Alten the shell game

Everyone else, regardless of political ideology, will likely find the book an aimless and insipid mess. The Shell Game takes place, for the most part, in late and early John McKuhn a very thinly disguised John McCain is President, having been elected over his Democratic opponents Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama no name substitutions apparently required in due to voting machine fraud, vicious personal attack ads, and countless other dirty deeds attributed to the Republican Party.

Leaders of that very same party later assassinate McKuhn ensuring that the Vice President, a hard line conservative in the mold of an even more thinly disguised Dick Cheney, assumes office prior to the election in None of this is important to the story, but Alten includes it and much, much, much more as political fact disguised as political fiction in an effort to get his decidedly one-sided point of view across.

Alten alternates between way too many characters, and it doesn't help that some of them are real people, making the book feel hopelessly outdated even though it was recently revised for the paperback version.

For example, in the book, Obama isn't able to run for a second term after being poisoned, so Hillary Clinton gets put on the presidential ticket in his place. Although, personally, I think Dick Cheney should sue Steve Alten for slander in insinuating that he Cheney would willingly kill millions of American citizens by helping smuggle a nuke into the country.

I know this is fiction, but c'mon. At least, for the updated version, I noticed that Alten removed a sentence or two comparing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Ann Coulter. Apparently, even he felt he went too far on that one. Who knows what else he changed On a final note, I'd like to mention that I downloaded this book off Amazon. I'm sure the typos would average out to more than one per page. Alten and Co. My Review: 2. This book is in no way a history book. It is full of alternative thoughts and conspiracy theories.

It does make reference to a lot of facts found in actual documents from investigations into the September 11th attack. Which leads a person to rethink the event of September 11th. Steve Alten has an weird My Review: 2. Steve Alten has an weird style of writing. Then again having said that I have never read any of Mr.

Alten's previous books. As for Keith Szarabajka. He has a great voice for audio books. His tone changes from character to character which is always great. Personally I could listen to Keith Szarabajka read a very boring textbook on a very dry subject and would probably not get frustrated from listening to him.

Now for the reason I only gave this book 2. In my personal opinion, Steve Alten used to many references for this book. There are points where that's all you hear. Which is very annoying when you're trying to listen to a work of fiction. In places it feels like Alten himself got lost in the references and goes completely off track of the story-line.

While trying to jump right back into the original plot which caused me to lose the progression of the main character Ace Futrell. I found myself replaying parts over and over again because the references kept getting in the way of the story. Blackstone Audio did a good job at producing this book. Personally I feel like The Shell Game itself is very distracting and does not make for a good audio book.

The points and opinions approached in this book can be interesting. If you're interested in reading this book take my advice and get a digital or physical copy. Do not listen to the audio version. The audio version of The Shell Game will leave you disappointed and more confused then you were before you started the book. Oct 12, Joshua rated it liked it. Conspiracy minded. Tedious at times. So much information given that it makes it difficult to read as a novel.

It took so long to get to the major plot point. Sep 06, Patrick Ellard rated it liked it. Anybody who has read Steve Alten's previous books will know that he likes to intersperse his stories with his own religious and political ideals but I doubt anybody would have expected him to write a book as politically motivated as The Shell Game.

I am not naive enough to believe that everything released in t Anybody who has read Steve Alten's previous books will know that he likes to intersperse his stories with his own religious and political ideals but I doubt anybody would have expected him to write a book as politically motivated as The Shell Game. It's basically a book of two halves, the first being an almost non-sensible mess full of political and ideological ramblings, quotes and facts that contain almost zero plot towards the story that's supposed to be being told.

This isn't to say that it's totally dis-interesting as there are some thought provoking issues raised but as a fictional plot it doesn't work. The second half is a different story though when Alten focuses more on characters and plot devices than making a political point.

It's certainly an interesting and thought provoking book but one that lacks entertainment to recommend to everyone. Aug 02, Book collector rated it it was ok Shelves: steve-alten. Again an ok read. The story is interesting but unfortunately it degenerates into a bit of a rant that gets boring after a while.

Long sequences denouncing this and that company or country that eventually start to feel like a high school essay. By the end I lost any real interest in the characters or their fates. Jul 15, Michelle O'flynn rated it really liked it.

The Shell Game is fiction but supported by a fact-based account of the corruption of the oil-money-power triad. Steve Alten's writing style certainly had me flipping back and forth to remind myself about certain characters, and then reading the factual excerpts contained in the prologue, which made fo The Shell Game is fiction but supported by a fact-based account of the corruption of the oil-money-power triad.

Steve Alten's writing style certainly had me flipping back and forth to remind myself about certain characters, and then reading the factual excerpts contained in the prologue, which made for a bit of a stilted reading experience. I had been aware of the US scandal of their involvement in Nicuagara, the Iran-Contra affair, and their less than subtle manner of swapping one supprssive reginme for another, but this story, even just the factual accounts have made me want to pack up and live int he aoutback with some horses and gow my own!

I did not finish the book! So make what you want of my review. I have read Alten before, and liked his stories of giant sharks or pre-Aztec aliens. It's not. I understand that an author is not their book. A person can write about a cult and not be a cult member or even think of being in a cult. But when the preface of the book is a word from the author and they are talking about their belief in a crazy governmental conspiracy th I did not finish the book!

But when the preface of the book is a word from the author and they are talking about their belief in a crazy governmental conspiracy theory and then this book is an expansion of that, then you need to start putting the two together.

That is not to say I won't read things from people who have beliefs and who's books are centered on those beliefs that I do not agree with.

But when their belief centers around a somewhat recent event and one that is still affecting thousands of people and their belief sort of spits on them, then yeah I'm not reading it. As a very super awesomely good friend of mine told me, why are you reading that trash when you haven't read "The Great Gatsby" or "She's Come Undone" and she is right.

So in place of this book I will be reading She's Come Undone. May 24, Lisa Carlson rated it liked it Recommends it for: genre readers. Shelves: fiction. I didn't honestly know what to think of this book.

It has a running fiction narrative about an oil executive and his wife who works for the CIA. There are also quotes from John Lennon and The Bible. The story revolves around America's dependency on oil and how it propels America's direction. The writing isn't terrible and remains in the gen I didn't honestly know what to think of this book. The writing isn't terrible and remains in the genre format of a thriller. It is over pages and gives references at the end for additional books to read.

The character writing is weak, there is no sexual interaction between any of the characters and I really didn't care what happened to the characters. It uses real names of politicians which is odd in a work of fiction. If you are already leery of how government works and hides situations this won't make you feel any better because some of it has happened. Sep 15, Dave rated it it was ok Shelves: 2-stars. For starters, the only reason this got 5 stars was because I'm glad Steve Alten wrote it.

I agree with the message the book is sending. But I had trouble with it because of some of the writing in the book. Something about Steve's writing just throws me off a bit. I don't want to say it's not good, but some of it could be improved I feel. But I think we need more books like this so I'm going to support it as much as possible.

It's definitely not the typical political thriller that I'm or anyone is For starters, the only reason this got 5 stars was because I'm glad Steve Alten wrote it.

It's definitely not the typical political thriller that I'm or anyone is used to reading. Hence the problems with getting it published. Is there irony in the publisher being in Texas?

You tell me. Anyway it's worth the read because of the material it covers and Steve did a good job compiling everything. I just wish some of the writing was less 'action movie' or 'typical political novel' or I'm not sure how to describe it. Anyway, just read the book. Apr 30, Cindy Knope rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: sean sessler.

The author blends real quotes from the administration and others at the beginning of each chapter with a fictional story of espionage, false flags and future war and terror events.

While the author is not a great novelist and there are some glaring misused words, the story is involving and not entirely predictable. It would be a good read for Tom Clancy style fans even without the undeniable subtext of exposure of conspiracies, past and, scarily future. My hope is that this will get people thinking and be a cautionary tale that prods people to learn more and really pay attention to what might lie behind the government and media "stories" we are fed every day!

Sep 16, Steve Wheelock rated it liked it. This should have earned four stars, but the publisher, Sweetwater Books, cost it one. Plot development is great, and the action is at fever pitch throughout. The problem, as I say, is that the publisher pretty well ruined the reading experience. This book needed a competent editor, someone to do more than run it through a spell-check. The use of homonyms This should have earned four stars, but the publisher, Sweetwater Books, cost it one.

The use of homonyms and wrong but similar words became a distraction that threatened to overwhelm all enjoyment of the work. One of the best books I've read this year. Add to Cart failed. Please try again later.

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