Description
New York Times bestselling author Brian Haig returns with a riveting new thriller about a man caught between the politics of big government and the corruption of big business.
The Capitol Game
It was the deal of the decade, if not the century. A small, insignificant company on the edge of bankruptcy had discovered an alchemist's dream; a miraculous polymer, that when coated on any vehicle, was the equivalent of 30 inches of steel. With bloody conflicts surging in Iraq and Afghanistan, the polymer promises to save thousands of lives and change the course of both wars.
Jack Wiley, a successful Wall Street banker, believes he has a found a dream come true when he mysteriously learns of this miraculous polymer. His plan: enlist the help of the Capitol Group, one of the country's largest and most powerful corporations in a quick, bloodless takeover of the small company that developed the polymer. It seems like a partnership made in heaven...until the Pentagon's investigative service begins nosing around, and the deal turns into a nightmare. Now, Jack's back is up against the wall and he and the Capitol Group find themselves embroiled in the greatest scandal the government and corporate America have ever seen...
Reviews
A very good read for those who enjoy the action thriller....
Brian Haig can write a thriller. This book moves along at a great pace to a not obvious conclusion. The book opens with a US soldier in Iraq killed by an IED while he is in an unarmored patrol vehicle. The main character, Jack Wiley is a new one for Haig. Wiley is a Wall St. corporate takeover artist who has discovered a small company that has a Holy Grail type product - a polymer that when painted on vehicles acts like 30 inches of steel. With the US at war in Afghanistan and Iraq this invention will make billions for the company that sells it to the government. Wiley engages The Capitol Group, one of the country's most powerful corporations (read Halliburton) with much experience navigating the military procurement process. The Capitol Group with an assist from Wiley makes a hostile takeover of the small company and goes forward to threaten, bribe and strong-arm the product through the procurement process. A military special agent, Mia Jensen investigates the legalities of the deal and takes aim at the Capitol Group and the senior executives that run the company. The plot proceeds with the reader unable to quite decide if Jack Wiley is one of the good guys or one of the sleazebags who have been part of the military industrial complex cheating the tax payers and under serving the US soldier. You are treated to a stomach turning close up look at this process. I don't want to write any spoilers into this review but the plot is believable and engrossing through the entire book. The character motivations are credible but I would have appreciated a little more of a back story for Wiley and Jensen.
Haig is a 22 year US Army veteran and has the inside knowledge to make this story realistic and authentic. Unfortunately the theme of corruption among big business, politicians and the military has a real ring of truth to it! A very good read for those who enjoy the action thriller.
Excellent
The Capitol Game is another wonderful read from Brian Haig.
Although, for the most part, I have disconnected from thrillers, mainly because they are all the same, in my opinion, Haig manages to stand out from the crowd.
Firstly, he has a wonderful way of creating characters that you just love to hate - and in Capitol Game, he mixes in the world of high finance/corporate who have no problem killing or doing whatever needs to be done in order to make more and more $$ and to get more and more power - I loved it.
The writing is always breakneck speed and the pacing is perfect. The intrigue is always there and Haig has managed to incorporate a bunch of surprises in the plotline - making it difficult to figure out who are the good guys and just who will end up with the money and the power in the end.
I loved, loved this story. The book did not feel long enough to me.
A great story, not a great novel. This Grisham-like thriller seems too distant.
Brian Haig's THE CAPITOL GAME is the first book I've read by Haig that doesn't feature Sean Drummond. Haig readers will recall that Drummond carried those novels. They were written in first person, and Drummond was a funny, witty, and complex lead character. Regardless of plot, I enjoyed those novels because of the unique character Sean Drummond.
THE CAPITOL GAME is a totally different novel, written in the style of a John Grisham legal thriller. The story flows fast and furiously, as Haig describes multiple characters and how they feel and what they are doing. I trust Haig enough to know that he is nailing the culture of Washington DC and the corruption he writes about made me both angry and sad.
Jack Riley, a financial whiz, has disovered the next big thing: a coating that makes military vehicles resistant to roadside bombs. He peddles it to several investment firms and settles on the Capitol Group. Billions of dollars are at play as CG runs with the idea and pushes it to the market. There is money, women, backstabbing, spies, trickery and lies.
Unfortunately, there's no Sean Drummond. There's no one to drive the story, to anchor it, to care about. There's a really good story. The characters all have great stories and great motivation for what they're doing. But, none of it is included in the novel. Haig fails to bring the reader into the story, and the entire time I felt like I was reading a entertaining newspaper account of the action. Haig spends pages telling the reader what is going on, and never gets down to the level needed to make it interesting.
Haig has tried something new here, and failed. But, he's talented, and the story kept my interest. He's a really good writer and I'll continue to read his books. I hope his next is better.
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