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December 23, 2013 at 5:49 am #726kim01Member
“The Last Escalation” by Isaac Goldone
is an anti-war futuristic political satire about
Mad politicians and a hallucinated war!
A military confrontation between democratic and Islamic forces may lead the world to final destruction!
The book creates a new, unreal reality in which the Selected Democratic Organization, headed by new president Alexander Monro, is pitted against the Free Islamic Forces under their new leader, Suleiman Aswad. The two quickly lead their respective nations to an apocalyptic military confrontation in the Fata Morgana Arabian desert in 2016. The plot centers on a bizarre, loony commando force sent behind enemy lines to rescue important Democrat prisoners.
Available now from Biblio Publishing
Columbus, OH, United States
ISBN: 978-1-62249-106-3 (285 pages)
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AUTHOR INGRID HALL
The Afterlife from a different perspectiveBook Review: “The Last Escalation” by Isaac Goldone
A Review by Lenora
Isaac Goldone is a 61-year-old Israeli author who has a background in screen writing and a strong anti-war stance.
The Last Escalation by Isaac Goldone
The Last Escalation is a political satire, set in the VERY near future, revolving around two crazed leaders of opposing forces. Monro represents the Selected Democratic Organisation while Aswad leads the Free Islamic Forces. Stuck in the middle of the escalating conflict in the Fata Morgana Desert and armed with a slightly worse for wear repertoire of Jewish Humour, Barney Chaplin finds himself reluctantly drawn into their deadly game of brinksmanship.
OMG – where to start! This book is bonkers. Not so much Alice chasing the white rabbit as a middle-aged stand-up comedian being pursued by a huge scary White Mouse towards the black hole of Armageddon. I know Ingrid won’t mind me mentioning that she tried to read this book, but gave up after a couple of chapters and had to go lie down in a darkened room for a few days, she may still be receiving therapy courtesy of Prof Cheers at the White Mouse Institute, for all I know! Goldone pitches the reader head-first into a weird, over the top, surreal world packed full of corrupt politicians, mental patients, dopple-gangers and film-star commandos all out for what they can get. The tale begins in the White Mouse Institute, a mental facillity run by the sycophantic Prof Cheers, cheer-leader for the dangerously deluded President Monro of the Selected Democratic Organisation. From here the story unfolds and the East and West collide in the persons of Monro and the equally derranged Aswad leader of the Free Islamic Forces and the sinister figure of Mike Satanic a Bin Laden-esque terrorist leader.
The book is a translation from the original language and I think that this is where some of the problem lies. The style is hard to get used to – at times the technique is quite heavy-handed. However, I persisted with this book, and I found that after a while I became quite intrigued by it. The characters are all cyphers primarily representing the East and West at loggerheads and Israel stuck in the middle (all to aware of just how bad things can get). You can’t really feel any empathy for the characters but I don’t think you are meant too. Underneath all of the farce and loopy events the inevitable progress towards war that Goldone describes is actually very authentic and well thought out. The posturing, the hypocrisy, the corruption; the role of the media in creating as well as reporting ‘news’, all of these elements ring true. And there are laughs as well, Monro’s bodyguards are quite amusing with their constant walkie-talkie-talk; the rival army camps faking at being enemies in order to please their hated leaders while secretly organising games tournaments and belly dancing shows for each other; and of course the compendium of Jewish jokes that form the bulk of Barney’s patter.
This is not an easy read, or a book that everyone would enjoy. There are stylistic issues – in fact I wonder if the author, having a background in cinematic writing, had a screen-play in mind rather than a novel. The book could certainly be turned into a kind of super-wacky Dr Strangelove-style anti-war film. Some readers may also find the politics objectionable; and others may object to the depiction of women who mainly appear as passive, objectified figures (in fairness however the men aren’t exactly portrayed in a flattering light either). Nevertheless it has a strongly anti-war message and it accurately, if eccentrically (ok-at times bizarrely) illustrates the very real dangers we all face when corrupt politicians and twisted idealists shape our destinies.
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i’m age 61, married and father of three, studied directing and screen writing at the College for Cinema and Television.
I’m presently working on my next book, “Delving into the Darkness”, a gripping and vivid portrayal of a society populated by repulsive, self-seeking, psychotic characters -
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