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Crooked
Award-winning novelist Austin Grossman reimagines the Cold War as an epic battle against the occult waged by the ultimate American Richard Nixon. Richard Milhous Nixon lived one of the most improbable lives of the twentieth century. Our thirty-seventh president's political career spanned the button-down fifties, the Mad Men sixties, and the turbulent seventies. He faced down the Russians, the Chinese, and ultimately his own government. The man went from political mastermind to a national joke, sobbing in the Oval Office, leaving us with one burning how could he have lost it all? Here for the first time is the tale told in his own the terrifying supernatural secret he stumbled upon as a young man, the truth behind the Cold War, and the truth behind the Watergate cover-up. What if our nation's worst president was actually a pivotal figure caught in a desperate struggle between ordinary life and horrors from another reality? What if the man we call our worst president was, in truth, our greatest? In Crooked, Nixon finally reveals the secret history of modern American politics as only Austin Grossman could reimagine it. Combining Lovecraftian suspense, international intrigue, Russian honey traps, and a presidential marriage whose secrets and battles of attrition were their own heroic saga, Grossman's novel is a masterwork of alternative history, equal parts mesmerizing character study and nail-biting Faustian thriller.
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 28, 2015
75 people are currently reading
2323 people want to read
About the author
Austin Grossman
23 books541 followersAustin Grossman graduated from Harvard University in 1991 with a plan to write the great American novel; instead he became a video game designer at Looking Glass Studios.
He has since contributed as a writer and designer to a number of critically acclaimed video games, such as ULTIMA UNDERWORLD II, SYSTEM SHOCK, DEUS EX, and TOMB RAIDER: LEGEND, and has taught and lectured on narrative in video games. He is currently a freelance game design consultant,
He is also a doctoral candidate in English Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he specializes in Romantic and Victorian literature.
SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE is his debut novel. (from the author's website)"
He has since contributed as a writer and designer to a number of critically acclaimed video games, such as ULTIMA UNDERWORLD II, SYSTEM SHOCK, DEUS EX, and TOMB RAIDER: LEGEND, and has taught and lectured on narrative in video games. He is currently a freelance game design consultant,
He is also a doctoral candidate in English Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he specializes in Romantic and Victorian literature.
SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE is his debut novel. (from the author's website)"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 309 reviews
October 20, 2015
Even in a fictional book in which he’s supposed to be the hero Richard Nixon can't help but be an asshole.
The concept here is that when Nixon was an underhanded congressman trying to prove that Alger Hiss was a Soviet spy he inadvertently stumbled across a hidden occult world of Lovecratfian style horrors. This discovery and his ambition paves the way for him to become a reluctant KGB spy which in turn helps him become vice-president. He then learns that President Eisenhower has control of vast magical powers that he is using as part of a secret supernatural front of the Cold War as the Soviets try to harness these horrors to gain strategic advantages for themselves. As he moves through Eisenhower's administration to his own presidency Nixon becomes a pivotal figure in this underground war.
This book surprised me because I was thinking that it would be done in a tongue-in-cheek way that played off the idea of Richard Nixon being a hero after all, but in fact it’s the exact opposite. The portrayal of him here is still that of an insecure and bitter guy who seemed to lack the charisma and charm of a used car salesmen, but whose relentless drive and willingness to fight dirty enabled him to rise to power. This is more of a character study that just puts a supernatural coat of paint on the man rather than try to shine him up into something he wasn’t.
That’s an interesting way to go, to use this kind of a book to not tell us that what we knew about Nixon wasn’t wrong, it’s just that we didn’t know all of the story. Grossman is a good writer who actually manages to generate sympathy for Tricky Dick as he acknowledges his faults in his first person narration.
But that leaves me not sure what exactly the point of all this was. The idea that all these weird occult happenings have links embedded in the foundation of American government was interesting, and it seems like there was the potential for a good story there. However, we see this through Nixon’s eyes, and he doesn’t really know the full scope of what’s going on until late in the game. Since this is an outsider trying to look in telling us the story it seems like we’re only getting a glimpse of a secret history although some of the historical incidents have an interesting twist on them like the moon landing. It also feels like we don’t know the rules here because none of it is explained in detail as to what’s possible, and most of the book is spent with a confused Nixon trying to figure out what’s happening and never getting a great handle on it.
Essentially it just feels like the whole book was done to give us a supernatural excuse for the reasons behind Watergate. That might have made for an interesting short story, but by writing Nixon as Nixon with a few more secrets and not giving us a deep dive into the occult side of stuff, the book ends up feeling generally unsatisfying.
The concept here is that when Nixon was an underhanded congressman trying to prove that Alger Hiss was a Soviet spy he inadvertently stumbled across a hidden occult world of Lovecratfian style horrors. This discovery and his ambition paves the way for him to become a reluctant KGB spy which in turn helps him become vice-president. He then learns that President Eisenhower has control of vast magical powers that he is using as part of a secret supernatural front of the Cold War as the Soviets try to harness these horrors to gain strategic advantages for themselves. As he moves through Eisenhower's administration to his own presidency Nixon becomes a pivotal figure in this underground war.
This book surprised me because I was thinking that it would be done in a tongue-in-cheek way that played off the idea of Richard Nixon being a hero after all, but in fact it’s the exact opposite. The portrayal of him here is still that of an insecure and bitter guy who seemed to lack the charisma and charm of a used car salesmen, but whose relentless drive and willingness to fight dirty enabled him to rise to power. This is more of a character study that just puts a supernatural coat of paint on the man rather than try to shine him up into something he wasn’t.
That’s an interesting way to go, to use this kind of a book to not tell us that what we knew about Nixon wasn’t wrong, it’s just that we didn’t know all of the story. Grossman is a good writer who actually manages to generate sympathy for Tricky Dick as he acknowledges his faults in his first person narration.
But that leaves me not sure what exactly the point of all this was. The idea that all these weird occult happenings have links embedded in the foundation of American government was interesting, and it seems like there was the potential for a good story there. However, we see this through Nixon’s eyes, and he doesn’t really know the full scope of what’s going on until late in the game. Since this is an outsider trying to look in telling us the story it seems like we’re only getting a glimpse of a secret history although some of the historical incidents have an interesting twist on them like the moon landing. It also feels like we don’t know the rules here because none of it is explained in detail as to what’s possible, and most of the book is spent with a confused Nixon trying to figure out what’s happening and never getting a great handle on it.
Essentially it just feels like the whole book was done to give us a supernatural excuse for the reasons behind Watergate. That might have made for an interesting short story, but by writing Nixon as Nixon with a few more secrets and not giving us a deep dive into the occult side of stuff, the book ends up feeling generally unsatisfying.
August 1, 2015
Nixon fights Cthulhu - not hand to hand, and not by name, but that's your premise, and let's just fess up and say Oooooooh, yeaaah!
Does it work? Yes, but maybe not the way you're thinking. Austin Grossman brings you Nixon like you've never seen him before: vulnerable, self-hating, adrift. This isn't a trashfest. It's in line with John Scalzi's Redshirts: a book that takes a cool pop culture premise and spins it into something totally unexpected. In this case, it's a Nixon bio, or a bio-drama, a first-person fiction. For quite long stretches, especially in the first half, you can forget that America is inhabited by the Raven Mother or that Roanoke died because the people there wouldn't deal with monsters. Instead, you're getting a man, and he's intriguing and broken.
The Nixon timeline governs the book, and where the story goes astray it does so because it clings to the truth. Real life has terrible structure, and the weaving of Lovecraftian mythos with history sometimes leaves Lovecraft struggling to hold the line. I wish the book were about twice as long - I want more magic, more appalling spells and shadows, more politics and law of the other side.
But: I feel for Nixon now. I want to know about him and his era. In the end, I just wanted Grossman's protagonist to win, and to be happy.
That's some writing, man.
Does it work? Yes, but maybe not the way you're thinking. Austin Grossman brings you Nixon like you've never seen him before: vulnerable, self-hating, adrift. This isn't a trashfest. It's in line with John Scalzi's Redshirts: a book that takes a cool pop culture premise and spins it into something totally unexpected. In this case, it's a Nixon bio, or a bio-drama, a first-person fiction. For quite long stretches, especially in the first half, you can forget that America is inhabited by the Raven Mother or that Roanoke died because the people there wouldn't deal with monsters. Instead, you're getting a man, and he's intriguing and broken.
The Nixon timeline governs the book, and where the story goes astray it does so because it clings to the truth. Real life has terrible structure, and the weaving of Lovecraftian mythos with history sometimes leaves Lovecraft struggling to hold the line. I wish the book were about twice as long - I want more magic, more appalling spells and shadows, more politics and law of the other side.
But: I feel for Nixon now. I want to know about him and his era. In the end, I just wanted Grossman's protagonist to win, and to be happy.
That's some writing, man.
July 22, 2015
Sorry, Woodward and Bernstein. You were duped, along with the rest of us. That so-called Watergate scandal was just a little play-acting to cover up the real story, a crucible of horror that would melt the face off any ordinary American.
Except, of course, for Richard Milhous Nixon.
Here, finally, our disgraced 37th president fills in those 18 1/2 minutes, and much more, to reveal the shocking truth about what he did, what dark forces he fought and what brave sacrifices he made to preserve the United States of America.
“It’s been twenty years since I was forced to stage my own death,” he writes from an undisclosed location. “I’ve lived to see myself become a laughingstock, a cartoon villain, the place in the august roll call of presidents where history pauses and snickers.”
You’ll do a bit of pausing and snickering yourself while reading Austin Grossman’s outlandish new novel, “Crooked,” which proves that we still have Nixon to kick around. . . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/enterta...
Except, of course, for Richard Milhous Nixon.
Here, finally, our disgraced 37th president fills in those 18 1/2 minutes, and much more, to reveal the shocking truth about what he did, what dark forces he fought and what brave sacrifices he made to preserve the United States of America.
“It’s been twenty years since I was forced to stage my own death,” he writes from an undisclosed location. “I’ve lived to see myself become a laughingstock, a cartoon villain, the place in the august roll call of presidents where history pauses and snickers.”
You’ll do a bit of pausing and snickering yourself while reading Austin Grossman’s outlandish new novel, “Crooked,” which proves that we still have Nixon to kick around. . . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/enterta...
September 4, 2015
The premise offered so much potential. It's too bad the book wasn't as well written as the publisher's summary that drew me in. Crooked is the story of Richard Nixon's political life told by RMN himself. Except it's not quite the same history we know. Far from being a paranoid, bungling schemer, Nixon is in fact sacrificing his reputation in order to allow the USA to win the Cold War with mystical supernatural weapons. While Vice President, he learns from Eisenhower that US Presidents have been entrusted with powers from the beginning of the nation. He must employ these powers, with the help of an ancient shaman (Henry Kissinger) to win the final showdown with the Soviet Union's magical forces.
It could have been a fun story in the right fantasist's hands. But it just didn't work for me.
It could have been a fun story in the right fantasist's hands. But it just didn't work for me.
September 5, 2016
3.5 stars interesting and entertaining but it could have been more fun
August 26, 2015
Richard Nixon's political career spanned from the 1950's to the 1970's. He went from a mastermind to a national joke. What if the man we call the nation's worst president is actually one of our greatest? In this alternate history, a young Nixon stumbled upon a supernatural secret and its ties to world politics ranging from the truth behind the Cold War to the Watergate cover-up.
Grossman put a good deal of effort into crafting Crooked by basing it in what we know to be historical fact peppered with Nixon's account of the "real" truth that he had to deal with throughout his career. As much as I enjoyed the supernatural aspects, I do wish there would have been a better explanation of it and how it worked. Personally, I would have liked to have seen more featuring other previous presidents and the supernatural threats they faced as well. Now that I mention it, I would have like to have seen more of the supernatural.
Overall, this is a well-written story featuring prominent historical characters and events with a unique twist, but it left me feeling that too many questions had been left unanswered. Now, if only there was a companion novel featuring an earlier president to help fill in some of the supernatural gaps - Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, or George Washington perhaps?
Grossman put a good deal of effort into crafting Crooked by basing it in what we know to be historical fact peppered with Nixon's account of the "real" truth that he had to deal with throughout his career. As much as I enjoyed the supernatural aspects, I do wish there would have been a better explanation of it and how it worked. Personally, I would have liked to have seen more featuring other previous presidents and the supernatural threats they faced as well. Now that I mention it, I would have like to have seen more of the supernatural.
Overall, this is a well-written story featuring prominent historical characters and events with a unique twist, but it left me feeling that too many questions had been left unanswered. Now, if only there was a companion novel featuring an earlier president to help fill in some of the supernatural gaps - Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, or George Washington perhaps?
November 30, 2019
Nope.
This could have been a good book. We're promised that we'll get a story about a supernatural threat that was involved in the history of the country. The Cold War, history before the Cold War...the Watergate break in, all part of a supernatural battle.
What we get is the author's pontificating through the mouth of the fictional Richard Nixon.
He recounts events of the life and political career of Mr. Nixon dropping in his own shots and versions of events (don't go here for actual history) with a couple of scenes where supernatural threats rear their heads (it's head???) but drops back to a story where Nixon sells out to Soviet spies who are also somehow involved in this supernatural hoopla.
All in all for a stupendously disappointing book as it was (and I suppose still is) a good idea. It's just (in my humble opinion) another case of good idea poor execution.
I've read other "stuff" by the author and he's written one of my favorite absurdist type fictions. This one I can't recommend. Sorry. Goes back to Audible. By the way, yes the reader tries to do a Nixon impression with his voice but that's not why I dislike it..he wasn't that bad actually.
This could have been a good book. We're promised that we'll get a story about a supernatural threat that was involved in the history of the country. The Cold War, history before the Cold War...the Watergate break in, all part of a supernatural battle.
What we get is the author's pontificating through the mouth of the fictional Richard Nixon.
He recounts events of the life and political career of Mr. Nixon dropping in his own shots and versions of events (don't go here for actual history) with a couple of scenes where supernatural threats rear their heads (it's head???) but drops back to a story where Nixon sells out to Soviet spies who are also somehow involved in this supernatural hoopla.
All in all for a stupendously disappointing book as it was (and I suppose still is) a good idea. It's just (in my humble opinion) another case of good idea poor execution.
I've read other "stuff" by the author and he's written one of my favorite absurdist type fictions. This one I can't recommend. Sorry. Goes back to Audible. By the way, yes the reader tries to do a Nixon impression with his voice but that's not why I dislike it..he wasn't that bad actually.
September 7, 2015
Great premise, shoddy execution. While the author clearly knew "stuff" about Nixon, he could have better used the Nixon voice and style that people recognize to better comedic effect. Instead, the narrator just sounded like some dude and not Nixon. Also, for a short book, the plot took too long to unfurl and there was a lot of scenery chewing that led to nowhere.
September 17, 2015
Austin Grossman’s Crooked bends into disappointment.
If you know anything about U.S. President Richard Nixon, it’s his involvement in the Watergate scandal and his subsequent resignation. In Crooked, Austin Grossman reimagines Nixon’s political career through the prism of him (and governments worldwide) fighting against supernatural evils. He’s still a rather unpleasant fellow, but you understand many of the choices he makes.
People argue whether Crooked is horror or a political thriller mixed with Lovecraftian supernatural elements, but whatever it is, it’s a mix of many genres. I get the feeling Grossman could’ve written it several different ways and would still wind up disappointing x amount of readers no matter what he did. According to peeps in my book club, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter went full action hero and the hokeyness didn’t deliver. Crooked is far more subdued, and in my opinion, too far below the radar. The first chapter starts out strong, with President Nixon performing some occult act in the White House to combat the supernatural, but the next 30 pages seem like a purely political take on Nixon’s early days, stymying the pace.
Part of me wishes Grossman had gotten to the presidency of Nixon earlier, but then other parts of me wish he hadn’t encased the novel inside of Nixon’s head or historical events, period. Late in the read, Grossman tries to bend his novel to history, but it doesn’t make sense. I checked with my book club—apparently nobody understood the actions of the fictional Nixon at this juncture. Not good. What I did like was all the little unexplored avenues Grossman put in (like a survivalist who went into a mysterious room with a month’s worse of supplies, disappeared, then a few months later was heard briefly screaming before no trace of him was ever seen or heard from again). Grossman is a talented writer, but the story sadly comes up short. In some ways, Crooked is a novel about disappointment and life unfulfilled, but that also means I was left disappointed in it. Two stars.
If you know anything about U.S. President Richard Nixon, it’s his involvement in the Watergate scandal and his subsequent resignation. In Crooked, Austin Grossman reimagines Nixon’s political career through the prism of him (and governments worldwide) fighting against supernatural evils. He’s still a rather unpleasant fellow, but you understand many of the choices he makes.
People argue whether Crooked is horror or a political thriller mixed with Lovecraftian supernatural elements, but whatever it is, it’s a mix of many genres. I get the feeling Grossman could’ve written it several different ways and would still wind up disappointing x amount of readers no matter what he did. According to peeps in my book club, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter went full action hero and the hokeyness didn’t deliver. Crooked is far more subdued, and in my opinion, too far below the radar. The first chapter starts out strong, with President Nixon performing some occult act in the White House to combat the supernatural, but the next 30 pages seem like a purely political take on Nixon’s early days, stymying the pace.
Part of me wishes Grossman had gotten to the presidency of Nixon earlier, but then other parts of me wish he hadn’t encased the novel inside of Nixon’s head or historical events, period. Late in the read, Grossman tries to bend his novel to history, but it doesn’t make sense. I checked with my book club—apparently nobody understood the actions of the fictional Nixon at this juncture. Not good. What I did like was all the little unexplored avenues Grossman put in (like a survivalist who went into a mysterious room with a month’s worse of supplies, disappeared, then a few months later was heard briefly screaming before no trace of him was ever seen or heard from again). Grossman is a talented writer, but the story sadly comes up short. In some ways, Crooked is a novel about disappointment and life unfulfilled, but that also means I was left disappointed in it. Two stars.
June 30, 2015
Political intrigue, US history, conspiracy and the supernatural all come together in this novel to create an unusual twist on a memorable president and scandal. The beginning of the book reminded me a little bit of the Netflix show, House of Cards, with the relationship between Nixon and his wife, Pat, and the focus on doing whatever it takes to get into the White House. That similarity was only brief, however.
The supernatural aspect was unique but not fully explained. The suspense in the book builds and I kept expecting things to fully come out into the open and for the author to describe everything in detail, but that never happened. Therefore, it left me unsatisfied at the end of the book.
One other issue I had with the book was the lack of emotion that Nixon had for his children. His two daughters were mentioned in passing, but that was it. The author never conveyed that Nixon had any feelings for his children, which I found odd. The relationship between Nixon and his wife was never fully developed enough in my opinion, but perhaps that demonstrates how their relationship was more of a business relationship.
Crooked left me with a lot of questions. What happened to Gregor in the end? What exactly were the supernatural powers capable of? How were they going to destroy the world?
I liked how the book was historical fiction. The author goes into some facts about Nixon's background and upbringing, that were true. The beginning of the book prompted me to do a little research on Nixon. In the premise of the book, the Watergate scandal was basically a coverup of some supernatural event, but it was never explicitly stated what they were hoping to accomplish by breaking into the Watergate Hotel.
The end of the book seemed a little random and like the author was grasping at straws, with the family trip to Disney World. The author implies that Walt Disney was part of this magical, supernatural task force. Nixon goes through Disney World with his family thinking of all the ways Walt Disney was trying to give him hidden messages or make fun of him. Perhaps the author was trying to show us how paranoid Nixon truly was.
Overall, Austin Grossman has produced a unique, well-written story with a twist on a historical figure. The book left too many questions unanswered for me, and didn't tie everything together in a neat package. Grossman is a good writer, however, and I am tempted to read some of his other books.
Thank you to the publishers of Mulholland Books for providing me with an Advanced Reader's Copy. I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway .
If you love politics and the supernatural, this is the perfect book for you! Thank you Goodreads First Reads !
The supernatural aspect was unique but not fully explained. The suspense in the book builds and I kept expecting things to fully come out into the open and for the author to describe everything in detail, but that never happened. Therefore, it left me unsatisfied at the end of the book.
One other issue I had with the book was the lack of emotion that Nixon had for his children. His two daughters were mentioned in passing, but that was it. The author never conveyed that Nixon had any feelings for his children, which I found odd. The relationship between Nixon and his wife was never fully developed enough in my opinion, but perhaps that demonstrates how their relationship was more of a business relationship.
Crooked left me with a lot of questions. What happened to Gregor in the end? What exactly were the supernatural powers capable of? How were they going to destroy the world?
I liked how the book was historical fiction. The author goes into some facts about Nixon's background and upbringing, that were true. The beginning of the book prompted me to do a little research on Nixon. In the premise of the book, the Watergate scandal was basically a coverup of some supernatural event, but it was never explicitly stated what they were hoping to accomplish by breaking into the Watergate Hotel.
The end of the book seemed a little random and like the author was grasping at straws, with the family trip to Disney World. The author implies that Walt Disney was part of this magical, supernatural task force. Nixon goes through Disney World with his family thinking of all the ways Walt Disney was trying to give him hidden messages or make fun of him. Perhaps the author was trying to show us how paranoid Nixon truly was.
Overall, Austin Grossman has produced a unique, well-written story with a twist on a historical figure. The book left too many questions unanswered for me, and didn't tie everything together in a neat package. Grossman is a good writer, however, and I am tempted to read some of his other books.
Thank you to the publishers of Mulholland Books for providing me with an Advanced Reader's Copy. I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway .
If you love politics and the supernatural, this is the perfect book for you! Thank you Goodreads First Reads !
February 24, 2015
A glorious, singular fever dream of a novel; what if Nixon was every bit the flawed, pathetic man we thought he was, but was also fighting immeasurable paranormal evil? Grossman takes real figures, historic events, and confidently runs them through a kaleidoscope, creating a world both wild and yet somehow as plausible as the actual events and people. I've wracked my brain trying to think of something to compare it to, finally settling on "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell," but it's not quite that. I read to the end, hardly daring to breathe, because I knew he wouldn't be able to keep up the conceit, he'd finish weak, which would be understandable and I'd still really like the book, but Grossman lands this chimera, this contraption, with polish and aplomb.
It's wonderful, and brave and WEIRD in the best possible way, for the reader in your life who swears they've seen, and read, everything.
It's wonderful, and brave and WEIRD in the best possible way, for the reader in your life who swears they've seen, and read, everything.
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May 31, 2019How good a writer is Austin Grossman? Good enough to turn Richard Nixon into an antihero worth rooting for. Not by denying what Nixon was, fudging and airbrushing the historical record, but by making him the first-person protagonist and having him accept and confess, at least in the interior monologue to which we, the readers, are privy, his many flaws.
Grossman also gives him a reimagined Cold War to fight and embeds in that struggle an even darker threat, one that recasts many of Nixon's worst, lowest moments as quietly, anonymously heroic. It begins with Watergate, which, in this alternative history is not what we thought it was, and from there loops back to 1946, when Nixon was trying to make his mark hunting Communists such as Alger Hiss.
Grossman is one of those writers whose sentences are delightful, one moment muscular and packed with energy, another moment gently reflective and melancholy, yet another, deadpan funny. As in his wonderful debut novel, Soon I Will Be Invincible, he excels at writing about fantastic and supernatural elements. Take, for example, this passage where the sorcerer, Henry Kissinger, debriefs a collection of high-ranking military personnel and senators on the true dark heart of the Cold War, using the clipped language appropriate to such a gathering, though the content is rather different:
And this moment of clarity from Nixon:
This is Le Carre meets Lovecraft, the perfect fictional vehicle for examining those decades during the twentieth-century when two superpowers indulged their sick fascination for death on a global scale.
Grossman also gives him a reimagined Cold War to fight and embeds in that struggle an even darker threat, one that recasts many of Nixon's worst, lowest moments as quietly, anonymously heroic. It begins with Watergate, which, in this alternative history is not what we thought it was, and from there loops back to 1946, when Nixon was trying to make his mark hunting Communists such as Alger Hiss.
Grossman is one of those writers whose sentences are delightful, one moment muscular and packed with energy, another moment gently reflective and melancholy, yet another, deadpan funny. As in his wonderful debut novel, Soon I Will Be Invincible, he excels at writing about fantastic and supernatural elements. Take, for example, this passage where the sorcerer, Henry Kissinger, debriefs a collection of high-ranking military personnel and senators on the true dark heart of the Cold War, using the clipped language appropriate to such a gathering, though the content is rather different:
"Our principal opponent, the Soviet Union, has many forms of xeno-, exo-, and cryptobiological ordnance to draw upon. Some that emanate from the distant Precambrian past, and some from the far-distant apocalyptic future. Those that lie sleeping, and those that do not sleep and are ever vigilant." (252)
And this moment of clarity from Nixon:
I was thirty-five and I thought I was playing political poker and it turned out I'd been playing in some other game I didn't even know about. Like I'd been holding a hand of kings and then the people around the table started putting down more kings, a king with a squid's face, a naked king with goat's horns holding up a bough of holly. A Russian king with an insect's voice. I knew the look on my face because I'd seen it on other people's faces, that moment when the cocky junior-league card-sharp who thinks he's been running the show all night looks around the table and finally figures out who the sucker is. (58)
This is Le Carre meets Lovecraft, the perfect fictional vehicle for examining those decades during the twentieth-century when two superpowers indulged their sick fascination for death on a global scale.
November 19, 2015
http://www.themaineedge.com/buzz/croo...
What if Richard Nixon was not our worst president, but our greatest?
That’s the question posed by Austin Grossman’s “Crooked”, a novel that offers an intriguing explanation for Nixon’s punchline of a political career. What if Richard Nixon had in fact stumbled upon the darkest of dark secrets buried between the lines of the United States Constitution? What if he discovered that the Cold War was about far more than a mere nuclear arms race, but rather the weaponization of occult and paranormal forces from beyond our dimension?
“Crooked” tells the story in Nixon’s own words. This Nixon was compromised early on, back when he was just a wet-behind-the-ears junior Congressman from California. In the course of his grandstanding attempt to demonize Alger Hiss as a Communist, Nixon’s desperate inquiries lead him to discover that Hiss was involved with far more than state secrets.
He crosses paths with Arkady and Tatiana, two Russian agents who have a surprisingly easy time turning Nixon to their cause. Nixon’s career rises and falls in unexpected ways; all the while, he is torn between his own selfish desires and his increasingly terrifying understanding of what the stakes truly are.
He ascends to the Senate. He’s chosen by Eisenhower as his vice president. He loses to JFK. He mounts his comeback in 1968. All of it serving as the public face of a private war being waged over the future of America’s soul. Through it all, Tricky Dick plods away, never knowing which side he has chosen … or which side he wants to choose.
Unsure who to trust and unable to be the hero that he wants to be, Nixon commits everything he can to trying to rouse America’s otherworldly defenses before the Soviets can unleash their militarized Lovecraftian horrors against democracy.
In this world, the United States Presidency is a position of power. Not just political power, either – the U.S. President has access to unimaginable mystic forces, though not all were able to access it. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and Dwight Eisenhower had it; Truman and JFK and LBJ did not.
Essentially, “Crooked” offers a secret history of Richard Nixon’s political career. It shows the motivations behind some of Nixon’s most well-known moments – the Hiss trials, the debate with Kennedy, his closeness to Kissinger, the Watergate debacle – as all connected to the many magical forces conspiring against both him and the United States.
The best alternative history is the kind whose wild fictions are built on a foundation of fact; Grossman provides just enough truth to make his story soar. The portrait he paints is of a striving, venal man thrust into circumstances he desperately wants, yet can’t possibly handle. The twists on recognizable figures – Eisenhower, Kissinger, Pat Nixon, Howard Hunt – are great fun for anyone intrigued by that period in our history.
One thing that should be noted is that “Crooked” is a wildly readable book – one whose fast pacing and idiosyncratic storytelling lead to an unending string of self-bargained “Just one more chapter” promises. It’s not every day that a book comes along that will entertain political junkies and speculative fiction fans alike; if you’re one or the other or both, “Crooked” is definitely for you.
What if Richard Nixon was not our worst president, but our greatest?
That’s the question posed by Austin Grossman’s “Crooked”, a novel that offers an intriguing explanation for Nixon’s punchline of a political career. What if Richard Nixon had in fact stumbled upon the darkest of dark secrets buried between the lines of the United States Constitution? What if he discovered that the Cold War was about far more than a mere nuclear arms race, but rather the weaponization of occult and paranormal forces from beyond our dimension?
“Crooked” tells the story in Nixon’s own words. This Nixon was compromised early on, back when he was just a wet-behind-the-ears junior Congressman from California. In the course of his grandstanding attempt to demonize Alger Hiss as a Communist, Nixon’s desperate inquiries lead him to discover that Hiss was involved with far more than state secrets.
He crosses paths with Arkady and Tatiana, two Russian agents who have a surprisingly easy time turning Nixon to their cause. Nixon’s career rises and falls in unexpected ways; all the while, he is torn between his own selfish desires and his increasingly terrifying understanding of what the stakes truly are.
He ascends to the Senate. He’s chosen by Eisenhower as his vice president. He loses to JFK. He mounts his comeback in 1968. All of it serving as the public face of a private war being waged over the future of America’s soul. Through it all, Tricky Dick plods away, never knowing which side he has chosen … or which side he wants to choose.
Unsure who to trust and unable to be the hero that he wants to be, Nixon commits everything he can to trying to rouse America’s otherworldly defenses before the Soviets can unleash their militarized Lovecraftian horrors against democracy.
In this world, the United States Presidency is a position of power. Not just political power, either – the U.S. President has access to unimaginable mystic forces, though not all were able to access it. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and Dwight Eisenhower had it; Truman and JFK and LBJ did not.
Essentially, “Crooked” offers a secret history of Richard Nixon’s political career. It shows the motivations behind some of Nixon’s most well-known moments – the Hiss trials, the debate with Kennedy, his closeness to Kissinger, the Watergate debacle – as all connected to the many magical forces conspiring against both him and the United States.
The best alternative history is the kind whose wild fictions are built on a foundation of fact; Grossman provides just enough truth to make his story soar. The portrait he paints is of a striving, venal man thrust into circumstances he desperately wants, yet can’t possibly handle. The twists on recognizable figures – Eisenhower, Kissinger, Pat Nixon, Howard Hunt – are great fun for anyone intrigued by that period in our history.
One thing that should be noted is that “Crooked” is a wildly readable book – one whose fast pacing and idiosyncratic storytelling lead to an unending string of self-bargained “Just one more chapter” promises. It’s not every day that a book comes along that will entertain political junkies and speculative fiction fans alike; if you’re one or the other or both, “Crooked” is definitely for you.
August 20, 2015
From the reviews about the book to the blurbs on the back I had high hopes for this book. Richard Nixon a wizard, how cool! I was expecting a cross between The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and the excellent Laundry Files series by Charles Stross. The opening chapter rocked and then...well...I'm not sure what happened. The book slips back through time to Nixon's boyhood in California. There's lots of first person point of view inside Nixon's head as a miserable child, then a miserable teen leading to a driven, miserable adult just holding his hand out to the world saying please love me.
If your going to bring up the dread cthulhu and body changing ravens from hell and demons and monsters, don't hint at them, let it rip. Let all hell break loose and kick some serious ass. Let Nixon be a bad-ass wizard who saves the earth from the invading monster hordes from the back of beyond. Instead we get a book where Nixon's a sniveling whiner who's really not very bright while surrounded by bad-ass sorcerers such as Eisenhower and Henry Kissinger. Nixon's big power is seeing in the dark (BFD), and that's not till the end and if anyone kicks ass it's Henry Kissinger.
Half way through I just started skimming the enormous amounts of poor-me interior dialog. It just wasn't interesting. In the end this just felt like another tired poke at Nixon and not very entertaining.
If your going to bring up the dread cthulhu and body changing ravens from hell and demons and monsters, don't hint at them, let it rip. Let all hell break loose and kick some serious ass. Let Nixon be a bad-ass wizard who saves the earth from the invading monster hordes from the back of beyond. Instead we get a book where Nixon's a sniveling whiner who's really not very bright while surrounded by bad-ass sorcerers such as Eisenhower and Henry Kissinger. Nixon's big power is seeing in the dark (BFD), and that's not till the end and if anyone kicks ass it's Henry Kissinger.
Half way through I just started skimming the enormous amounts of poor-me interior dialog. It just wasn't interesting. In the end this just felt like another tired poke at Nixon and not very entertaining.
July 30, 2015
Austin Grossman’s new novel, Crooked, features a very different Richard Nixon from the one you may remember from history class. To illustrate, allow me to start this review with a brief quote from the book’s opening chapter, showing Nixon in the Oval Office:
"I closed the blinds, knelt down, and rolled back the carpeting to reveal the great seal of the office, set just beneath the public one. I rolled up my left sleeve and cut twice with the dagger as prescribed, to release the blood of the Democratically Elected, the Duly Sworn and Consecrated. I began to chant in stilted, precise seventeenth-century English prose from the the Twelfth and Thirteenth Secret Articles of the United States Constitution. These were not the duties of the U.S. presidency as I had once conceived of them, nor as most of the citizens of this country still do. But really. Ask yourself if everything in your life is the way they told you it would be."
Well, the man has a point.
Read the entire review on my site Far Beyond Reality!
"I closed the blinds, knelt down, and rolled back the carpeting to reveal the great seal of the office, set just beneath the public one. I rolled up my left sleeve and cut twice with the dagger as prescribed, to release the blood of the Democratically Elected, the Duly Sworn and Consecrated. I began to chant in stilted, precise seventeenth-century English prose from the the Twelfth and Thirteenth Secret Articles of the United States Constitution. These were not the duties of the U.S. presidency as I had once conceived of them, nor as most of the citizens of this country still do. But really. Ask yourself if everything in your life is the way they told you it would be."
Well, the man has a point.
Read the entire review on my site Far Beyond Reality!
March 7, 2016
The book had the potential for greatness but ultimately topped out at goodness, which is fine but I was hoping for more. I love the concept: Richard Nixon stumbles upon a Lovecraftian Black Magic plot that goes all the way to the top. He inadvertently gets involved, becomes a Soviet spy, has crazy adventures. Sounds great, right? Except the adventures were crazy, but just not much fun. This is one of those books that you suspect all the cool stuff is happening just off stage, to another, more interesting character.
Don't get me wrong, I love weird, ambitious things...that's why I read Lovecraft. It's just that Nixon was not a compelling character. There were great powers at play, and Nixon never really got to use them. Eisenhower was up to something cool, and we never really get to experience them in anyway that's satisfying. Nixon's wife knew more than she let on, but was only let in on the action when it was too late to really make a point in the narrative.
I give Grossman three stars for making a reasonably compelling book and playing with a fun idea, it's just that he didn't seem to have enough fun doing so.
Don't get me wrong, I love weird, ambitious things...that's why I read Lovecraft. It's just that Nixon was not a compelling character. There were great powers at play, and Nixon never really got to use them. Eisenhower was up to something cool, and we never really get to experience them in anyway that's satisfying. Nixon's wife knew more than she let on, but was only let in on the action when it was too late to really make a point in the narrative.
I give Grossman three stars for making a reasonably compelling book and playing with a fun idea, it's just that he didn't seem to have enough fun doing so.
July 14, 2015
4.5/5.0
December 2, 2015
Not half as good as it could have and should have been. This is a spectacular premise that Grossman under delivers upon. I think Grossman tries to cover too much time in Crooked. The book tracks Nixon's whole political career, meaning that the book has to survey almost thirty years. This leads to a rushed, superficial treatment of both the realistic elements of the plot and the supernatural components Grossman adds.
I think this book has a good grasp on who Nixon was psychologically, but since it is narrated first person as an old Nixon looking back at his life, the tone is very detached. Nixon tells us about all his neuroses and all these complicated things going on in his mind and his life, but the audience never feels it. Nixon agonizes continually over his marriage, yet Pat is a total non-character so the marital drama falls totally flat. Grossman flunks the show don't tell test with this book big time. The tone is weird, because Nixon self evaluates using a flat, omniscient perspective yet we the audience have to suffer through a poor understanding of what's going on supernaturally because Nixon himself doesn't know for a lot of the book. So it's like Grossman jettisoned the strongest part of first person narration, emotional immediacy and power, yet emphasized the greatest weakness of the first person perspective, imperfect knowledge of plot points and characters due to the protagonist's limited perspective.
The result is basically a book long Wikipedia entry on Nixon's life interspersed with some undercooked fantasy elements. Nixon himself is an interesting character, but all the characters besides Nixon are total ciphers. This book has some cool individual scenes, and some witty asides, but on the whole it's underwhelming. I thought this book would be great, so I was definitely let down.
I think this book has a good grasp on who Nixon was psychologically, but since it is narrated first person as an old Nixon looking back at his life, the tone is very detached. Nixon tells us about all his neuroses and all these complicated things going on in his mind and his life, but the audience never feels it. Nixon agonizes continually over his marriage, yet Pat is a total non-character so the marital drama falls totally flat. Grossman flunks the show don't tell test with this book big time. The tone is weird, because Nixon self evaluates using a flat, omniscient perspective yet we the audience have to suffer through a poor understanding of what's going on supernaturally because Nixon himself doesn't know for a lot of the book. So it's like Grossman jettisoned the strongest part of first person narration, emotional immediacy and power, yet emphasized the greatest weakness of the first person perspective, imperfect knowledge of plot points and characters due to the protagonist's limited perspective.
The result is basically a book long Wikipedia entry on Nixon's life interspersed with some undercooked fantasy elements. Nixon himself is an interesting character, but all the characters besides Nixon are total ciphers. This book has some cool individual scenes, and some witty asides, but on the whole it's underwhelming. I thought this book would be great, so I was definitely let down.
September 9, 2016
This is such a good idea, but it's given only a passable execution. I was hoping for something really funny but, beyond the inherent comedy of the "Richard Nixon: Paranormal Expert" premise, there isn't much in the way of jokes to be found here. I wish a more comedic-minded author had taken this one on instead (A. Lee Martinez comes to mind). Grossman tries really hard to set the mood and tone of political intrigue, but does so in a stiff and repetitive fashion that just feels strained. The biographical beginning is a mix of unnecessary and uninteresting, there isn't enough supernatural action to balance the lengthy secret agent plot, and the inclusion of true historical facts often does more to push away believability in the occult storyline rather than lend it depth. The hackneyed Cold War spy games (complete with silly Russian accents) are written like bad cliches of cliches, hardly realistic but thinly entertaining -- though juvenile.
That may be a good word to describe the book as a whole: juvenile. It's sometimes entertaining, in the way a B-movie can be. But it's a slow build. It's a very slow, 250+ page build that doesn't really go anywhere. There are a few promising leads but no satisfying reveals, just repeated questions and a little bit of jumbled action. Fans of Lovecraft and cosmic horror are obliged to check out this unique take on the genre. Just don't set your expectations very high.
1 star out of 5.
That may be a good word to describe the book as a whole: juvenile. It's sometimes entertaining, in the way a B-movie can be. But it's a slow build. It's a very slow, 250+ page build that doesn't really go anywhere. There are a few promising leads but no satisfying reveals, just repeated questions and a little bit of jumbled action. Fans of Lovecraft and cosmic horror are obliged to check out this unique take on the genre. Just don't set your expectations very high.
1 star out of 5.
October 29, 2015
For about fifty pages I thought I was reading a great campy novel. Austin Grossman establishes a voice for Nixon (the novel is narrated by Nixon) that is pitch perfect and never winks at the reader despite the absurd silliness of the events being described. In fact, it's the first few chapters that convinced me to pick this book up as a must read. But then, nothing very interesting happens. We get all the major events of Nixon's political life from Alger Hiss to the resignation filtered through the lens of a cold war where Soviets and Americans are competing in their ability to harness supernatural forces. Sometimes these events (e.g. the presidential debate between Nixon and JFK) seem inserted in an obligatory fashion without really contributing to the story. The novel is choppily episodic, and we never get a sense of what this occult war is really all about.
Despite these criticisms, there are a few moments of genuine hilarity and astonishment, and I've already mentioned the author's skill in establishing a Nixonian voice. If Austin Grossman can finish his next novel as well as he started this one, I might be on board.
Despite these criticisms, there are a few moments of genuine hilarity and astonishment, and I've already mentioned the author's skill in establishing a Nixonian voice. If Austin Grossman can finish his next novel as well as he started this one, I might be on board.
August 12, 2016
Disappointed. That's the main feeling I have, after finishing this one.
Nixon is the first President I remember. (I was born in 1968) My dad was a "Tricky Dick" supporter, and I remember the 'Watergate" scandal very well.
When I read the blurb on this one, I grabbed it, couldn't wait to read it.
This is Nixon's story, told by the man himself. The premise here is that there are supernatural forces at work, and both the USA and Russia are trying to gain the upper hand using them.
Parts of this book are really good, and I love Nixon's voice here. But I felt like the story didn't scratch beneath the surface. It seemed like I was ready a "Cliff-notes" version of the story, or someone's review of it. It just never went deep enough for me, never delivered on the promise of a great story idea.
Nixon is the first President I remember. (I was born in 1968) My dad was a "Tricky Dick" supporter, and I remember the 'Watergate" scandal very well.
When I read the blurb on this one, I grabbed it, couldn't wait to read it.
This is Nixon's story, told by the man himself. The premise here is that there are supernatural forces at work, and both the USA and Russia are trying to gain the upper hand using them.
Parts of this book are really good, and I love Nixon's voice here. But I felt like the story didn't scratch beneath the surface. It seemed like I was ready a "Cliff-notes" version of the story, or someone's review of it. It just never went deep enough for me, never delivered on the promise of a great story idea.
July 9, 2017
Austin Grossman's Crooked gives Richard Nixon the Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter treatment, pitting Tricky Dick against the supernatural. I'll echo other reviewers that it's more interesting in concept than execution; the book's better in its early chapters when younger Nixon's fumbling around the edges of Revelation rather than immersed in it. Partly because Grossman does a poor job building the Supernatural elements, beyond a recurring immortal villain who spends his days causing trouble in the jungles of Vietnam. Partly because, once Nixon actually gains his Presidential powers, the book ends abruptly. Even so, it might be cheesy fun if Grossman didn't deliver it with deadpan seriousness; this story would seem to need either a lighter touch, or better construction if played straight.
March 31, 2016
I was given this book with a sticky note on it that said, "This was weird." While I didn't think it was exceptionally weird, I did think it was boring and poorly written (there were some good one-liners, though). It is a great idea, but I don't think Grossman made it work. There wasn't enough supernatural elements to make it interesting (in my opinion), the characters were flat and emotionless, and it ended up quite tedious. I think the shame in it is that I've read actual biographies that were more interesting.
June 25, 2016
I loved the premise for this story: repaint one of the most reviled characters in US history as a hero in an unknown war against the undead. In practice, creating Nixon as a hero who understands so little about his powers, his role, or the threat facing him made for a challenging read. It motivated me to learn more about Nixon, though, and I enjoyed fact-checking the many historical points in the book.
January 16, 2019
The description of this book drew me in almost immediately. The battle of good vs evil supernatural forces with a dash of mystery and espionage? Yes please! But the author at best, just touches on the promised supernatural. There were no epic battles, (Nixon wasn't present for the one battle that was mentioned.) no further exploration of Nixon's and Eisenhower's supernatural abilities.
Disappointment all around.
Disappointment all around.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2016
This book has a lot of promise, yet didn't really deliver for me. I'm interested in Richard Nixon and the book wasn't fantastical enough nor humorous enough. The fantasy element just seemed to peter out. I can't really recommend this book.
February 15, 2018
This is a seriously weird book. I went through Watergate, and remember all the different theories that people had about Richard Nixon, but I don't remember anyone thinking he was a Soviet intelligence asset. But wait--you don't have to read Marx to understand this book; you'd be better off reading Lovecraft. It seems that Nixon was ensnared by a few Soviet agents--Arkadi and Tatiana--who are also worried about the USSR's development of other-worldly/prehistoric weaponry. Eisenhower knows a lot about this, and is helping the US develop its own weapons. But sitting in the haunted White House, he's unwilling to share information with the untrustworthy Nixon. Then there's Kissinger, who gives Nixon support when he most needs it. Who--or what?--is he? And no-one, except maybe Eisenhower, understands what Pat's real role is.
October 11, 2017
A first person 'biography' of Richard Nixon as told by the love child of HP Lovecraft and Hunter S. Thompson. Nixon spends his career fighting the occult cold war between America and the USSR. What? That's not enough for you? The voice of Nixon is superb, self serving, loathsome, yet at the same time self aware and seeking approval. Bravo.
September 8, 2022
A decent premise spoiled in the execution. It’s supposed to be a Lovecraftian horror with the disgraced president as hero, but Grossman shies away from the Lovecraftian horror part of the story. Too much political history and not enough tentacles and mystery, by the time it gets to the end it’s full on American exceptionalism and myth building, neglecting the fact that the French, Spanish and others were here colonizing before the British. Also ignoring that Canada and Mexico exist. I guess ancient magic respects modern borders…
August 5, 2019
A fun, ridiculous little book told in the first person as Richard Nixon explaining away his actions and personality quirks as being part of a historical worldwide struggle against Lovecraftian horrors.
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