knocked over a candle) and then drove a ten month old pit bull back into the flames while laughing at the owner?] No (but Jesus!). Is it to throw shade at Steven Seagal who’s been accused on multiple accounts of sexual assault and predatory behavior? (Link below, I want you to keep that mental image of Sheriff Joe’s men laughing at someone losing their house and pet when his inevitable senate run comes into effect for a little bit.)
It’s those three things above with just a little dash of something else that I’ll talk about in a little bit after I get to slogging through this attempt to market towards deep state conspiracy theorists. For the time being, I’ll leave some lines here to give you a general gist of what you’re stepping into and why this is being written. These are taken word-for-word from the novel and presented with no context for your entertainment:
"When he parked at the casino a half hour later, Jimmy had no idea that he was being watched by a shadowy man with a heart as empty as a cave.”
“This great, half-white father who lives in DC has released people from Gitmo who went right back into the battlefield killing my brothers in arm. This very day.”
“A pack of four-legged coyotes ran past John's vehicle.”
“John made a ghost move, evading the thrust.” (I choose to believe that John made an actual spirit move out of the way in order to dodge the thrust.)
It’s up for debate how much of this was written by Tom Morrisey and how much Steven Seagal actually penned. Regardless, I’ll leave this little bio for the author just to give a little bit of a sense of who he is: “Tom also spent many years studying martial arts, including a rare form of Chinese internal martial arts. In the last few years, Tom has turned his attention to a life long love of writing, only this time it is stories and novels.” and why I am alright with calling this book the literary equivalent of Legionnaires disease. More than that, this is literary Leishmaniasis, this is literary leprosy and you have to bear witness to it falling out of the sky, a burning mass of poorly-written garbage just so you can tell someone what you’ve seen.
Why am I so angry?
To be honest, it’s not anger (not most of it, I already made my peace with garbage people like Joe Arpaio existing in the world). It’s not disappointment. I knew this was going to be a dumpster-fire the moment I picked it up. It’s why I rented it from the library. This is more an attempt at balancing out the world. We have been exposed to Steven Seagal’s masturbation material and the only way to prevent this from happening again is to endlessly ridicule him until his arrogance erection wilts and he tucks in back into his pants and [https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/p... away from the frightened actress he’s exposed himself to].
The protagonist is John Nan Tan Gode, an Arizona Tribal police officer, who finds himself embroiled in a high-level conspiracy. Don’t let these details throw you, this character is very much Steven Seagal. If you don’t believe me, [https://www.amazon.com/Way-Shadow-Wol... feel free to take a look at the cover]. Yes, that man on the cover who looks like a cross between a sex offender and the worst cosplay of Nightwolf ever is Steven Seagal and that is what he wants you to imagine that John Nan Tan Gode looks like. He wants you to imagine him as one of the eponymous Shadow Wolves (quite possibly the worst thing to happen to a Native American ev-… It’s a close second to- Okay, it’s pretty bad, but it’s not Trail of Tears, smallpox blankets, or [http://www.nativepartnership.org/site... life on reservations] terrible.) who have earned a reputation for their efficacy at countering trafficking and drug smuggling.
I won’t lie by saying this wasn't an easy target. This is the lowest hanging fruit imaginable. I’m surprised this fruit is still attached to the tree with how noticeably bad this novel is. Maybe it’s just so poorly written to such a ridiculous extent that most educated people would avoid it. As you all know, I am not a smart man. I waded waist deep into this book and feel like the only way to clean myself is to share the experience.
The story lacks effective description. This is how they describe the protagonist dozens of times throughout the story: “big man”, a “tall man”, a “big lawman” and a “tall lawmen”. Not only is it bland, but it also doesn’t really convey much information to the audience after the first time. It just comes off like the author is desperately trying to remind you that John Nan Tan Gode is tall, a cop, and man in case he was so bland that you forgot who he is.
Onto the plot itself. Plot points are dropped quicker than pants in a Steven Seagal ‘audition’. Feel free to give this line a read: ”This is not good-bye, my friend. Think of it more as see you soon. Because you will ... see me soon.” The person who drops this line is never seen again after this. I can only hope that he’s not setting up a sequel in which he returns to face big, tall lawman, John Nan Tan Gode.
All in all, this book was aimed at conspiracy theorists who [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_st... believe in the Deep State]. I’m not going to mock those people because this book is enough of an insult to them. It comes off like a cheap attempt to get attention to a novel that would have otherwise been overlooked as the terrible book it is. This is the equivalent of a Buzzfeed article due to its pandering tone (It may as well have titled itself: “Here’s a shitty book that pretends our government is organized enough to be capable of maintaining a deep state just so you can buy it and feel like you’re red-pilled”. It’s the literary equivalent of a Buzzfeed article titled: “Ten things only true 90’s kids will recognize (hint: It’s Tomagatchis, every single entry is Tamogatchis”). This book tries to ego-stroke conspiracy theorists so hard that Infowars had to tell them to chill.
I can go on about the quality of this book, but I just realized I spent over an hour writing this which is more time than the authors spent on it so I’m going to cut this a bit short. The book is bad, so bad. It's poorly-written, drops plot points and shambles from one scene to the next.
Thanks for reading and joining me as I sift through this dumpster fire.
Looking back on 2017, I sometimes wonder what the crowning moment in that all-around unchecked dumpster fire that comprised that year and I think I’ve found it. This book: “The Way of the Shadow Wolves: The Deep State and the Hijacking of America” is the summation of that year (it was released in October 2017). This book is a monument to our sins, erected to mock our Daedalus-ian attempts to be better than we actually were and swat us down mid-flight. This book is divine retribution meted out by some Lovecraftian eldritch being long since forgotten and left to languish in some pelagic pollution-riddled ocean who has arisen from the depths like a fart in still waters to exact its revenge on us.
Okay.
That’s a bit of a harsh opening, but I’m going to leave it as it is in order to explain why I’m wasting my time on this. After all, I’m wasting an hour writing this on top of the three days I took to read it. Why do this, why share this, why? Is it because I am some sort of internet gremlin who thrives off of tearing apart poor writing? Is it because of the foreword written by [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/d... Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa whose men burned down a house with a tear gas canister (that likely knocked over a candle) and then drove a ten month old pit bull back into the flames while laughing at the owner?] No (but Jesus!). Is it to throw shade at Steven Seagal who’s been accused on multiple accounts of sexual assault and predatory behavior? (Link below, I want you to keep that mental image of Sheriff Joe’s men laughing at someone losing their house and pet when his inevitable senate run comes into effect for a little bit.)
It’s those three things above with just a little dash of something else that I’ll talk about in a little bit after I get to slogging through this attempt to market towards deep state conspiracy theorists. For the time being, I’ll leave some lines here to give you a general gist of what you’re stepping into and why this is being written. These are taken word-for-word from the novel and presented with no context for your entertainment:
"When he parked at the casino a half hour later, Jimmy had no idea that he was being watched by a shadowy man with a heart as empty as a cave.”
“This great, half-white father who lives in DC has released people from Gitmo who went right back into the battlefield killing my brothers in arm. This very day.”
“A pack of four-legged coyotes ran past John's vehicle.”
“John made a ghost move, evading the thrust.” (I choose to believe that John made an actual spirit move out of the way in order to dodge the thrust.)
It’s up for debate how much of this was written by Tom Morrisey and how much Steven Seagal actually penned. Regardless, I’ll leave this little bio for the author just to give a little bit of a sense of who he is: “Tom also spent many years studying martial arts, including a rare form of Chinese internal martial arts. In the last few years, Tom has turned his attention to a life long love of writing, only this time it is stories and novels.” and why I am alright with calling this book the literary equivalent of Legionnaires disease. More than that, this is literary Leishmaniasis, this is literary leprosy and you have to bear witness to it falling out of the sky, a burning mass of poorly-written garbage just so you can tell someone what you’ve seen.
Why am I so angry?
To be honest, it’s not anger (not most of it, I already made my peace with garbage people like Joe Arpaio existing in the world). It’s not disappointment. I knew this was going to be a dumpster-fire the moment I picked it up. It’s why I rented it from the library. This is more an attempt at balancing out the world. We have been exposed to Steven Seagal’s masturbation material and the only way to prevent this from happening again is to endlessly ridicule him until his arrogance erection wilts and he tucks in back into his pants and [https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/p... away from the frightened actress he’s exposed himself to].
The protagonist is John Nan Tan Gode, an Arizona Tribal police officer, who finds himself embroiled in a high-level conspiracy. Don’t let these details throw you, this character is very much Steven Seagal. If you don’t believe me, [https://www.amazon.com/Way-Shadow-Wol... feel free to take a look at the cover]. Yes, that man on the cover who looks like a cross between a sex offender and the worst cosplay of Nightwolf ever is Steven Seagal and that is what he wants you to imagine that John Nan Tan Gode looks like. He wants you to imagine him as one of the eponymous Shadow Wolves (quite possibly the worst thing to happen to a Native American ev-… It’s a close second to- Okay, it’s pretty bad, but it’s not Trail of Tears, smallpox blankets, or [http://www.nativepartnership.org/site... life on reservations] terrible.) who have earned a reputation for their efficacy at countering trafficking and drug smuggling.
I won’t lie by saying this wasn't an easy target. This is the lowest hanging fruit imaginable. I’m surprised this fruit is still attached to the tree with how noticeably bad this novel is. Maybe it’s just so poorly written to such a ridiculous extent that most educated people would avoid it. As you all know, I am not a smart man. I waded waist deep into this book and feel like the only way to clean myself is to share the experience.
The story lacks effective description. This is how they describe the protagonist dozens of times throughout the story: “big man”, a “tall man”, a “big lawman” and a “tall lawmen”. Not only is it bland, but it also doesn’t really convey much information to the audience after the first time. It just comes off like the author is desperately trying to remind you that John Nan Tan Gode is tall, a cop, and man in case he was so bland that you forgot who he is.
Onto the plot itself. Plot points are dropped quicker than pants in a Steven Seagal ‘audition’. Feel free to give this line a read: ”This is not good-bye, my friend. Think of it more as see you soon. Because you will ... see me soon.” The person who drops this line is never seen again after this. I can only hope that he’s not setting up a sequel in which he returns to face big, tall lawman, John Nan Tan Gode.
All in all, this book was aimed at conspiracy theorists who [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_st... believe in the Deep State]. I’m not going to mock those people because this book is enough of an insult to them. It comes off like a cheap attempt to get attention to a novel that would have otherwise been overlooked as the terrible book it is. This is the equivalent of a Buzzfeed article due to its pandering tone (It may as well have titled itself: “Here’s a shitty book that pretends our government is organized enough to be capable of maintaining a deep state just so you can buy it and feel like you’re red-pilled”. It’s the literary equivalent of a Buzzfeed article titled: “Ten things only true 90’s kids will recognize (hint: It’s Tomagatchis, every single entry is Tamogatchis”). This book tries to ego-stroke conspiracy theorists so hard that Infowars had to tell them to chill.
I can go on about the quality of this book, but I just realized I spent over an hour writing this which is more time than the authors spent on it so I’m going to cut this a bit short. The book is bad, so bad. It's poorly-written, drops plot points and shambles from one scene to the next.
Thanks for reading and joining me as I sift through this dumpster fire.
January 2, 2018
First and foremost, the is Bad Writing.
I read this out of curiosity, and slogged through it through sheer willpower. Implausible and downright ridiculous conspiracy theories aside (and this book earnestly uses just about all of them), the writing is just horrendous. We're introduced to such thrilling figurative language like "moved stealthily with the speed of an ocelot" and treated to a plethora of unnecessary quotation marks. The characters are drawn like cardboard cutouts and the plot is ridiculous and convoluted, requiring the reader to toss out all common sense. For the serious consumer of Breitbart, there are plenty of digs at Obama's parentage and patriotism, and there's a rousing endorsement of Trump's brains and savvy at the end. So if you love wlt-right conspiracy theories, and you believe our government is a willing sponsor of Muslim jihadists (inviting them into our country and giving them weapons with which to blow up the Grand Canyon), maybe you could overlook the juvenile writing and nonexistent character development. Otherwise, steer clear of this poorly-written monstrosity of paranoid propaganda.
I read this out of curiosity, and slogged through it through sheer willpower. Implausible and downright ridiculous conspiracy theories aside (and this book earnestly uses just about all of them), the writing is just horrendous. We're introduced to such thrilling figurative language like "moved stealthily with the speed of an ocelot" and treated to a plethora of unnecessary quotation marks. The characters are drawn like cardboard cutouts and the plot is ridiculous and convoluted, requiring the reader to toss out all common sense. For the serious consumer of Breitbart, there are plenty of digs at Obama's parentage and patriotism, and there's a rousing endorsement of Trump's brains and savvy at the end. So if you love wlt-right conspiracy theories, and you believe our government is a willing sponsor of Muslim jihadists (inviting them into our country and giving them weapons with which to blow up the Grand Canyon), maybe you could overlook the juvenile writing and nonexistent character development. Otherwise, steer clear of this poorly-written monstrosity of paranoid propaganda.
December 8, 2017
Seagal movies run the gamut from being very good, to being very bad, so when I saw this book, I took a chance. He wrote the screenplay for his good movies, as well as some of the worst.
This is the kernel of a good story wrapped in layers of bloat. There's a good conspiracy thriller in there somewhere, but you have to cut through pages and pages of folderol to get to it. They should cut at least a quarter of the pages.
This is the kernel of a good story wrapped in layers of bloat. There's a good conspiracy thriller in there somewhere, but you have to cut through pages and pages of folderol to get to it. They should cut at least a quarter of the pages.
July 28, 2022
I’m just not patriotic enough to have enjoyed this.
March 14, 2019
Стивън Сегал е емблематично име в екшън-киното и един от най-популярните майстори на бойни изкуства в света. Освен това той е още музикант и дипломат, а през миналата година написа и книга заедно с писателя Том Мориси. “The Way of the Shadow Wolves” е политически трилър с мистични елементи, в който група индианци се изправят срещу страховита конспирация, заплашваща Съединените Щати.
Какво се е получило четете на линка:
http://citadelata.com/the-way-of-the-...
Какво се е получило четете на линка:
http://citadelata.com/the-way-of-the-...
April 4, 2018
I thought this was going to be bad, but fun to read, like a 50's B movie. Was not. Was awful. Could not even get through it for the lulz.
July 29, 2022
Bad, but not so bad that it's funny. So, worse.
December 9, 2023
Was hoping for entertainingly terrible. Got half of that.
December 10, 2022
If you're scared of where this country is going, this book this is the book for you.
I'm a liberal snowflake and this book gave me nightmares. Its too coherent, substantive, and engaging. I'm left speechless.
Steven Segal is as eloquent as he is charming. He is a danger to our liberal agenda. Do not let this man write another book.
I'm a liberal snowflake and this book gave me nightmares. Its too coherent, substantive, and engaging. I'm left speechless.
Steven Segal is as eloquent as he is charming. He is a danger to our liberal agenda. Do not let this man write another book.
April 29, 2018
Evidently Seagal and co-author chose to forgo both having the book professionally edited and given a professionally designed cover.
October 23, 2023
Absolutely schlock through and through.
December 20, 2017
Wenn Herr Steven Seagal einen Thriller schreibt (bzw. schreiben lässt), darf man ja schon mal neugierig werden und ein zünftiges Trashfest erwarten. Was bieten der Neu-Russe, Pseudo-Sheriff und weltbester Schauspieler und sein Co-Writer Tom Morrissey auf knappen 220 Seiten?
Steven Seagal, eh, John Nan Tan Gode, indianischer Schamane, Schattenwolf, Krieger und mit allen Geistern im Bunde, ist Mitglied der Tribal Police Force, die in den Reservaten in Arizona für Zucht & Ordnung sorgt. Seine Hauptgegner sind die mexikanischen Drogenkartelle, die nicht nur mit Rauschgift, sondern auch dem Schmuggel illegaler Einwanderer ihre Kohle verdienen.
Ein Leichenfund in der Wüste bringt ihn auf die Spur einer gigantischen Verschwörung - die Kartelle arbeiten mit islamischen Djihadisten, die von der US-Regierung und dem "Deep State", einer geheimnisvollen Schattenorganisation, die Parteien, Wirtschaft, Kirchen und Geheimdienste kontrolliert, protegiert werden, zusammen, um hunderte muslimischer Kämpfer in die Staaten einzuschleusen, um dort eine Serie enormer Terroranschläge zu verüben, die das Ende der USA und den Beginn des islamischen Kalifats einläuten sollen.
Gode findet schnell heraus, dass er auf herkömmlichem Behördenweg nicht weiterkommt, da CIA, FBI, Heimatschutz & Co. komplett unterwandert sind. Vertrauen kann er nur seinen indianischen Schattenwolfbrüdern, aber seine Widersacher scheinen am längeren Hebel zu sitzen.
Das Buch für Verschwörungsfreaks und Trump-Supporter. Illegale Einwanderer sind der Untergang der USA, und Muslime sind sowieso alle Terroristen, und wer sich für Muslime oder Mexikaner einsetzt, ist mindestens genauso schlimm wenn nicht noch schlimmer. Das Buch ist dabei mehr oder minder zweigeteilt - die Haupthandlung ist ein relativ konventioneller Thriller, in dem Informanten ermordet werden, mit Vorgesetzten debattiert wird und mit komplett fehlender Rücksichtnahme auf den Wert menschlichen Lebens getötet wird, als würde es morgen verboten (äh). Gode ist eine Mary Sue, wie sie im Buche steht - ein unwiderstehlicher Held, dem alles gelingt, dessen Instinkte stets richtig sind, dem jeder auf Anhieb vertraut und mit ein paar strengen Worten auch einen Hardcore-Islamisten auf seine Seite ziehen kann; natürlich auch einer, der alle Frauen haben kann (aber nur eine will), Aikido und andere Kampfsportarten perfekt beherrscht und mit der spirituellen Geisterwelt auf du und du ist.
Immer wieder unterbrochen wird die Handlung durch kurze Blicke auf die Organisation der Bösewichter, wo das Buch ganz besonders lustig wird (wenn man so etwas lustig finden kann) - wenn unbefangen von den Konten auf den Cayman-Inseln geplaudert wird, darüber debattiert wird, wie man die Infrastruktur von FEMA zur Verbreitung der Terroristen nutzen will usw. usf. Ein schicker, aber völlig vergessener Sub-Sideplot erläutert uns auch, dass Mexiko mittlerweile die halbe USA gehört und die mexikanische Regierung ihre "Investitionen" schützen will (und gegen die Djihadisten vorgeht. Was, wie gesagt, nach der Ankündigung nie mehr erwähnt wird).
Seagal und Morrissey zaubern nach Bedarf neue Charaktere aus dem Hut, wenn sie mit ihrem bisherigen Cast nicht weiterkommen und liefern Kapitelüberschriften, die eher nach Breitbart-Schlagzeilen klingen als nach Headlines eines fiktiven Werks...
Geschrieben ist die Chose verhältnismäßig routiniert - der Wortschatz ist groß, die Sätze komplex. Was nervt, sind teilweise extrem blumige Metaphern und Vergleiche und die "Tendenz", Worte nach dem "Zufallsprinzip" in "Anführungszeichen" zu setzen, ohne dass sie erkennbar "ironisch" gemeint wären. Die Actionszenen sind teilweise recht fetzig, der Bodycount astronomisch. Und immerhin darf man anerkennen - Seagal verkneift sich ein totales Happy End
Politisch-gesellschaftlich ist die Nummer freilich hanebüchen und für liberale Europäer ziemlich unverdaulich - wer das Buch aber aber als unterhaltsamen Trash mit Trainwreck-Qualitäten verstehen kann, kommt auf seine Kosten. Als U-Bahn-Lektüre (auch dank der kurzen Kapitel) tauglich...
Steven Seagal, eh, John Nan Tan Gode, indianischer Schamane, Schattenwolf, Krieger und mit allen Geistern im Bunde, ist Mitglied der Tribal Police Force, die in den Reservaten in Arizona für Zucht & Ordnung sorgt. Seine Hauptgegner sind die mexikanischen Drogenkartelle, die nicht nur mit Rauschgift, sondern auch dem Schmuggel illegaler Einwanderer ihre Kohle verdienen.
Ein Leichenfund in der Wüste bringt ihn auf die Spur einer gigantischen Verschwörung - die Kartelle arbeiten mit islamischen Djihadisten, die von der US-Regierung und dem "Deep State", einer geheimnisvollen Schattenorganisation, die Parteien, Wirtschaft, Kirchen und Geheimdienste kontrolliert, protegiert werden, zusammen, um hunderte muslimischer Kämpfer in die Staaten einzuschleusen, um dort eine Serie enormer Terroranschläge zu verüben, die das Ende der USA und den Beginn des islamischen Kalifats einläuten sollen.
Gode findet schnell heraus, dass er auf herkömmlichem Behördenweg nicht weiterkommt, da CIA, FBI, Heimatschutz & Co. komplett unterwandert sind. Vertrauen kann er nur seinen indianischen Schattenwolfbrüdern, aber seine Widersacher scheinen am längeren Hebel zu sitzen.
Das Buch für Verschwörungsfreaks und Trump-Supporter. Illegale Einwanderer sind der Untergang der USA, und Muslime sind sowieso alle Terroristen, und wer sich für Muslime oder Mexikaner einsetzt, ist mindestens genauso schlimm wenn nicht noch schlimmer. Das Buch ist dabei mehr oder minder zweigeteilt - die Haupthandlung ist ein relativ konventioneller Thriller, in dem Informanten ermordet werden, mit Vorgesetzten debattiert wird und mit komplett fehlender Rücksichtnahme auf den Wert menschlichen Lebens getötet wird, als würde es morgen verboten (äh). Gode ist eine Mary Sue, wie sie im Buche steht - ein unwiderstehlicher Held, dem alles gelingt, dessen Instinkte stets richtig sind, dem jeder auf Anhieb vertraut und mit ein paar strengen Worten auch einen Hardcore-Islamisten auf seine Seite ziehen kann; natürlich auch einer, der alle Frauen haben kann (aber nur eine will), Aikido und andere Kampfsportarten perfekt beherrscht und mit der spirituellen Geisterwelt auf du und du ist.
Immer wieder unterbrochen wird die Handlung durch kurze Blicke auf die Organisation der Bösewichter, wo das Buch ganz besonders lustig wird (wenn man so etwas lustig finden kann) - wenn unbefangen von den Konten auf den Cayman-Inseln geplaudert wird, darüber debattiert wird, wie man die Infrastruktur von FEMA zur Verbreitung der Terroristen nutzen will usw. usf. Ein schicker, aber völlig vergessener Sub-Sideplot erläutert uns auch, dass Mexiko mittlerweile die halbe USA gehört und die mexikanische Regierung ihre "Investitionen" schützen will (und gegen die Djihadisten vorgeht. Was, wie gesagt, nach der Ankündigung nie mehr erwähnt wird).
Seagal und Morrissey zaubern nach Bedarf neue Charaktere aus dem Hut, wenn sie mit ihrem bisherigen Cast nicht weiterkommen und liefern Kapitelüberschriften, die eher nach Breitbart-Schlagzeilen klingen als nach Headlines eines fiktiven Werks...
Geschrieben ist die Chose verhältnismäßig routiniert - der Wortschatz ist groß, die Sätze komplex. Was nervt, sind teilweise extrem blumige Metaphern und Vergleiche und die "Tendenz", Worte nach dem "Zufallsprinzip" in "Anführungszeichen" zu setzen, ohne dass sie erkennbar "ironisch" gemeint wären. Die Actionszenen sind teilweise recht fetzig, der Bodycount astronomisch. Und immerhin darf man anerkennen - Seagal verkneift sich ein totales Happy End
Politisch-gesellschaftlich ist die Nummer freilich hanebüchen und für liberale Europäer ziemlich unverdaulich - wer das Buch aber aber als unterhaltsamen Trash mit Trainwreck-Qualitäten verstehen kann, kommt auf seine Kosten. Als U-Bahn-Lektüre (auch dank der kurzen Kapitel) tauglich...
February 5, 2018
Insightful of on the streets battle against Deep State programs.
An interesting read. Becoming more disturbing on many levels as the account unfolds of contemporary events. Would make a great TV series with ongoing revelations. NCIS genre.
Understandably connects gut instincts almost exclusively to a pre-messianic spiritual world view. Apparently discounting any spiritual component to the Deep State's facilitation of violent jihad to destroy the American dream.
The real battle of "the will to power" against the "will to freedom" to serve AND contract out of involuntary servitude.
An interesting read. Becoming more disturbing on many levels as the account unfolds of contemporary events. Would make a great TV series with ongoing revelations. NCIS genre.
Understandably connects gut instincts almost exclusively to a pre-messianic spiritual world view. Apparently discounting any spiritual component to the Deep State's facilitation of violent jihad to destroy the American dream.
The real battle of "the will to power" against the "will to freedom" to serve AND contract out of involuntary servitude.
September 20, 2021
This is not a good book. In fact, it's very bad. However, this pile of word turds makes a great drinking game. Every time you read 'my gut', take a drink. You'll be drunk within three chapters.
In plot, style, voice, bat-shit crazy conspiracy theories, racist and misogynistic tropes, it's exactly what you think a woman-beating, Putin fellating, karate clown like Stephen Seagal would have someone else write for him.
It's not the worst book I've read (but it's close) and I appreciate that it didn't waste too much time so I can move on to books that are actually books.
In plot, style, voice, bat-shit crazy conspiracy theories, racist and misogynistic tropes, it's exactly what you think a woman-beating, Putin fellating, karate clown like Stephen Seagal would have someone else write for him.
It's not the worst book I've read (but it's close) and I appreciate that it didn't waste too much time so I can move on to books that are actually books.
Read
April 5, 2018I'm half-Seagal fan, half-fascinated by the latter part of his life/career, so naturally this piqued my curiosity. I read about fifty pages before accepting it really, really sucks.
Note: I don't give star ratings for partial reads.
Note: I don't give star ratings for partial reads.
June 7, 2022
This is unintentionally the most entertaining book I've ever read.
Is it good? No.
Does it make sense? Not really.
Is there a knife fight that takes several pages to get through? Absolutely.
This book is wild.
Is it good? No.
Does it make sense? Not really.
Is there a knife fight that takes several pages to get through? Absolutely.
This book is wild.
April 5, 2022
utter fucking garbage
October 30, 2022
So bad that I finished it all in one day so that I could bitch about it on the internet.
You'd think reading this book that Stoically/Stoic and Big are the only adverb / adjectives that Seagal knows, which might explain some of his acting, on several occasions the lead character "gives a look he had learned from his Chinese internal martial arts teacher. Something that was known as “Iron Face.” It was completely void of emotion—empty, an abyss that no one would ever want to fall into." Or "John went Tiger Face, a martial arts method of draining all expression from one’s face." I really don't know what the different is but the idea that Seagal has a blue steel obsession with looking "emotionless" really tracks.
The technical issues in, that it's formatted like a script 01 AMERICAS FRONT LINE In a darkened theatre in the desert - makes me think Segal hasn't read a book. And errors like "Jimmy Begaye might be messing with some danger people"; "A pack of four-legged coyotes" rather than eight legged ones; "gun smoke and bodies lying on the floor" how does the gun smoke do that? Or "this is badder than worse". The lead character gets called Horse, not sure if that's left over from a previous draft when his name wasn't John Gode. These things make me thing that spellcheck was the only proofread.
At one point John literally says two words (Suhih bukhara) and the cartel jihadists (yep, more on that later) think he's one of them, Seagal seems to have googled something and copied "Sahih al-Bukhari" incorrectly, which the the collection of sayings that includes "war is deceit" rather than arabic. Google translate has "war is deceit" as "alharb khidae".
Theres a glossary at the end that i really could have used earlier, it says that acronyms are used for authenticity but whe OTM is used by the prose, by Mexican Intelligence, by Deep State and Law Enforcement it makes everyone sound like Seagals rantings. What is an OTM? Other Than Mexican, generally used to refer to a cartel jihadist. It also explains what a 34th Bubba is as "a rank unknown by the 33 degree" which I think is a Freemason reference?
He's got an obsession with political correctness whether it's a terrorist: “What do they call that nonsense, ‘political correctness’?” "Yes, my friends, and it is that weakness of the American will that allows you to do what you do and for me to set up their destruction so easily.” or if its a shadow warrior "DC . . . John Gode . . . DC . . . the land of the Redskins.” That was Sunday’s way of making a joke in a serious situation by bringing up the politically-correct silliness over the name of that team" or the US Marshalls "These guys are so well-trained and dedicated, it makes stopping them here in this country almost impossible. Chalk it all up to political correctness. If all we had to depend on to do it was the US government, then we’d all be toast, and you’d wind up wearing a head scarf, if you still had a head, and all the men would be on prayer rugs five times a day.” or the prose itself "what he had going for him was that being Native American, [Federal Agents] could not violate their political correctness position"
The closest people get to personality is being told as a descriptor that they do a different martial art.
"She was trained in the Chinese martial art of Bagua, one of the deadliest of the Chinese internal martial arts." (not a martial art but 8 symbols, he might be thinking of Baguazhang). Although judging from the fight scenes most moves are crescent kicks, double punches and "ghost moves". I love that part says "she used a wrist strike (Monkey Fist)" as though he's adding a note for the martial art expert who's reading along thinking "which wrist strike though! There's so many of them)
"To your blood, actually.” She smiled. “After it gets there, the rest is academic.”
“Academic? Interesting.” John was impressed by her choice of words.
The idea that this Steven Seagal insert is impressed by the word academic just tickles me.
THE DEEP STATE
I knew I was in for a wild ride when the book started with "This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. But always remember that the truth comes in many forms." I've tried to put into chronological order the ramblings about the Deep State, where it came from, who's a part of it, so that we get a glimpse into Seagal's mind.
Created by "the same rogue elements that have been smuggling drugs, guns, gold, cash, and small children for the American elite ever since Allen Dulles and J. Edgar Hoover first created the secret state within a state." It is now the "international Deep State" which is "being funded by international bankers in and outside of this country. Their money is the main reason this POTUS got elected and re-elected. He is arm-in-arm with them and the Islamic terrorists, as they have begun taking this country apart." "There are around fifty members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, and possibly even ISIS that were brought in by POTUS"
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) runs the Deep State with the 34-36th Bubbas with orders like “Those of you in a position to do so, when they end up dead, make sure the investigation is slow-rolled the way we have slow-rolled all of our executions of high-profile people.” "CIA—I also want you to divert at least six drones from your assassination operations. Give me twenty-four-seven coverage of our corridor on both the Mexican and the American sides, and have Whitewater Enterprises put a full company’s worth of hit teams on all sides of the corridor. We’ve ordered all local LEAs away from the corridor, anyone found in the corridor will be assassinated. Make it look like a cartel hit.
“Any questions? None? Good. Get your asses out of my building.”
General Clap did not understand the way of the ancient warrior. However, the Shadow Wolves did."
"My feeling is that the government of Mexico is totally in league with the biggest and richest cartel, the Sinaloas" Although mexican intelligence gets this rousing speech before doing absolutely nothing all novel "Our mission is to capture the five hundred jihadists while they are still on Mexican territory, to capture the Mexican officials who are helping American traitors, and to put on a massive media display prior to the Fourth of July. “We will show the American people we care as much about the integrity of their Constitution and their Republic as they do.”"
"Over the past seven years, we have had a big increase in mosques in almost every state. Parts of Michigan are now under Sharia law. Sharia law, here in the United States, babe. Here’s the answer, and it’s not rocket science . . . who’s been running this country for the past seven or eight years? Who was raised Muslim? Who apologizes for America to its enemies? Who bows to Muslim kings? Who has a history that no one can know?" "Why does this POTUS spend millions of dollars to hide his history? No college records. There doesn’t seem to be anyone who knew him, even in law school. No wedding pictures of him and his wife."
"The USA is half Latino now; we have recovered all the land stolen from us through the Mexcan-American War started on the basis of many lies—yellow journalism—and we need to protect our investment."
"We turned him over to ICE for deportation about two weeks ago. And true to form, he’s right back home with us once again."
"The one thing that jumps out at me is how Muslims and Catholics can mix together. It’s not something that seems like it would go down too easily.”
“It all comes down to money. The jihadists have plenty of it, and the Catholics who are working with them want plenty of it."
The jihadists "had been trained in Iran by the Quds and had no qualms about killing anyone who got in his way, especially if they were a Jew or an American."
Luckily the US Marshall tells John that "There is a group of command officers within the military and in other places, people who guard us as a nation and who, for the last five years or so, have been doing things under the radar to try to protect us from the enemy within." THATS EXACTLY WHAT YOURE BITCHING THAT THE DEEP STATE DOES.
"So how is it that you are laying all this mind-blowing insanity at the feet of a simple Native American tribal police officer?” John was absorbing what he had heard, but that brought more questions.
“You are a leader in the Shadow Wolf communities throughout this country. The Shadow Wolves are as blood-bound to their roots and principles as they are to the old ways. It is the only national group of warriors who can be trusted and who can get what must be done . . . done. There is no other way.”
“The only ones, huh.” John watched his eyes as they spoke. It was therein that the truth lay.
“Yeah, John Gode. The ones that can be trusted, because the Muslim Brotherhood is all over the White House and mingled into most enforcement and intelligence agencies.”
And so after solving the terrorist attacks.
"The former POTUS was in full disaster mode, leading an effort to discredit and drive his successor from office. Fully funded by a multi-billionaire outside the country, rioters were being recruited and paid for by this cabal and were waging war against the Constitution and the will of the American people.
Finally, there was a feeling of tremendous change that began sweeping across the land as a new president was sworn into office and was immediately set upon by the Deep State and those left behind from the previous administration. But he was stronger and smarter and far more adept than any of them had ever imagined."
GREAT QUOTES
He remembered being told that he had the spirit of the snake in his bloodline and that “gave him power over some people and many snakes.”
Their feet made no sound as they lifted their bodies by lifting their energy upward. All part of what made the Shadow Wolves so deadly. Their stealth ability was much like that of the ninja
"Feels like ‘Cheers,’ where everybody knows your name.”
“Everyone on that show ‘Cheers’ knew one another’s names because they all lived at that bar. You, however, live in the desert, where no one knows your name, and when it gets dark they can’t even see you,”
All of the pack agreed. Some more than agreed. They were the ones who had done something like this before.
"I dipped my rounds in pig’s blood and also my knife. Nothing personal. Just making things interesting. You understand, don’t you"
How’s that pig blood feel, asshole? Is it starting to course through your veins, maybe even pissing off the Prophet?
John made a ghost move, evading the thrust, and answered with a deep stab into the Persian’s throat, killing him instantly. He dropped to the ground, on his way to meet his Allah.
"American cops don’t kill people for nothing." You guys are different [Than] most other cops in the world.”
Holy mixed metaphors: "He felt that they were poisoning the minds of the many who drank up what they were spewing like thirsty nomads in a desert oasis."
"I don’t muck up things. I fuck up people."
"JOHN’S PHONE BUZZED. It was his Shadow Wolf brother Sunday, longtime mentor and beloved guardian, who worked in security at the casino while actually being a deep undercover DEA agent." This is the introduction to his best friend.
“Looks like somebody died today,” Arlo commented quietly. “Guns have a way of making that happen. Don’t they?”
You'd think reading this book that Stoically/Stoic and Big are the only adverb / adjectives that Seagal knows, which might explain some of his acting, on several occasions the lead character "gives a look he had learned from his Chinese internal martial arts teacher. Something that was known as “Iron Face.” It was completely void of emotion—empty, an abyss that no one would ever want to fall into." Or "John went Tiger Face, a martial arts method of draining all expression from one’s face." I really don't know what the different is but the idea that Seagal has a blue steel obsession with looking "emotionless" really tracks.
The technical issues in, that it's formatted like a script 01 AMERICAS FRONT LINE In a darkened theatre in the desert - makes me think Segal hasn't read a book. And errors like "Jimmy Begaye might be messing with some danger people"; "A pack of four-legged coyotes" rather than eight legged ones; "gun smoke and bodies lying on the floor" how does the gun smoke do that? Or "this is badder than worse". The lead character gets called Horse, not sure if that's left over from a previous draft when his name wasn't John Gode. These things make me thing that spellcheck was the only proofread.
At one point John literally says two words (Suhih bukhara) and the cartel jihadists (yep, more on that later) think he's one of them, Seagal seems to have googled something and copied "Sahih al-Bukhari" incorrectly, which the the collection of sayings that includes "war is deceit" rather than arabic. Google translate has "war is deceit" as "alharb khidae".
Theres a glossary at the end that i really could have used earlier, it says that acronyms are used for authenticity but whe OTM is used by the prose, by Mexican Intelligence, by Deep State and Law Enforcement it makes everyone sound like Seagals rantings. What is an OTM? Other Than Mexican, generally used to refer to a cartel jihadist. It also explains what a 34th Bubba is as "a rank unknown by the 33 degree" which I think is a Freemason reference?
He's got an obsession with political correctness whether it's a terrorist: “What do they call that nonsense, ‘political correctness’?” "Yes, my friends, and it is that weakness of the American will that allows you to do what you do and for me to set up their destruction so easily.” or if its a shadow warrior "DC . . . John Gode . . . DC . . . the land of the Redskins.” That was Sunday’s way of making a joke in a serious situation by bringing up the politically-correct silliness over the name of that team" or the US Marshalls "These guys are so well-trained and dedicated, it makes stopping them here in this country almost impossible. Chalk it all up to political correctness. If all we had to depend on to do it was the US government, then we’d all be toast, and you’d wind up wearing a head scarf, if you still had a head, and all the men would be on prayer rugs five times a day.” or the prose itself "what he had going for him was that being Native American, [Federal Agents] could not violate their political correctness position"
The closest people get to personality is being told as a descriptor that they do a different martial art.
"She was trained in the Chinese martial art of Bagua, one of the deadliest of the Chinese internal martial arts." (not a martial art but 8 symbols, he might be thinking of Baguazhang). Although judging from the fight scenes most moves are crescent kicks, double punches and "ghost moves". I love that part says "she used a wrist strike (Monkey Fist)" as though he's adding a note for the martial art expert who's reading along thinking "which wrist strike though! There's so many of them)
"To your blood, actually.” She smiled. “After it gets there, the rest is academic.”
“Academic? Interesting.” John was impressed by her choice of words.
The idea that this Steven Seagal insert is impressed by the word academic just tickles me.
THE DEEP STATE
I knew I was in for a wild ride when the book started with "This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. But always remember that the truth comes in many forms." I've tried to put into chronological order the ramblings about the Deep State, where it came from, who's a part of it, so that we get a glimpse into Seagal's mind.
Created by "the same rogue elements that have been smuggling drugs, guns, gold, cash, and small children for the American elite ever since Allen Dulles and J. Edgar Hoover first created the secret state within a state." It is now the "international Deep State" which is "being funded by international bankers in and outside of this country. Their money is the main reason this POTUS got elected and re-elected. He is arm-in-arm with them and the Islamic terrorists, as they have begun taking this country apart." "There are around fifty members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, and possibly even ISIS that were brought in by POTUS"
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) runs the Deep State with the 34-36th Bubbas with orders like “Those of you in a position to do so, when they end up dead, make sure the investigation is slow-rolled the way we have slow-rolled all of our executions of high-profile people.” "CIA—I also want you to divert at least six drones from your assassination operations. Give me twenty-four-seven coverage of our corridor on both the Mexican and the American sides, and have Whitewater Enterprises put a full company’s worth of hit teams on all sides of the corridor. We’ve ordered all local LEAs away from the corridor, anyone found in the corridor will be assassinated. Make it look like a cartel hit.
“Any questions? None? Good. Get your asses out of my building.”
General Clap did not understand the way of the ancient warrior. However, the Shadow Wolves did."
"My feeling is that the government of Mexico is totally in league with the biggest and richest cartel, the Sinaloas" Although mexican intelligence gets this rousing speech before doing absolutely nothing all novel "Our mission is to capture the five hundred jihadists while they are still on Mexican territory, to capture the Mexican officials who are helping American traitors, and to put on a massive media display prior to the Fourth of July. “We will show the American people we care as much about the integrity of their Constitution and their Republic as they do.”"
"Over the past seven years, we have had a big increase in mosques in almost every state. Parts of Michigan are now under Sharia law. Sharia law, here in the United States, babe. Here’s the answer, and it’s not rocket science . . . who’s been running this country for the past seven or eight years? Who was raised Muslim? Who apologizes for America to its enemies? Who bows to Muslim kings? Who has a history that no one can know?" "Why does this POTUS spend millions of dollars to hide his history? No college records. There doesn’t seem to be anyone who knew him, even in law school. No wedding pictures of him and his wife."
"The USA is half Latino now; we have recovered all the land stolen from us through the Mexcan-American War started on the basis of many lies—yellow journalism—and we need to protect our investment."
"We turned him over to ICE for deportation about two weeks ago. And true to form, he’s right back home with us once again."
"The one thing that jumps out at me is how Muslims and Catholics can mix together. It’s not something that seems like it would go down too easily.”
“It all comes down to money. The jihadists have plenty of it, and the Catholics who are working with them want plenty of it."
The jihadists "had been trained in Iran by the Quds and had no qualms about killing anyone who got in his way, especially if they were a Jew or an American."
Luckily the US Marshall tells John that "There is a group of command officers within the military and in other places, people who guard us as a nation and who, for the last five years or so, have been doing things under the radar to try to protect us from the enemy within." THATS EXACTLY WHAT YOURE BITCHING THAT THE DEEP STATE DOES.
"So how is it that you are laying all this mind-blowing insanity at the feet of a simple Native American tribal police officer?” John was absorbing what he had heard, but that brought more questions.
“You are a leader in the Shadow Wolf communities throughout this country. The Shadow Wolves are as blood-bound to their roots and principles as they are to the old ways. It is the only national group of warriors who can be trusted and who can get what must be done . . . done. There is no other way.”
“The only ones, huh.” John watched his eyes as they spoke. It was therein that the truth lay.
“Yeah, John Gode. The ones that can be trusted, because the Muslim Brotherhood is all over the White House and mingled into most enforcement and intelligence agencies.”
And so after solving the terrorist attacks.
"The former POTUS was in full disaster mode, leading an effort to discredit and drive his successor from office. Fully funded by a multi-billionaire outside the country, rioters were being recruited and paid for by this cabal and were waging war against the Constitution and the will of the American people.
Finally, there was a feeling of tremendous change that began sweeping across the land as a new president was sworn into office and was immediately set upon by the Deep State and those left behind from the previous administration. But he was stronger and smarter and far more adept than any of them had ever imagined."
GREAT QUOTES
He remembered being told that he had the spirit of the snake in his bloodline and that “gave him power over some people and many snakes.”
Their feet made no sound as they lifted their bodies by lifting their energy upward. All part of what made the Shadow Wolves so deadly. Their stealth ability was much like that of the ninja
"Feels like ‘Cheers,’ where everybody knows your name.”
“Everyone on that show ‘Cheers’ knew one another’s names because they all lived at that bar. You, however, live in the desert, where no one knows your name, and when it gets dark they can’t even see you,”
All of the pack agreed. Some more than agreed. They were the ones who had done something like this before.
"I dipped my rounds in pig’s blood and also my knife. Nothing personal. Just making things interesting. You understand, don’t you"
How’s that pig blood feel, asshole? Is it starting to course through your veins, maybe even pissing off the Prophet?
John made a ghost move, evading the thrust, and answered with a deep stab into the Persian’s throat, killing him instantly. He dropped to the ground, on his way to meet his Allah.
"American cops don’t kill people for nothing." You guys are different [Than] most other cops in the world.”
Holy mixed metaphors: "He felt that they were poisoning the minds of the many who drank up what they were spewing like thirsty nomads in a desert oasis."
"I don’t muck up things. I fuck up people."
"JOHN’S PHONE BUZZED. It was his Shadow Wolf brother Sunday, longtime mentor and beloved guardian, who worked in security at the casino while actually being a deep undercover DEA agent." This is the introduction to his best friend.
“Looks like somebody died today,” Arlo commented quietly. “Guns have a way of making that happen. Don’t they?”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2022
Nutty, clunky, and ridiculous in extremes, this book reads like the ideas of a pair of male teenagers delivered in the prose of their former ten-year-old selves. John Nan Tan Gode, a Mary Sue for Steven Seagal's fantasies if ever there was one, is the tall, strapping, powerful, silent and deadly law enforcement officer coming straight out the Arizona desert to kick some conspiratorial cartel-jihad-Deep-State ass.
The women (there are four explicitly numbered at one point in the group of Shadow Wolves; in truth only one) are not so much Shadow Wolves as just shadows. That said, I can't figure out just how much Steven Seagal and Tom Morrissey (his co-author) disregard women because, in fairness to them, Alicia - John Gode's partner in crime, law enforcement and all other things - is a confident, competent, honest and morally trustworthy woman who delivers when the chips are down and who is cast in a very positive light. On the other hand, she is literally the only woman except for people's mothers. Well done Steven Seagal, very balanced writing and I'm sure your female audience 1) loves you and 2) exists.
The conspiracy theory is perfect. It tees up one insane, all-encompassing theory of darkness sweeping the US and complements it with a rival all-encompassing Native American mystic society who just so happen to be almost the only trustworthy or accomplished individuals in America at the time. Brilliant. So now anyone reading whose critical thinking hat fell off not only gets a heavy dose of conspiracy theory insanity, but are set up to think the best salvation from a conspiracy theory is just a more powerful but in some way essentially benign rival conspiracy theory. Brilliant.
Some of the writing was hilarious. Most was very clunky. No compound phrases, no fleshed out descriptions of anything. But a lot of two parters. By which I mean one adjective, one noun. Paired up. For long strings of pairs. Dull as dishwater.
Funny but clearly a bit bonkers. I enjoyed this and will be reviewing in more detail with a friend.
The women (there are four explicitly numbered at one point in the group of Shadow Wolves; in truth only one) are not so much Shadow Wolves as just shadows. That said, I can't figure out just how much Steven Seagal and Tom Morrissey (his co-author) disregard women because, in fairness to them, Alicia - John Gode's partner in crime, law enforcement and all other things - is a confident, competent, honest and morally trustworthy woman who delivers when the chips are down and who is cast in a very positive light. On the other hand, she is literally the only woman except for people's mothers. Well done Steven Seagal, very balanced writing and I'm sure your female audience 1) loves you and 2) exists.
The conspiracy theory is perfect. It tees up one insane, all-encompassing theory of darkness sweeping the US and complements it with a rival all-encompassing Native American mystic society who just so happen to be almost the only trustworthy or accomplished individuals in America at the time. Brilliant. So now anyone reading whose critical thinking hat fell off not only gets a heavy dose of conspiracy theory insanity, but are set up to think the best salvation from a conspiracy theory is just a more powerful but in some way essentially benign rival conspiracy theory. Brilliant.
Some of the writing was hilarious. Most was very clunky. No compound phrases, no fleshed out descriptions of anything. But a lot of two parters. By which I mean one adjective, one noun. Paired up. For long strings of pairs. Dull as dishwater.
Funny but clearly a bit bonkers. I enjoyed this and will be reviewing in more detail with a friend.
January 19, 2024
I listened to a read-along of this charmer on the Behind the Bastards podcast and boy howdy! I may only give this 1 GoodReads star but it also gets two wolf forehead kisses (and isn't that what really counts?). All joking aside, Seagal is a clown!
January 31, 2024
Utterly unreadable.
July 12, 2023
Steven Seagal never met a culture he didn't like... to appropriate. He's pretended to be Japanese and Native American, despite being born in Michigan to parents of Irish and Russian descent. Now, he's pretending to be a writer, despite being a Z-list actor and a serial harrasser of women.
This book has a story only a MAGA could love. It seems like a failed script for one of Segal's movies, about a native lawman who is a member of an elite group so exclusive that only about 90% of the characters in the book are members. The "Shadow Wolves" are essentially Indian ninjas. That's right, they're Ninjians. Whatever image that conjures for you, it's worse. They're silent, deadly, and spout a bunch of nonsense about spirits because of course they do.
The Shadow Wolves have to stop a conspiracy straight out of your Q-loving uncle's most delirious drunken ramblings. Muslim "jihadists" have been sneaking into the U.S. through Mexico for months (when is someone gonna build a wall?!), and they're almost ready to launch their big assault and destroy the Great White Satan. Even worse, they're being enabled by the Deep State! Also, maybe 5G was involved, and something about the water turning frogs gay; I can't remember now. Listen, all you need to know is that disgraced sheriff Joe Arpaio wrote the foreword. Yeah, it's that kind of book.
The great irony of this book is that the people who are most likely to enjoy it are the people least likely to read. It's uninentionally hilarious if you enjoy reading bad books ironically. Otherwise, don't waste your time or your money (and don't support this Putin-loving wackadoo).
This book has a story only a MAGA could love. It seems like a failed script for one of Segal's movies, about a native lawman who is a member of an elite group so exclusive that only about 90% of the characters in the book are members. The "Shadow Wolves" are essentially Indian ninjas. That's right, they're Ninjians. Whatever image that conjures for you, it's worse. They're silent, deadly, and spout a bunch of nonsense about spirits because of course they do.
The Shadow Wolves have to stop a conspiracy straight out of your Q-loving uncle's most delirious drunken ramblings. Muslim "jihadists" have been sneaking into the U.S. through Mexico for months (when is someone gonna build a wall?!), and they're almost ready to launch their big assault and destroy the Great White Satan. Even worse, they're being enabled by the Deep State! Also, maybe 5G was involved, and something about the water turning frogs gay; I can't remember now. Listen, all you need to know is that disgraced sheriff Joe Arpaio wrote the foreword. Yeah, it's that kind of book.
The great irony of this book is that the people who are most likely to enjoy it are the people least likely to read. It's uninentionally hilarious if you enjoy reading bad books ironically. Otherwise, don't waste your time or your money (and don't support this Putin-loving wackadoo).
January 4, 2020
Unbelievable rubbish
There are only two types of people who will enjoy this book: 1. People who think Steven Seagal movies are like real life and 2. People who enjoy laughing at Steven Seagal movies.
The plot is constantly driven on by 'hunches' that the hero has. The characters are wooden and undeveloped and the dialogue is laughably macho.
There are only two types of people who will enjoy this book: 1. People who think Steven Seagal movies are like real life and 2. People who enjoy laughing at Steven Seagal movies.
The plot is constantly driven on by 'hunches' that the hero has. The characters are wooden and undeveloped and the dialogue is laughably macho.
January 16, 2018
Facebook/Goodreads/Amazon: The correct title of this book is as follows: "The Way Of The Shadow Wolves: The Deep State And The Hijacking Of America" And, your description of this book is pure fiction, but the subject matter is all too real. The Deep State, Exposed!
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