The Patriots’ Club is about a secret Club of , well patriots, whose super computer system detects that Thomas Bolden, your regular investment banker is a threat to the security of the world’s super power. One day, Thomas Bolden is basking in the warm sunshine of his immense achievements at Harrington Weiss, the company for which he works, and the next day, he is America’s Most wanted criminal and all because a little toy, controlled by the rich and powerful decides that he needs some looking after. This action packed thriller follows Bolden through some of the most dangerous parts of New York as he and his girlfriend Jenny try to beat the system, which is pretty much everyone from the FBI to the guy next door, who are bent on getting a piece of Bolden, preferably alive. Without giving away much of the story, suffice it to say that there are a few twists towards the end, which the reader definitely does not see coming.
The ideas and conspiracies that Reich exposes are quite thought provoking. It makes you sit back and think about how much technology advances can swiftly turn into the biggest threat, when they get into the wrong hands. Reich always introduces difficult concepts in the guise of fiction so the average reader can grasp the enormity of the issues surrounding the world. As with any of his books, the story is set around money and banking.
Despite all these great things going on for The Patriots Club, it does not stand out as a book par excellence because the idea of one man against the system and beating them over and over again just seems a little too un-palatable. There are too many chance co-incidences, too many opportunities when the bad guys end up making basic mistakes that it just seems quite unbelievable. It was probably a book that Reich wrote keeping in mind a movie, as some of the scenes might seem quite convincing in a movie format.
The book is definitely worth a read for all the conspiracies that it tries to expose but set aside your belief cap when doing so.
Book Rating – 3.25/5
Book Stats:-
No. of Pages:- 342;
Year Published:- 2005;
Publisher:- Headline Book Publishing
Book Setting:- US;
Reading dates:- 27/Mar/2010 - 02/Apr/2010
Christopher Reich is a great writer and though The Patriot’s Club is not his best, I would definitely recommend these:-
I was quite taken in my Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows and so I went ahead and picked up Broken Verses. Do watch out for the review coming up shortly.
Ok, the story seemed interesting. So, I tried to look up the movie by the same name and wasn't able to find any! Even IMDB didn't know of a movie by this name. So, I'm guessing the movie is named differently? Can you please point to the movie that was made based on this book?
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