Difference between revisions of "Deep State by Chris Hauty"

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There is a thing that new writers are taught about needing to know their characters back-story. Where they have come from, where they're headed, what might happen to them after they walk off the stage, everything that explains why they act the way they do.  It is important that the author knows these things.  It is equally important that he doesn't share them all with the reader.  In other respects too, this is a book that wears its research and its product placement too heavily.  I found myself skim-reading within 20 pages, thinking 'shut up, let's get back to the action'.  
 
There is a thing that new writers are taught about needing to know their characters back-story. Where they have come from, where they're headed, what might happen to them after they walk off the stage, everything that explains why they act the way they do.  It is important that the author knows these things.  It is equally important that he doesn't share them all with the reader.  In other respects too, this is a book that wears its research and its product placement too heavily.  I found myself skim-reading within 20 pages, thinking 'shut up, let's get back to the action'.  
  
And that's a shame because the action part of the book is good.  The story of politics and intrigue and double-dealing in the highest reaches of American politics is well-plotted, with a completely unexpected twist at the end.  Only it's not at the end…it should have been – but we're then taken back to fill in the blanks.  I think that not only would it have been a better book for leaving us guessing on that score – but also, that part of the back story could have provided the opening for the no-doubt planned next outing.  
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And that's a shame because the action part of the book is good.  The story of politics and intrigue and double-dealing in the highest reaches of American politics is well-plotted, with a completely unexpected twist at the end.  Only it's not at the end…it should have been – but we're then taken back to fill in the blanks.  I think that not only would it have been a better book for leaving us guessing on that score – but also, that part of the back story could have provided the opening for the no-doubt planned next outing.  
  
 
Sadly, this isn't the thriller it should have been.  The tension just isn't there.  
 
Sadly, this isn't the thriller it should have been.  The tension just isn't there.  
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For more dubious doings in Washington, check out [[Power Play by Gavin Esler]]
 
For more dubious doings in Washington, check out [[Power Play by Gavin Esler]]
  
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{{amazonUStext|amazon=1471185605}}
 
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Check prices, read reviews or buy from [http://tidd.ly/37fa2159 Waterstones].
 
Check prices, read reviews or buy from [http://tidd.ly/37fa2159 Waterstones].
 
  
 
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Latest revision as of 16:39, 11 August 2020


Deep State by Chris Hauty

1471185605.jpg
Buy Deep State by Chris Hauty at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Category: Thrillers
Rating: 3/5
Reviewer: Lesley Mason
Reviewed by Lesley Mason
Summary: A great protagonist and decent plot ill-served by the story-telling.
Buy? Yes Borrow? Maybe
Pages: 384 Date: January 2020
Publisher: Simon and Shuster UK
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1471185601

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Hayley Chill is a fighter. She is every kind of fighter, and well-trained in most of them. She's army infantry and she boxes for fun – and she wins. Always. She wins because she is focussed. She works hard, mentally and physically, and she knows how to deal with the pain. She is not so much cold as controlled. This fight is against someone she is not expected to beat. And she is being watched.

Only a few days later she quits the army and a few months later she's walking into the West Wing as an intern in the Chief of Staff's office – a plum assignment but full of boring routine work. But Chill is army-trained. She is good at boring and routine. She just gets on with it. Unfailingly polite. Smart. Quick on the recovery. She is not going to make very many friends among her peers. She is going to get herself noticed.

Then, the Chief of Staff is found dead…and Hayley finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy.

I guess Lisbeth Salander meets Jack Reacher had to happen sooner rather than later. Hayley Chill could maybe have been less obviously named. She could certainly have been better served in the narration. Unfortunately The Deep State has a brilliant character and a decent plot ill-served by poor story-telling.

There is a thing that new writers are taught about needing to know their characters back-story. Where they have come from, where they're headed, what might happen to them after they walk off the stage, everything that explains why they act the way they do. It is important that the author knows these things. It is equally important that he doesn't share them all with the reader. In other respects too, this is a book that wears its research and its product placement too heavily. I found myself skim-reading within 20 pages, thinking 'shut up, let's get back to the action'.

And that's a shame because the action part of the book is good. The story of politics and intrigue and double-dealing in the highest reaches of American politics is well-plotted, with a completely unexpected twist at the end. Only it's not at the end…it should have been – but we're then taken back to fill in the blanks. I think that not only would it have been a better book for leaving us guessing on that score – but also, that part of the back story could have provided the opening for the no-doubt planned next outing.

Sadly, this isn't the thriller it should have been. The tension just isn't there.

For more dubious doings in Washington, check out Power Play by Gavin Esler

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Buy Deep State by Chris Hauty at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy Deep State by Chris Hauty at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.

Buy Deep State by Chris Hauty at Amazon You could get a free audio download of Deep State by Chris Hauty with a 30-day Audible free trial at Amazon.co.uk.

Buy Deep State by Chris Hauty at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy Deep State by Chris Hauty at Amazon.com.

Check prices, read reviews or buy from Waterstones.

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