Review of An American Conspiracy

[Phaswana Mokonyama]

[Following is a volunteer review of "An American Conspiracy" by Alan C. Moore.]

---

5 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Alan C. Moore presents An American Conspiracy, a crime novel that explores terrorism, politics, and economics all at once. Madison Callahan was just getting started in politics. To most, it wasn't much of a surprise that she would fall into that field because she was the daughter of William Gladstone, a former governor, and a powerful career politician who still influenced the main circles of Washington D.C. Madison had been a congresswoman for a few months, but she was yet to find out just how cruel her new career was.

In a relatively short time, Madison's mentor, Senator Boyd Radford, committed suicide, sending shockwaves through the corridors of Capitol Hill. Terrorists began crippling the world of oil by bombing certain key points, bringing the economy of America to its knees. Madison's journey into politics had just begun, and she was in for a wild ride.

The pacing of the story was phenomenal. It was fast-paced. It was exhilarating. The author's use of chapters made this a fun novel to read. Most chapters ended with a "question mark" or a minor cliffhanger, making it almost necessary to read the next chapter immediately to find out what was going to happen next. I couldn't keep up with the events that kept taking place. A character named Adder kept the story suspenseful and interesting, and other characters such as Fran kept the mystery alive.

I'd only criticise how Adder was designed. From the beginning, it was clear that Adder was a villain, but the author chose to give him a human side that showed that he had a conscience. I don't mind seeing an evil character show opposing sides of his being, but I don't think that it was necessary in this case. Adder was a complete lunatic, and I would have loved seeing him own that side of himself and embrace it fully. I believe that this would have completely justified his gruesome actions.

The few errors I encountered in the book and the design of Adder were not enough to deter me from fully appreciating this book. A lot of the novels I've read for this site have been lacking the completeness I am looking for, and this book had everything going for it. It's a 5 out of 5 stars novel for me. It competes with some of the best crime novels I've ever read.

I think that this book is appropriate for young adults because it doesn't have a lot of the vulgar language that normally accompanies such material. There wasn't even a sex scene, which is almost expected when reading crime novels. I would recommend it to those amongst us who love crime novels.

******
An American Conspiracy
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon