The Green Progression

by L.E. Modesitt Jr., Bruce Scott Levinson

When his boss is killed in a shootout near the U.S. Capitol, legal assistant Jack McDarvid must sort out the machinations of the environment movement while a fanatic threatens Washington with a nuclear time bomb. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 1991

About the author

L. E. (Leland Exton) Modesitt, Jr. is an author of science fiction and fantasy novels. He is best known for the fantasy series The Saga of Recluce. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts, lived in Washington, D.C. for 20 years, then moved to New Hampshire in 1989 where he met his wife. They relocated to Cedar City, Utah in 1993.

He has worked as a Navy pilot, lifeguard, delivery boy, unpaid radio disc jockey, real estate agent, market research analyst, director of research for a political campaign, legislative assistant for a Congressman, Director of Legislation and Congressional Relations for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a consultant on environmental, regulatory, and communications issues, and a college lecturer and writer in residence.
In addition to his novels, Mr. Modesitt has published technical studies and articles, columns, poetry, and a number of science fiction stories. His first short story, "The Great American Economy", was published in 1973 in Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The description of the book is misleading, I think. This isn't 'what could happen', but what has happened. There might not be a conspiracy driving it, but much of our industry has been pushed off-shore due to regulations. Modesitt does a great job of explaining many very real issues in an entertaining & very real setting. Read his bio here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._E._M....
You'll see that he's extremely well qualified to do so. In fact, the main character might well be him.

If you're looking for a lot of action, you won't find it in these pages. There is a bit, but this isn't very fictional, more of a look into the actual workings of DC where the knives are subtle & innuendo is more powerful than an automatic rifle. Facts aren't what they seem, either. It's very real & a great lesson in the need for research when evaluating the relative dangers of pollution & economic necessity.

This is far more realistic than most of his novels, but many of the themes are similar. The tight economies & interconnections his fantasy & SF worlds display show their roots here in the real world. It's a reason he's one of my favorite authors. I believe I've read all his novels & most of his short stories. I highly recommend them all - fantasy, SF, & now this plain mystery-thriller. I'm sorry it took me so long to get around to reading it.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book, but kind of slow. This is Modesitt's only (?) non- SciFi/Fantasy book, so I was curious. The plot got off slowly and finally cranked up to mild anticipation of the climax. I note from other comments that a lot of the story actually happened (minus the murder).

You can tell it's Modesitt; I wasn't "thrilled", but it was serious coverage of very relevant issues.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that deals with dirty politics in what's now a past Washington DC. Looking at the author's bio and comparing it with the two main characters gives me the impression that they are author inserts, One comment in the book was that no one wrote good stories about the real Washington DC, and that's still the case, it was decent, but not a knockout. It also felt like the first in a series that never went anywhere.

It's interesting reading his only contemporary fiction work, there's a fair number of the typical Modesitt tropes, like long descriptions of meals and ecology. Unless you're already a fan, I'd give this a pass and I suggest you try one of his fantasy series instead.

[Tony Fecteau · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book plodded really slowly through-out the book. I was a little disappointed because I have read most of L.E. Modesitt Jr. books and loved them all.

[Cheryl]

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