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Hazardous Duty by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV is
the latest book in the Presidential Agent Series. Unfortunately
for those who enjoyed these adventures this will be the last
installment. The plot is a satirical look on how the US President
handles national security from the Mexican Drug Cartels to
Somali pirates holding three tankers for ransom. The President
calls upon members of his cabinet, and Lieutenant Colonel
Carlos “Charley” G. Castillo to resolve these
problems. The rest of the story is how Castillo and the Secretary
of State, Natalie Cohen, deals with a President gone crazy
that leaves readers with an amusing storyline.
W.E.B. Griffin decided to write a satire because he was “outraged
how people have changed. What ever happened to duty and country?
I turned this book into a sort of M*A*S*H type story involving
the White House and Langley so readers could possibly forget
for a minute or so the mess we have in Washington D.C. I had
a lot of fun in writing it and hope that people will see some
parts are very funny, especially the parts with the porn queen.
I wrote it because I was at a low point and was disgusted
at what was happening here in the US.”
His co-author, William Butterworth IV added, “The reason
dad could not write this as a serious book is because of the
moral indignation coming out of Washington D.C. Just look
at the outrageous decision to reduce the military retirement
as part of the budget. It is one more thing being jammed down
our throat. Many of the politicians today have never served
so they don’t understand what someone in the military
has to go through.”
A very compelling character whom Griffin hinted could be based
on former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, is Natalie
Cohen, also a Secretary of State. She is a very likable and
interesting personality that is portrayed as honorable, soft
spoken, and a voice of reason.
The authors gave a heads up about their next books. Coming
out this summer will be a Matt Payne novel. The plot has Matt
being haunted by some of what he did in the past. He has the
bad guys after him and some unfounded accusations from the
good guys. He has to survive both. It was grounded in that
all the various good guys, whether spooks, the military, or
cops have to deal with the revenge factor. Next year, replacing
the Presidential Agent Series will be Top Secret. This new
series will be about the Cold War and the formation of the
OSS, the prelude to the CIA. The main character will be Second
Lieutenant James D. Cronley JR who has to battle the FBI,
the Russians, and a lot of others.
Hazardous Duty is one of the rare books that combine
humor and adventure. Anyone who is disgusted with the current
political situation in American should enjoy this book.
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