The Machiavelli Covenant: A Novel
Written by Allan Folsom
Narrated by Jeremy Davidson
3/5
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About this audiobook
Allan Folsom returns with a high octane thriller in The Machiavelli Covenant.
In Europe for a crucial NATO summit in Warsaw, US President John Henry Harris is ordered by a secret cabal within his own administration to have the president of France and the chancellor of Germany assassinated. Refusal, he knows, will mean his death. Afraid to trust anyone, the president flees for his life. Pursued by the Secret Service, the CIA, and Spanish Intelligence who believe he is the victim of foul play, Harris joins forces with rogue detective Nicholas Marten and the beautiful but enigmatic French photo-journalist, Demi Picard. Together the three uncover one of the most secretive and brutally powerful groups the world has ever known, a brotherhood of blood that will stop at nothing.
For five hundred years this despotic order of the supremely rich and powerful has kept a secret manuscript by Niccolai Machiavelli—The Covenant, a terrifying blueprint for gaining and keeping political power—hidden under heavy guard, and worshiped like some divine doctrine. Bonded by complicity in ritual murder and dedicated to a singular vision of global domination, over the centuries they have prospered far beyond any dreams of power and avarice. Outmanned, outnumbered, and outgunned, three people now stand alone against it: Nicholas Marten, Demi Picard, and John Henry Harris, president of the United States.
Allan Folsom
Allan Folsom is a multiple New York Times bestselling author and a Hollywood screenwriter. His first novel, The Day After Tomorrow, was an explosive bestseller, hitting the lists of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and Entertainment Weekly. It has been translated into twenty-five languages. Folsom's two following novels, Day of Confession and The Exile, were also major New York Times bestsellers. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.
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Reviews for The Machiavelli Covenant
77 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The perfect balance of suspense and facts. This book will keep anyone awake and clutching a mug of tea for days!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a fast moving 554-page thriller that moves from the USA to Malta to Spain to France, England and Germany. It has interesting historical references and clever cross plots. It's "can't put down" entertainment.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Former LAPD detective, Nicholas Marten is at the bedside of childhood sweetheart, Caroline when she dies. She called him to Washington from England because she though someone had intentionally injected her with a virus. Nicholas begins to investigate and uncovers a secret society dating back to author Niccolo Machiavelli, and whose purpose is to keep the rich and powerful in charge. The plot thickens when president of the United States, John Henry Harris goes missing. Along with French photographer, Demi Picard, they try to out run the CIA, secret service, and Spanish Intelligence.This was a global conspiracy thriller that didn't get exciting until after about 100 pages. The story was captivating for a short while, but then the plot became extremely unbelievable (more than the average political thriller) and the book seemed to drag on. This is the second book of a trilogy and I didn't read the first, but I do not think that would have helped. Only recommended if you are really into political/global thrillers.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A complicated conspiracy thriller which begins with our hero sitting beside his childhood love as she dies of a mysterious disease, leading him to a South African bioterrorist who's involved with a secret society bent on creating a new world order. Along the way he teams up with a French journalist, the President of the United States (who's fleeing that very same New World Order Gang in his own administration), and an Australian ex-pat living in Italy who acts as Sancho Panza to their Don Quixote. Hopefully unrealistic to the point of absurdity, I don't know why I kept reading - except that somehow Folsom managed to keep me wanting, if not more, then to at least find out how it would all end. Truly a potato-chip book: read it, enjoy it, and barely remember it by next week.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Machiavelli Covenant, by Allan Folsom, is a conspiracy thriller that follows Nicholas Marten - a former LAPD detective - as he searches for answers in the death of a former girlfriend. Along the way, he meets up with the President of the United States, on the run from a murderous cabal made up of the rich and powerful, and Demi Picard, a French journalist who is searching for the truth behind the disappearance of a family member. As the story unfolds, we discover that all of these events are intertwined and are leading to the unraveling of various governments around the world.There is no doubt the story is far-fetched, which was part of the appeal to me (sometimes escape literature is a good thing). However, I found the pacing of the story somewhat uneven, the writing rather stodgy, and the characterizations slight and ineffective. The plot started out moving along pretty well, but the scenes in the tunnels seemed to last forever. I didn't really connect with any of the characters - probably the character I felt I knew the most about was Viktor, a bit player in the story. The Machiavelli Covenant was a diverting enough read for the business trip I just took, but I wouldn't highly recommend it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was one of those odd books that was a decently well-written thriller that just couldn't quite make it over the "too implausible" hump. The basic premise to bring together the two protagonists (one in particular) just didn't work for me. Also, I'm not quite sure why Folsom decided to make this a sequel to The Exile as the Nicholas Marten character could have been anybody rather than a returning character. With one exception, most of the open plot elements from The Exile were ignored or only briefly referenced. Folsom writes a good thriller (especially his first, The Day After Tomorrow), but The Machiavelli Covenant was a little bit too much thriller-by-the-numbers.