Glen Beck apparently wrote a thriller for some reason and I decided to dissect what America's favorite wingnut is writing about in his thriller fiction debut.
I work at a bookstore and looking at potential orders for June, I noticed prerelease information for a new book by Glen Beck titled "The Overton Window." Link over to the Amazon.Com page for this book only to find out it is already the #20 best-selling book on the Website in pre-orders alone.
I don't at all listen to Glen Beck's radio or TV show, so I am not sure if this is something he is promoting there, but he certainly is doing a lot of self-promotion on the Amazon.com page, adding a detailed plot description and author accolades for the book from some big mystery heavy-hitters like James Rollins, Vince Flynn and Nelson DeMille.
But what is this oddly titled novel about? Like what exactly does "Overton Window" mean?
From Beck's own written description on Amazon:
There is a powerful technique called the Overton Window that can shape our lives, our laws, and our future. It works by manipulating public perception so that ideas previously thought of as radical begin to seem acceptable over time.
Ugh. So basically this is going to be a horrible conspiracy theory book. But does it least have intriguing characters?
For Noah Gardner, a twentysomething public relations executive, it's safe to say that political theory is the furthest thing from his mind. (Sic. It should be twenty-something.)
...
But all of that changes when Noah meets Molly Ross, a woman who is consumed by the knowledge that the America we know is about to be lost forever. She and her group of patriots have vowed to remember the past and fight for the future--but Noah, convinced they're just misguided conspiracy-theorists, isn't interested in lending his considerable skills to their cause. (Sic again. Unneeded hyphen in conspiracy theorists)
Okay...so Glenn Beck is "Molly Ross" and 85% of the country is "Noah Gardner." At least we have "considerable skills." So what happens then?
And then the world changes.
Oh crap!
An unprecedented attack on U.S. soil shakes the country to the core and puts into motion a frightening plan, decades in the making, to transform America and demonize all those who stand in the way. Amidst the chaos, many don't know the difference between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact--or, more important, which side to fight for.
Look at that last sentence. If all his prose is going to be as unintelligible as that, we're in trouble. Three commas and a sentence splice? Yikes!
So basically this book is a fictionalized version of Beck's own crazy conspiracy theories. It is probably better as a thriller than broadcast on Fox as "news." In fact Beck's conspiracy garbage does seem like something out of a badly written Le Carre rip-off. But are we, the public clearly personified as Noah going to read this book? Are we going to get something out of it?
For Noah, the choice is clear: Exposing the plan, and revealing the conspirators behind it, is the only way to save both the woman he loves and the individual freedoms he once took for granted.
That settles it then. The worst political book disguised as fiction since Ayn Rand punched out novels on her Smith-Corona. I'm sure it'll be a best seller.