The Journalist

By G.L. Rockey

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1894942205
• ISBN13: 9781894942201
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Zumaya Pubns
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Review from Gotta Read Review Blog

Zackery Stearn eats torrid Mexican food, drinks Bohemia beer and writes newspaper copy--in a world where newspapers are going the way of the T Rex. It's the year 2008 and profound things are happening on Planet Earth--all of them bad. The Journalist is a biting political thriller. G.L. Rockey's writing is reminiscent of John D. MacDonald's; his hero, Zackery Stearn, capably plays the role of a modern-day Travis McGee. Like Travis, Zackery is a cynical knight-errant trying to stay afloat in a world of vertiginous moral complexity. There's a touch of Robert Parker here, too, in the sassy, snappy dialog. As befits a man of the twenty-first century though, Zackery is more cerebral and less susceptible to the female sex than either MacDonald's or Parker's sleuths. The caper in The Journalist centers on a plot to abolish the constitution and the perpetrator is none other than the President of the United States. Coming out of the West Wing is a lot of lofty rhetoric concealing a plot to use the fear of terrorism to strip citizens of their freedom. It's a little too close to reality to be comfortable, but The Journalist manages to take a small, toothy bite of truth without pushing any specific political agenda. This is a great read for those who are tired of dumbed-down mysteries and made-for-TV thrillers. It's a play on the political tensions and dilemmas of the twenty-first century...(Read more at Cheryl Swanson's website and link to Gotta Read blog www.cherylswanson.net)

Many twists and turns

Reviewed by Rebecka Vigus for Reader Views (5/06) It takes a little getting into, but once you do, you wonder if it could really happen. Rockey sets you up as an outsider looking in on the world of politics, mass media, hysteria, and plots to rule the world. It's all there. First you meet Zachary Stearn, former Jesuit Priest turned newspaper editor, in a time when most of the newspapers and television stations are controlled by the American government. Stearn's paper the Boca seems to be either the voice of reason or the voice of anarchy. It's Labor Day week-end, the Congress has gone home to be with its collective constituents. Everyone is ready to take it easy when one Miami TV station airs a video of two cops violating a woman they have pulled over then, killing her. Someone has gotten it all on tape. The next thing you know the President has taken to the airwaves asking for calm. The nation becomes anything but calm. Riots break out, there is a terrorist attack in Seattle, and things get all out of hand. The President takes to the airways again to instate marshal law. While all this is happening, Zachary Stearns starts becoming paranoid. He gets a cryptic telegram from a friend on Bimini Island and sets out in a storm to learn the "truth." He takes along his ace reporter Jim Roberts with him. The two meet up with a cult group known as PI and learn there is a tape recording of the President's three top advisors plotting to plant a tape like the one that has been aired. They have also been behind the terrorist attack, the riots, and manipulation of the media so that the President can take over the world and bring democracy to the world. The question now is can they get this tape out in time to stop an international coup? Mr. Rockey gives the story so many twists and turns that it seems more than believable. It makes one wonder what really is the news and what is the political agenda behind it? I hope we will see more from G. L. Rockey soon.