Steve’s Comments (group member since Mar 07, 2010)

Steve’s comments from the Papercut group.

Act of Treason- 467 Pages
Act of Treason offers a politically incorrect view of the darker side of humanity in today’s world. While on the surface, it is just another espionage thriller, a mix between James Bond and Fox’s 24. On the surface maybe, but the focus of this story is quite a bit different. This is not an “action” novel. The main character, Mitch, is very good at what he does finding and assassinating terrorists. Prolonged gunfights are not present in the story. Instead, Mitch uses his formidable intellect and instincts to stay one step ahead of his opponent, both politically and in the field.
The novel caused me to alter my perspective to favor the actions of the men and women in this country who protect us. A major “snag” that Mitch runs into occurs after he is able to locate and capture the man who blew up the presidential motorcade. Mitch travels to a foreign country to hunt a man who is on his home turf. The man has an excellent knowledge of his surroundings, friends that will look out for him, and contingency plans for if he is ever caught. The author weaves a tone of foreboding: Mitch knows that he is at a severe disadvantage. Yelling “freeze” is unlikely to deter this man, and giving the man time to react will almost certainly end badly for Mitch. So he decides that the simplest way to neutralize the man is to shoot him four times, once in each hand and foot.
An average person, and certainly the characters in this novel, are abhorred by his actions. Headlands of “CIA shoots unarmed man” are plastered all over the fictional news media. As a reader, I immediately side with Mitch’s position; I was privy to his thoughts prior to the attack. I was able to determine that self preservation meant that illegal and abhorrent action needed to be taken. At this point, the novel causes me to think critically about how I would react if something similar should happen in our world. Likely, I would believe that our government had done something horrible. I would simply read the inflaming headlines and follow a path that has been laid down by others. Giving me, fictional, insight into the darker side of human society has caused me to alter my views. It is impossible to experience the full panorama of a situation by reading about it in a newspaper. One must put themselves into the positions of others, in order to gain an educated viewpoint.
This book receives four stars to me, simply because it offers a reader to step into the mind of someone who we will likely never meet. Mitch is not a bad guy; he will gladly risk his life to protect people who he deems as innocent. But Mitch is a guy who has already made up his mind about the world. We the reader encounter no moral dilemmas that we would expect to find in a story that is about killing. Most writers like to allow their protagonist to maintain the moral high ground, no matter what they do. Mitch doesn’t care about morality; he is concerned with saving American lives. He tortures, breaks laws, shoots people in the back, manipulates his underlings, yells at US senators, yells at his boss, and gets yelled at by his wife. Even for a bona-fide “badass” there is no escape. In any situation that arises that would be repugnant to the average person, Mitch has already visited and he has his justification at the ready. He lives in a different world than the rest of us, and his misanthropy shows through “…that was what the mullahs and clerics preached in places like Iran and Saudi Arabia. Death to America, the Great Satan. Death to Israel. Nuke the entire Zionist state and push the infidels into the ocean.”
This biased attitude serves as one of the greatest lures for a reader like me. An educated author that is willing to take a controversial stance. He even propounds his view of the courage of the suicide bomber, and relates them to American soldiers. Young men and women who die to protect their country, and to serve their leaders. For, whether I agree or disagree with his views, the character of Mitch has already taught me to not simply agree with the words of others, but to gather as much information as possible, think critically about the topic, and formulate my own response.
I could ask for little improvement upon the part of the author, he adopts his biased stance that morality and political correctivness have no place in decisions that deal with the life and death of millions of people. The author’s message is almost a wakeup call to people, that sometimes one must sacrifice personal morals and their clean soul to protect others. The author practically rams this message down the throats of his readers. The final words of Act of Treason: “Mitch stay away from him until I say the time is right.”
“Fine but we are going to kill him, aren’t we?”
“Yes, we are.”

2. Act of Treason, pages 1-111
3. When I read this book, I begin to wonder if such an event where FEASABLIE. The introduction of the book focuses on the TEMERITY of poltical candidates that will go to any length to win an election. In this case, a candidate blows up a motorcade that is occupied by his running mate's wife. By framing the act on Islamic extremists, the duo jumps up in the polls and thus wins an election. The lengths that people will go to achieve power is staggering, and while such a thing is unlikley to have occured in the United States, one can never be sure that it won't in the future.
4. I lost track of my reading due to the number of "bad guys" who were in on the fake terrorist attack. The poltical candidates did not have the means to carry out the attack themselves and therfore had to rely on a number of people to achieve their ends. It was difficult to keep track each individuals motivations and backgrounds. The loose-moraled banker who introduces the candidate to the exiled billionaire who has a Russian gangster friend who puts them in touch with a triggerman that relies on his VISCERAL rreactions. Very confusing.
5. An allusion is a passing or casual reference. Special affects include hyperbole or exageration, repetition, alliteration and understatment. Hyperbole is the most prevelant example in "Act of Treason." The horrific events that surround the destruction of a predidental motorcade was paramount to the setup of the story. Without this act of violence, a reader my not be comfortable with the methods and lengths that the fictional US goverment will go to catch the killers.