Another strong portrayal of a villain from Grossman.
Avoids the trap of completely rehabilitating Nixon. He’s sympathetic without being likable, and interesting to follow without the reader always cheering them on.
Loses steam in the second half. There’s plot lines that go nowhere, scenes that could have been cut without changing anything, and the climax happens completely off-screen, with no buildup or release of tension.
Still, I learned a few things about writing:
- Delivering most of your plot via dialog -- so long as you're not data dumping -- can be a great way to keep the story moving.
- The best villains think they're the hero.
- Restricting your book to one POV can be too confining. Multiple POV can let you explore other aspects of your world, which you might need if your story takes place somewhere very different.
