3 out of 4 stars
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The Captain and the Chief by Richard Dimberio is a political thriller that gives insight into the American political system.
The book opened up with two old friends enjoying a great time while catching up on old times. One was Anthony Bel’Angeli, nicknamed “The Captain” and the Director of the FBI. The other was Charles Vanson, nicknamed “The Chief” and the President of the United States. At the time of their meeting in the opening pages of this book, the duo had gone through interesting journeys that brought them to the individual positions they occupied. However, their common path dated back to their high school days. This book was a dossier of their incredible journeys to become some of America’s most revered individuals.
I must say that this is a very sensitive path the author took in this book. Writing a story that delves deep into the American political system, up to the chess games that maraud the electioneering system, is quite dicey. One needs to do thorough research to come up with a story that is both interesting and relatable. Also, the risk of divulging information that could jeopardize national security is quite high. Authors who venture into this kind of writing must toe the line of caution and restraint. Reading through this book, I didn’t come across any information that isn’t public knowledge. We already know that there are candidates who try to sabotage the electioneering process by plotting the assassination of their greatest opposition. The political game that goes on in both the upper and lower chambers of the United States Congress is common knowledge. I would say that Richard Dimberio gave enough details to make the book interesting without delving into controversial matters. Anyone reading this book will have a good dose of political thrill.
What I liked most about this book was the structure and arrangement. At the beginning of the book, the author combined the main story with the backstory in every chapter. The book was arranged in a way that you follow the backstory chronologically while keeping in touch with the present at the same time. The two timelines had different font formats so one could easily differentiate them. At some point in the book, the backstory coincided with the main story seamlessly. In all this, the flow of the book was undisrupted.
I also liked the author’s writing style. He was conversational in his presentation which created a relaxed atmosphere for me to read the book with ease. He added some elements of humor and sarcasm to spice up the story. The dialogues were fun to read. I laughed out loud so many times that folks around me picked an interest in the book.
I would have given this book a full rating save for the plethora of typographic and grammatical errors that riddled it. They were so much that I had to ignore them after a while. To this end, I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. If you’re fascinated by political thrillers, I recommend this book to you.
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The Captain and the Chief
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