Culture & Arts

Culture & the Arts with a Libertarian Spin

Alaskan Masada

Troy J. Grice has written a first novel that is part 1984, part Future Shock, and part Atlas Shrugged. Grice shows some promise as a writer in his first attempt. His dialogue can be didactic, and the overall quality of his storytelling is uneven and inconsistent, but he demonstrates an ability to write smooth, sometimes colorful prose, and he has constructed a story that keeps the reader despite its author's rookie errors. The story begins with a rather depressing projection of the future of the United States, or "Amerika" as Grice calls it, but eventually ends with the redemption of the protagonist and the triumph of liberty over a version of statism in which a corporate oligarchy is essentially the state, in a showdown hearkening back to Masada. Grice's ending may be the best aspect of his story. When it is over, you give yourself a "Wow-I-should've-had-a-V8" head slap for not seeing the foreshadowing, but to his credit, I didn't see it coming despite some clues that in hindsight were obvious.

-jwh-

A Libertarian John Grisham!

Northern Kentucky attorney, Rick Robinson's second novel, Sniper Bid, released in November of '08 provides the Libertarian literary conisseur with a welcome feast. Fiction that is as well written as it is well-versed in the principles of liberty is rare. Perhaps its because Libertarians tend to be too left-brained, too versed in political and economic dogma to craft a good story that stands on its own as a work of literary merit, but also has a clear though not blatant or didactic political message.

Attorney Robinson has hit all the bases in this tale of a small town politician who falls into the political opportunity of a lifetime at the death of the incumbent Congressman in his district. He relishes his new role until he steps into an issue that ends up getting him targeted for assassination. But why, and by whom? Hint about the why-- it might have something to do with his libertarian philosophy.

We suspect the author is not trying very hard to conceal his own resemblance to the similarly named protagonist, Richard Thompson, and as a novelist myself, any writer who tells you it isn't in some small or usually not so small way about oneself is a bald faced liar. Certainly the Inside the Beltway experiences Robinson had as a Legislative Director and Chief Counsel for former Congressman (yes, and former major league pitcher) Jim Bunning provided ample grist for Rick's creative mill, and no doubt his own personality and experiences are woven intricately with the extremely believable fiction he has created.

We mention Grisham above for obvious reasons, and could mention Scott Thurow another of many lawyers who are also novelists. What is it about attorneys and fiction writing? Could it be they are all just frustrated writers? Well, this writer is a frustrated lawyer, so maybe there's a correlation. At any rate, as a writer, I'm also a frustrated Rick Robinson in the sense that I wish I'd thought of this plot, and wish I had this book on my resume.

Other than the Law connection, if we are looking for a style that makes a better cross-reference to Robinson's work, than Grisham or Thurow, we might invoke James Patterson or David Baldacci.

Sniper Bid hit the Amazon Top 100 Best Seller List for Political Fiction, peaking at #46. It also won honorable mention in the New England Book Festival. His first novel, The Maximum Contribution also won recognition from The Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Hollywood Book Festival.

-jwh-

For more on Robinson and his books, this link leads to others.

What are the best Libertarian Novels?

The consensus choice for number one:

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

But after that...

We obviously think our editor's novel, St. Jude's Gospel should be on the list.

And a new discovery... Attorney Rick Robinson's second effort, Sniper Bid above.

And then what? Here's a link to the Libertarian Alliance blog (a UK Libertarian site) where they list the best Libertarian novels. What do you think? Have you read any of these books? Are you aware of others? Let us know.

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