Facts and fantasy
When the title-page asserts that a novel is a work of fiction, the publisher considers himself legally off the hook for anything and everything the author has written. Why not? The subject matter is entirely a product of the imagination, not to be taken seriously.
However, it’s no secret that the disclaimer is there, if only for avoiding a lawsuit from the offended party (if such there be) barely hidden by a fictitious name. If and when it does go to court, the publisher is usually exonerated by claiming he was unaware of the scrivener’s intentions.
This came to the mind of the reviewer while reading Enemy Of The State by Kyle Mills (in the writing stable of Vince Flynn). It focuses on the actual culprits of 9/11 and the aftermath, both factual and fanciful. He deserves to be credited for the factual part, but goes too far with the rest.
Telling the truth can’t be faulted. Letting his imagination run away with him can be and is. That the majority of the pilots who crashed jet liners were Saudi Arabians is common knowledge. Yet the US turned a blind eye to them and went to war with Afghanistan and Iraq, who weren’t involved. The objective was to keep the oil flowing.
Mills has his ace CIA agent Mitch Rapp investigating the connection between the British royal family and the terrorists, the US president unwilling to muddy the waters between the two countries. What Rapp learns is that the King’s nephew, Prince Talal bin Musaid, is financing Isis, which in turn will assist him in succeeding the elderly Faisal.
Chapters are devoted to Rapp trying to convince the king that Isis means to take over the country, including browbeating him in the palace. Is it remotely possible that the American can insult the Saudi monarch to his face, whatever the reason? Needless to say, the Prince ultimately gets his just deserts.
To be sure, Osama bin Loony was a Saudi and did mastermind 9/11. Still, Isis had yet to put in an appearance. Al-Qaeda committed the outrages. Isis picked up the mantel with its own hateful plans for the democracies. Enemy Of The State goes further than Stephen Leather’s counter-ISIS terrorist thrillers.
I don’t object to stories of fact based on truth disguised as fiction. But I draw the line at fantasy presented as truth.