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BOOKS POWER PLAYS Novelist and consultant Peter Schechter dives into a not-too-distant future consumed by energy woes and political power grabs in his new novel Pipeline. During a time of political uncertainty, its not difficult
to become invested in a novel of political intrigue. This just might
be the era of the resurgence of the political thriller. Much like
the mid-1990s became the era of the legal thriller, this first decade
of the 21st century, with its hand-wringing over globalization,
energy woes and economic instability, seems prime time for tales
of international suspense. |
The
plot of his newest novel, Pipeline, has a similar ripped-from-the-headlines
news-based feel. Tony Ruiz is a rising political star and former
cop who is stunned out of bed in the middle of the night to a call
from the White House. Los Angeles is without power—and authorities
are keeping mum as to when power will be restored. The son of former
migrant apple pickers, Ruiz is the product of his parents’
American Dream, and his role as special advisor to the president
affords him a unique entry into West Wing policy. As Los Angeles’
situation escalates, Russian politicians are using their country’s
vast resources of natural gas as bait in their foreign policy game
and are growing increasingly hostile toward the U.S., even as their
energy crisis grows.