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Title: The Spoilers by David Hooks, Jim Connor ISBN: 0-7701-0872-5 Publisher: PaperJacks Pub. Date: March, 1988 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $3.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3 (1 review)

Rating: 3
Summary: Underrated, unknown political novel
Comment: The Spoilers is an epic, political novel dealing with the then-future Presidential election of 1992. (The book, itself, was written in 1988.) The book's plot deals with the reelection campaign of a morally corrupt, womanizing Democratic President named Otis Meade and how what should have been a routine reelection is put into jeapordy by the grass-roots campaign of televangelist Cliff Hawkins. While obviously inspired by Pat Robertson's then-contemporary campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination (and, as a central premise, it does give the sections dealing with Hawkins a somewhat dated feel), the book is mostly interesting in how accurately it seems to predict the upcoming Clinton Presidency. From the somewhat sordid accounts of Otis Meade's compulsive womanizing to a major subplot dealing with the efforts to set up a new labor treaty with Mexico, what may have seemed as outlandish when originally written now appears positively prophetic. Beyond that, the book itself is a mixed bag (at times, Hooks' huge cast of characters threaten to become interchangeable and some of the plot points -- particurly a minor character's nervous breakdown -- are a bit overdone) but those who enjoy political fiction will find a lot to savor within this uneven potboiler. The characters of both Meade and Hawkins are very well drawn and the author does make an admirable attempt to treat seriously the various issues that would be raised by a succesful, religious-based Presidential campaign. While the author seems to be, more-or-less, on the side of the right, he never allows the book to degenerate into becoming a simplistic piece of propaganda. (In fact, if the author does seem to be on Hawkins' side in the end, it's obvious that he's still having more fun writing about Meade.) The writer's style is a fascinating collection of overheated and awkward passages mixed with prose that display true skill and talent. I've never come across any other books by Hooks and it's difficult not to mourn what might have been if the author had simply had a better editor. The Spoilers is one of those obscure, unknown little books that dedicated readers, if they're lucky enough, will occasionally come across hidden away in the dark recesses of a used book store or a local library. And despite it's flaws, the book's strengths help to reaffirm what makes the eternal search for worthwhile, if perhaps unheralded, literary effort so fulfilling in the first place.