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The Gambit
What if the mainstream media is just a distraction? What if our elected officials are just puppets, being controlled by the people that have it all and yet still want more? What if certain elites throughout history had a more ominous plan, but never had the chance to execute it? They do now. This story isn't for people who want to remain blissful in their ignorance. It isn't for the people who believe everything they see on the news, and it surely isn't for the ones who are entirely, one-hundred percent trusting of our government. If you are one of those people, you have been warned. Now is your chance to turn back. Owen Marina is the co-founder of the Convergence Party. A month away from the historic 2016 election, they have won the benchmark polls by a landslide. Their victory is imminent, but their success didn't blossom out of thin air. It was fueled by the anger and distrust the American People have for their government after what they did to them. After the Confinement, how could they trust anyone in Washington? The Wall Street dirty bomb nearly two years previous caused a massive economic collapse of unimaginable proportions. Banks were set afire and riots raged in the streets. In secret, Obama passed an executive order that initiated the Confinement. It was martial law in action, and those three months in the Camps haunted every American. At the final debate, there are pipe bombs that go off, killing seventeen and injuring nearly a hundred. The following morning when Owen is released, he goes to a coffee shop and discovers on TV that he has been framed for the bombs. What Owen doesn't know is that this lie goes much deeper than he could ever imagine. The people behind these atrocities have spread their lies too thin, and although Owen feels alone in his struggle, he is unaware that there are others fighting for the same thing he is. To uncover the truth before it's too late. With less than a month before the election, the interconnected actions of a brave few may be America's last hope. This is your last chance to turn back. Remember, the world around you will look much different once you have awoken. When the veil is lifted, and your vision is restored, you might not like what you see.
559 pages, Paperback
First published May 19, 2015
4 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Allen Longstreet
3 books37 followersAllen Longstreet is an American author. He was raised in Hickory, North Carolina and studied Journalism and Film Production at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His fiction often arises from vivid dreams, but what inspires him in the waking world is exploring the rawness of human loss, attempting to answer the age-old question of whether blood is thicker than water, and spinning up dystopian societies that feel just a little too close to our own.
Allen doesn’t believe in put-a-bow-on-it endings or easy heroes. He writes to disturb, to move, and to reach the parts of us we often keep buried. He lives in New York City.
Allen doesn’t believe in put-a-bow-on-it endings or easy heroes. He writes to disturb, to move, and to reach the parts of us we often keep buried. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 21, 2015
This story kept me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning! We know there are corrupt politicians out there, but just how far would some of them go to keep the people of this country in line? Much too far if you ask Owen Marina. After a majority of the country's population has been put into a confinement, Owen and his friend Cole Pavich come up with a plan for a better political party – one which has the best interests of the people in mind. One which will not lock up its people for the crimes of the few. But everything goes wrong just before the elections when, at a presidential debate, a bomb goes off, taking out everyone in the Convergence Party, everyone except Owen.
Now Owen is on the run after being blamed for the attack. Between Owen and the people he meets along the way, the reader slowly learns the truth about who is behind the attacks, as well as who was behind the Confinement. Switching back and forth between several different perspectives, we get the story little by little and get a better understanding of the frightful world in which these characters live.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone and will certainly be reading it again myself!
Now Owen is on the run after being blamed for the attack. Between Owen and the people he meets along the way, the reader slowly learns the truth about who is behind the attacks, as well as who was behind the Confinement. Switching back and forth between several different perspectives, we get the story little by little and get a better understanding of the frightful world in which these characters live.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone and will certainly be reading it again myself!
October 10, 2015
The Gambit by Allen Longstreet
"Seven People. One Lie."
"Owen Marina is co-founder of the Convergence Party, and the most famous politician of the 21st century. The American People are championing them, until a terrorist attack kills seventeen and injures many more at the final debate. The following morning, Owen discovers he has been framed for a crime he didn't commit. At MIT, two nuclear engineers are conducting independent research that isn't coinciding with the EPA's findings. A journalist is frustrated with her mediocre position, and wishes she could write a real story. A humble hacker gets a surprise knock on his door that will change his life forever. An Editor in Chief feels frustrated and helpless with how slanted the media is portraying Owen. A CIA Agent is horrified as he watches the country crumble before his eyes, from the inside out, and cannot do anything to stop it. A thirteen year-old boy does not realize that changing the channels on his TV will involve him in this monstrous lie. With less than a month before the election, they are running out of time. The interconnected actions of these brave seven may be America's last hope."
This book, it seems to me, offers the reader a glimpse at the tremendous power given to those who possess the authority to influence newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, television broadcasts, etc. Those who, to some degree, allow certain articles to be published, certain interviews or speeches to be broadcast, either through the air via radio or cast upon a display in the form of the television in which images along with commentary is run along side it, and deny or repress others from being published or cast. And what we may find within this novel is an obvious demonstration (for the reader but not to the masses of people who, in the novel, appear thoroughly convinced of what they are told) of an orchestrated lie. Even more curiously, we find ourselves (to those familiar with some of the major television news stations in the United States) recognizing that CNN is a contributor to the lie that Owen Marina is responsible for the terrorist attack at the final debate. We could then ask ourselves why it was Mr. Longstreet chose to mention CNN as a station involved in the propagation of this falsified "truth." Has he done this deliberately? He had a reason to, did he not? Does he or would he like his readers to consider the possibility of something such as what was recorded in 'The Gambit' to be a legitimate scenario that may occur within the United States? Or is he alluding to the possibility that it has happened or that, at this very instance, it may already be going on? How do we determine that what is being broadcast or written about and published is accurate? How do we make certain that we are receiving the information that was originally received by the radio or television network? For those of you who, perhaps when you were a child, played the game "Telephone" in which you would gather a line of people and have the first person in line whisper into the ear of the second something that was to be received by the last person after the continual "passing on" of said word or phrase, I found, more times than once, that the first conceived of word or phrase was misconstrued when recited by the final person in line. My own feeling on the matter is this: we need to be wary and apprehensive of not only what may reveal itself to be evidently inaccurate or false, but what seems to us to be right or correct or true, call it what you will, and we should face what we're presented with in a most concerned and serious manner, rather than dismissing something we preconceive of as either right or wrong, true or false, etc. "The price of freedom," said Aldous Huxley, "is eternal vigilance." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alasB...)
I was asked a few questions in particular, and what follows is just that.
"Have you become attached to these characters in any way, shape, or form?"
Yes, I have. Something done throughout the book is the continual shift in perspective, and this is something I haven't seen done before. The book begins from the point-of-view of Owen Marina, but does not remain like this, nor does it end like this. By the time you are enveloped in each of these point-of-views, you have somewhat of a feel for the way each one of them sees each other, and this is what is so distinct about a book as compared to a film or a television series; you generally see the superficial side of each person and not what goes on underneath, but in this format you do, and that is what first appealed to me when I had a book in my hands as a child, when I was just learning to read.
"Do you feel I have built the world sufficiently? Did you enjoy that dream where Owen recalls the night they took him out of his apartment when the Confinement began?"
I did, and it was this flashback I find to be one of the most essential pieces of the story. Not to unveil it completely, but I should say it may even give the reader a sense of disgust, and its results can be seen through the frightful or terrified reactions of any one of the many victims when the Confinement is mentioned or discussed aloud.
But, of course, these comments would not have been made were it not for the writing and the publishing of the novel itself. Thank you, Mr. Longstreet, for your decision to pursue what may have started as something as small as a line or a phrase or a name or a place. It grew, as a child might have, and at some point you knew you would have to let it go once your hands were finished raising it, and now let us see where it takes itself and who else it may touch in the process.
"Seven People. One Lie."
"Owen Marina is co-founder of the Convergence Party, and the most famous politician of the 21st century. The American People are championing them, until a terrorist attack kills seventeen and injures many more at the final debate. The following morning, Owen discovers he has been framed for a crime he didn't commit. At MIT, two nuclear engineers are conducting independent research that isn't coinciding with the EPA's findings. A journalist is frustrated with her mediocre position, and wishes she could write a real story. A humble hacker gets a surprise knock on his door that will change his life forever. An Editor in Chief feels frustrated and helpless with how slanted the media is portraying Owen. A CIA Agent is horrified as he watches the country crumble before his eyes, from the inside out, and cannot do anything to stop it. A thirteen year-old boy does not realize that changing the channels on his TV will involve him in this monstrous lie. With less than a month before the election, they are running out of time. The interconnected actions of these brave seven may be America's last hope."
This book, it seems to me, offers the reader a glimpse at the tremendous power given to those who possess the authority to influence newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, television broadcasts, etc. Those who, to some degree, allow certain articles to be published, certain interviews or speeches to be broadcast, either through the air via radio or cast upon a display in the form of the television in which images along with commentary is run along side it, and deny or repress others from being published or cast. And what we may find within this novel is an obvious demonstration (for the reader but not to the masses of people who, in the novel, appear thoroughly convinced of what they are told) of an orchestrated lie. Even more curiously, we find ourselves (to those familiar with some of the major television news stations in the United States) recognizing that CNN is a contributor to the lie that Owen Marina is responsible for the terrorist attack at the final debate. We could then ask ourselves why it was Mr. Longstreet chose to mention CNN as a station involved in the propagation of this falsified "truth." Has he done this deliberately? He had a reason to, did he not? Does he or would he like his readers to consider the possibility of something such as what was recorded in 'The Gambit' to be a legitimate scenario that may occur within the United States? Or is he alluding to the possibility that it has happened or that, at this very instance, it may already be going on? How do we determine that what is being broadcast or written about and published is accurate? How do we make certain that we are receiving the information that was originally received by the radio or television network? For those of you who, perhaps when you were a child, played the game "Telephone" in which you would gather a line of people and have the first person in line whisper into the ear of the second something that was to be received by the last person after the continual "passing on" of said word or phrase, I found, more times than once, that the first conceived of word or phrase was misconstrued when recited by the final person in line. My own feeling on the matter is this: we need to be wary and apprehensive of not only what may reveal itself to be evidently inaccurate or false, but what seems to us to be right or correct or true, call it what you will, and we should face what we're presented with in a most concerned and serious manner, rather than dismissing something we preconceive of as either right or wrong, true or false, etc. "The price of freedom," said Aldous Huxley, "is eternal vigilance." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alasB...)
I was asked a few questions in particular, and what follows is just that.
"Have you become attached to these characters in any way, shape, or form?"
Yes, I have. Something done throughout the book is the continual shift in perspective, and this is something I haven't seen done before. The book begins from the point-of-view of Owen Marina, but does not remain like this, nor does it end like this. By the time you are enveloped in each of these point-of-views, you have somewhat of a feel for the way each one of them sees each other, and this is what is so distinct about a book as compared to a film or a television series; you generally see the superficial side of each person and not what goes on underneath, but in this format you do, and that is what first appealed to me when I had a book in my hands as a child, when I was just learning to read.
"Do you feel I have built the world sufficiently? Did you enjoy that dream where Owen recalls the night they took him out of his apartment when the Confinement began?"
I did, and it was this flashback I find to be one of the most essential pieces of the story. Not to unveil it completely, but I should say it may even give the reader a sense of disgust, and its results can be seen through the frightful or terrified reactions of any one of the many victims when the Confinement is mentioned or discussed aloud.
But, of course, these comments would not have been made were it not for the writing and the publishing of the novel itself. Thank you, Mr. Longstreet, for your decision to pursue what may have started as something as small as a line or a phrase or a name or a place. It grew, as a child might have, and at some point you knew you would have to let it go once your hands were finished raising it, and now let us see where it takes itself and who else it may touch in the process.
May 7, 2020
At the final debate before the 2016 election, Owen Marina, the head of the up and coming Convergence Party is feeling great. His party is leading the polls and his candidate is a shoe in to be the next President, toppling the two-party system. Then an explosion and Owen now finds himself on the run and falsely accused of being a terrorist. Getting help from ordinary citizens, some old friends and a young reporter named Rachel, Owen has only days to clear his name and find the real culprit. He finds himself in a cat and mouse game that reaches to the highest offices in government.
What a great read at this crazy time in America where I am on lockdown due to the Coronavirus. The Confinement Camps that locked up many Americans in the book weren't far fetched as they seem with all the crazy conspiracy theories circulating these days.
If you are into political thrillers and cat and mouse hijinks. This is a very great read from an Author who has many years of writing left in him. Look forward to reading more of his work.s
What a great read at this crazy time in America where I am on lockdown due to the Coronavirus. The Confinement Camps that locked up many Americans in the book weren't far fetched as they seem with all the crazy conspiracy theories circulating these days.
If you are into political thrillers and cat and mouse hijinks. This is a very great read from an Author who has many years of writing left in him. Look forward to reading more of his work.s
June 10, 2024
A Good Book For Men And Women
This is not the kind of book I usually read but I thought I'd give something new a try. I had this preconceived notion that it would be a book a man would like more than a woman. I also thought because of the main plot of the story it might not hold my attention and bore me. I don't mind admitting when I am wrong and I was. I especially liked how the story was told by the different people in the story and not just from one person's perspective. I loved the end too!
This is not the kind of book I usually read but I thought I'd give something new a try. I had this preconceived notion that it would be a book a man would like more than a woman. I also thought because of the main plot of the story it might not hold my attention and bore me. I don't mind admitting when I am wrong and I was. I especially liked how the story was told by the different people in the story and not just from one person's perspective. I loved the end too!
October 24, 2015
Allen Longstreet's THE GAMBIT is a fast-paced novel full of political intrigue as well as romance and a fascinating plot. As one who is not a big fan of anything political (that's why I only gave it 3 stars--don't hate), it took some doing to get me into this story. Thankfully, it's a really good story with not a LOT of politics. As the back of the book states, 7 different characters tell this inter-twining story, making it more interesting than your average book told from just one character's point-of-view. I admit that I would like to know more of what happened to the other characters in the story beyond Rachel--and Owen. Grey, in particular, is an absolutely fascinating character. If Longstreet chooses to do a sequel to THE GAMBIT, I truly hope he chooses Grey as his major protagonist!
Then again, I do need an idea for National Novel Writing Month 2015 (NaNoWriMo) that begins in about two weeks....! :)
I also need to say that as his first major published novel, Longstreet demonstrates a wonderful, successful future career as a popular--by popular, I mean famous--author. I can't wait to see what he writes next!!! And next....and next.....
Then again, I do need an idea for National Novel Writing Month 2015 (NaNoWriMo) that begins in about two weeks....! :)
I also need to say that as his first major published novel, Longstreet demonstrates a wonderful, successful future career as a popular--by popular, I mean famous--author. I can't wait to see what he writes next!!! And next....and next.....
September 21, 2015
What a ride! The book had all your emotions involved with highs and lows and with quite a few parts that kept your heart racing. I thoroughly loved it. It was serious, funny, exciting and very thought provoking. 7 interesting characters trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle because of 1 lie! I got attached to some of the characters from the main characters Owen Marina and Rachel Flores to Laura Vang, the asian lady who had something wise to say and made you think. Loved her too. It goes straight in to action not far from the beggining with a bomb going off in the middle of a debate and then Owen Marina from the convergence party being accused of being part of the bombing and now running for his life. Amazing to me how it all fell into place and how the puzzle came together solving this horrible lie that changed his life in a matter of days! Even a bit of a love story involved which surprised me, and I wasn't expecting but enjoyed that part too. Would highly recommend it, didn't want to stop reading and when it was over I was sad because I didn't want it to end, honestly!!! Can't wait to read more from this author! Thanks for the good read ;)
October 10, 2015
Gambit by Allen Longstreet
WOW! Author Allen Longstreet is a talented writer. I was on the edge with this thriller the entire read. I felt I was with the characters as they were trying to figure out how to stay alive and take down the powers that want to control the people. Mr. Longstreet takes what is happening today in our country and spins a realistic exciting tale of what it takes to put an end to corruption. Fear, being on the run, meeting others, love, loss, taking action and sacrifice in order to maintain the belief of the people to strive for a more perfect nation. Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth." - Abraham Lincoln. This book would make a great movie.
WOW! Author Allen Longstreet is a talented writer. I was on the edge with this thriller the entire read. I felt I was with the characters as they were trying to figure out how to stay alive and take down the powers that want to control the people. Mr. Longstreet takes what is happening today in our country and spins a realistic exciting tale of what it takes to put an end to corruption. Fear, being on the run, meeting others, love, loss, taking action and sacrifice in order to maintain the belief of the people to strive for a more perfect nation. Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth." - Abraham Lincoln. This book would make a great movie.
August 17, 2025
What would happen if the world of politics continue to become corrupt and strive to control the lives of American citizens? "The Gambit" clearly shows you how with not only one perspective but seven. The novel is well written with excellent descriptions of characters, their emotions, and surroundings. There is plenty of twists and turns to keep the plot interesting. The only complaint for this novel was trying to figure out whose perspective it was at a start of a new chapter or section if it didn't continue with the main character's. There was profanity and two scenes between the main couple, so I would recommend "The Gambit" to young adults and over. It is an excellent read in any case!
June 29, 2016
When I first found out that it was a political thriller, I was afraid that it would bore me. Luckily for me, it turned out to be such a ride! The first few pages were slow but it soon picks up and races to the end. I really liked that I get to read the sequence of events from various characters and how the different plot lines were tied together. This book reminded me of the books I liked from Matthew Reilly, because you will really root for the protagonists no matter how small their parts were!
There should be a sequel to this!
There should be a sequel to this!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews