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Loading... The Faking of the President: Nineteen Stories of White House Noirby Peter Carlaftes (Editor)
   None No current Talk conversations about this book. A pretty consistent collection of short stories about what might have happened to various Presidents; the Russians are sending computerized squirrels to the White House Lawn while Eisenhower is President; someone goes back in time and kills Lee Harvey Oswald before he kills Kennedy; Al Gore is elected President in 2000. Very entertaining. (  )1   minxcr1964 | Mar 2, 2021 |  The Faking of the President: Nineteen Stories of White House Noir, edited by Peter Carlaftes, is a bit uneven but overall good collection of stories. The unevenness is typical of anthologies that include multiple authors, so as long as it appears that nothing horrible was included, I treat unevenness as a non factor. These stories range from slightly unusual to downright bizarre, but that is what makes it fun. Keeping too close to plausible might not be a good idea in a time when seemingly functional people believe conspiracies about anything and everything. QAnon as a case in point, though believers of that don't actually appear functional. I am hesitant to discuss any particular story because while the writing is only a little uneven the appeal from story to story is likely to fluctuate wildly, much like Trump's opinions on just about anything, contradictory and overwhelmingly illustrative of his ignorance. But the fun had at the expense of these public figures is less partisan and more a statement about power and those who seek power. Recommended for those who enjoy alternative history (and future) with actual people and events as part of the stories. If you're brainwashed into believing that a President, any President, is above having fun poked at him, you may not like this book. You may also be a miserable old coot, but either way... Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )2 pomo58 | May 24, 2020 |  This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.All stories present an alternative possibility of White House history. Such as Dolley Madison as a voodoo priestess or Laura Bush and Tipper Gore duking it out to decide the 2000 election winner. One story does look to the future, imagining Mike Pence and his wife in charge in 2024 (and Elon Musk as Governor of California) -- to me, that was perhaps the most plausible story here. Weird stuff, to be sure, and not what I expected when I requested this Early Reviewers copy. But they're definitely imaginative. (  )1 ValerieAndBooks | May 14, 2020 | This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Edited by Peter Carlaftes 2020 A LibraryThing Early Reviewers book. This review is for the Advanced Reader Copy/Uncorrected Proof. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this title, beyond that it would be about U.S. Presidents. Happily, I was quite pleased with the alternate history stories in this volume. The short stories fell into all sorts of genres, not just noir: horror, action/adventure, humor, satire, and Science-Fiction describe just some of them. My favorite stories were "Old Pharaoh" by Danny Gardner, a dark and scary tale during the time of President Abraham Lincoln, and "Long Live Long" by Kate Flow, a tale of the assassination of Huey Long, when he was campaigning for the nomination against FDR. The ending of that story really surprised me and the similarities of the situation to our current democratic nomination process was eye-opening. Being an uncorrected proof, there were some glaring typos, but I am sure that will be taken care of in the final version of the text. I strongly recommend this cathartic text to readers who are trying to get through the trauma of the current administration. 4 stars. ( )1 d_perlo | Apr 27, 2020 | This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. )1 mrmapcase | Apr 26, 2020 |
"10 Books You Should Read This April" ... "One of the strangest, most exhilarating rides you’ll take in noir this year...Editor Peter Carlaftes brings together a talented group of contemporary noir luminaries, each author offering a unique vision of executive excess and intrigue." "Many of the 19 speculative stories in this highly entertaining anthology show U.S. presidents behaving badly, some with the same impunity as the current occupant of the White House. ... Fans of alternate history will have fun. This is the perfect diversion for those seeking a break from the more serious aspects of the election season."
A literary coup d'etat, that ponders "What would the White House be like if U.S. Presidents of the past were not restricted by the time-honored hallmarks and traditional behavior of the office, leaving them free to do whatever they wanted, anytime and anywhere?"THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT: Nineteen Stories of White House Noir pulls back the curtain on the "new norm" for America's highest office, with a collection of bizarre new stories by a diverse group of renowned authors that take readers across the chasm of reality into an alternate universe--where Nixon takes a wacky psychedelic trip with Elvis Presley; where a time-traveling renegade targets members of the George Bush administration with disastrous results; where a spy seizes a sudden opportunity for power after Woodrow Wilson's stroke. The stories are outlandish but--when it comes to the White House of today--no longer implausible. The line-up of award-winning authors includesEric Beetner,Peter Carlaftes,Sarah M. Chen,Angel Luis Colón,S. A. Cosby,Nikki Dolson,Mary Anna Evans,Adam Lance Garcia,Danny Gardner,Alison Gaylin,Christopher Chambers,Kate Flora,Greg Herren,Gary Phillips,Alex Segura,Travis Richardson,S. J. Rozan,Abby Vandiver, andErica Wright. In an era where the bar for what is acceptable has shifted beyond what the founding fathers ever imagined,THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT is a highly recommended unique creative act of resistance, and a must-have for fans of politics, noir, and speculative fiction. No library descriptions found. 
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LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumPeter Carlaftes's book The Faking of the President: Nineteen Stories of White House Noir was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.  Popular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.0108 — Literature English (North America) American fiction By type Short fictionRatingAverage: (3.83)
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