Brief summary:
Gary Jackson is raised to hate. Hate the United States, and everything it has ever stood for. His mission is to destroy the United States from within, allying himself with America’s enemies to accomplish the deed. He stops at nothing, and a small group of Americans decide they need to stop him. Will they succeed or will the US be relegated to the dustbin of history?
Excerpt:
“You know who is one of your enemies, Gary?” asked al Hussein.
“No, who?” the boy asked with a bewildered look on his face.
“One of your enemies is your mother. She doesn’t agree with the government controlling peoples’ lives, and she thinks terrorism to control the people is bad. What do you think we should do with her, Gary?” asked Putin.
“My mother is an enemy? But, she could be on our side,” Gary innocently protested.
“We’ve talked about this before, Gary, and you know what you must do,”
“But… but…. I don’t want to do this.”
“Yes, I know, but she will destroy all that we are working for, and all of your future hopes and dreams. Again, I ask you, what should we do to people like her?”
Gary sighed, gulped a couple of times, and said, “The enemy has to die as an example to others not to think for themselves to do what they want. If my mother is an enemy, she must die,”
“Correct response. We need to go visit your mother to see that she is no longer a threat. Let’s go, Gary.” ordered Putin.
A few minutes later, the trio arrived at the house Gary and his mother lived in. They went inside, where Ann was in the kitchen cooking dinner, she heard them come in, went to meet them, saw her son, and went to hug him, but, Gary didn’t hug her back, so she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“You are the enemy, you must be destroyed.” he said as coldly as possible.
Putin handed Gary a Russian made Tokarev TT-33 service pistol, and Gary aimed it at Ann, who was shocked, but knew that this day would come eventually, and thought about how her life had come to this in the brief moments she had left. Gary, who had no expression on his face, but did have hate in his eyes, aimed, and fired point blank at her forehead; giving his mother no time to react. Blood and brain matter spattered everywhere. Ann died instantly, her body falling to the floor with a thud. Gary handed the gun back to Putin, left the room, did his best to suppress any impulse he had to cry, and he was determined to leave this in his past, hopefully to never be dwelled on again.
THE INTERVIEW:
Why did you write this book?
I wanted to write a political thriller for a few years, and I’m into conspiracy theories, so I decided that around 2008 I would write a novel based on some of the conspiracy theories surrounding some of our politicians from about the mid-1960’s onwards. It includes such nutty conspiracies as truthers, birthers, and the idea that one all powerful man controls everything behind the scenes. I thought it would be interesting to see where the main character would go if given unlimited power to do what he wanted to the States.
How did you come up with the title?
I figured the main character pretty much usurps the idea of the American Constitutional Republic by becoming a petty dictator, so the title seemed to make sense.
How did you choose your genre?
Well, genre of Thriller makes sense for this particular novel.
What inspired you to be a writer?
When I was in elementary school, my parents bought me the whole Little House on the Prairie set (I guess because we watched the TV series), and I thought it was cool that Laura was a writer. So, when I was 10, I began writing.
Are you writing another book?
Yes, I am. It’s an alternate history, political thriller, science fiction novel. Basically, the US continues with the moon landings, and announces they’re going to Mars by the end of 1989. The Soviets decide to up the ante by building an interstellar starship of their own, but things go awry once they leave the solar system. In the meantime, terrorism against the US begins earlier than in our own timeline. Al Qaeda suicide bombs the State of the Union in early 80’s, and the new President sends an elite team of Green Berets to take out Osama bin Laden. That’s about as far as I’ve written, but I plan on having the US & Russians team up to launch a starship out of the solar system, where they find an anomaly, and find the long lost Soviet ship on a planet not previously known to humans. Unfortunately, the planet has some very dark secrets….. (vampires? zombies? ghosts? demons? dragons? I haven’t decided yet! lol)
Question usually asked from readers: Why should I read this? This sounds like what we’re going through now.
My answer: Sure there are similarities, but everyone only thinks they know this story. Sometimes, a book you normally wouldn’t read or are skeptical of, usually turns into something you enjoy a lot. Some of my reviews have reflected that. All I ask is that readers give it a chance.
Book Title: The Usurper
Publisher: CreateSpace
Author: Cliff Ball
Genre: Thriller
Two new reviews for The Usurper, one from Goodreads and the other on B&N:
From Goodreads, from Heather, who won a copy of the paperback:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/126805727
This is the first Cliff Ball book I’ve read…and I’d have to say that if he writes another political thriller … I’m in! “The Usurper” is a fast-paced fictional story that has non-fictional elements in it of events that really happened. Cliff makes you think ‘could this really happen?’ He makes it all seem possible…which is a scary thought! This book had lots of twists and turns that kept the reader on the edge of her seat throughout the book. I gave this book to my dad to read since he likes the same kind of books that I do. I’m sure he’ll have a good review as well. Thank you Cliff for writing this book!
On B&N, from a reader named Linda:
http://my.barnesandnoble.com/communityportal/Review.aspx?page=Review&reviewid=1575412
I agree with the other reviewer’s statement that it is Clancy like. The characters don’t have as much depth as Clancy’s, but Clancy has developed his over many books. This book was very similar to current events, with a frightening back story created. This back story was, unfortunately, plausible – at least in the goal if not the execution. It builds off of the fears of the cold war and moves into the role and power of government in our lives, as well as the battle of capitalism vs. socialism. This was filled with lots of symbolism and relations to actual current events. In summary, a very good read and I look forward to reading more by this author.
Plus, a review for Shattered Earth from a reader on Goodreads who won a copy of the paperback:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/149311972
Just finished this book. It was not at all what I thought it would be. The story line was was so imaginatively written, very interesting. I haven’t read a sci-fi, fantasy book written in such a way to be so interesting. I really liked it. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but it is obvious that a lot of thought went into the writing of this book. The story line and the history aspect of the story kept me involved in the story from the beginning and had some really fun and interesting twists. I really enjoyed this book and hope to read more from Mr. Ball.
Here is the newest book review done by Nurture Your Books
“A cold-blooded, Clancy-esque political thriller; The Usurper is sure to entertain.”
As decades of meticulous scheming and planning finally come together, the KGB, an under-appreciated threat, takes the final steps towards the ultimate coup. The terrorist faction exploits idealistic volunteers to do some of the dirty work and utilizes educated individuals, in positions of power, who are more than willing to die for their belief in ultimate control by the government. When a mixed group of terrorists and extremists spend years training for the eventual downfall of the western world, collateral damage and the loss of life isn’t given consideration.
The Usurper starts off slowly, but quickly picks up momentum as the plot thickens and the story unfolds. There are multiple themes in this fictional novel, not the least of which is terrorism, persecution and indoctrinated loyalties; this story painstakingly illustrates a plan for world domination that requires countless willing and blackmailed participants. The main characters are written with the most depth, while supporting characters have very little in the way of a back story. More internal dialog would enhance the reader’s ability to connect with the characters and pull them deeper into the story itself. Some structure and grammatical errors, while few and far between, need to be addressed to ensure a smoothly-flowing story that every reader will be able to enjoy.
Despite the minor issues mentioned, The Usurper is a very fast-paced, political thriller that will keep readers on their toes and offer some thought-provoking twists on historic and future possibilities in the political arena.
Plus.. featured book on Nurture Your Books.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Usurper-conservative-political-ebook/dp/B007K9WDA4
Cliff Ball - Christian Author 
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