Product Description

The Democratic Party's 2012 nominee for President, David J. Windsor, and America are equally shocked when he is outted by his opponent just six weeks before the Fall election. Following his heart, David chooses honesty over media spin and overcomes the obstacle to win the election. Despite that success, dark forces around the world begin to plot against him, and President Windsor's security is a must. Inside and outside the White House, Secret Service Agent Shane Thompson becomes the President's shadow, always present and silent, ever vigilant. As the two men grow closer, Shane does far more than just his duty - he becomes as vital to David's happiness as he is to the President's health. Together they realize they must find a way to balance the President and the Agent against David and Shane before stress and responsibility tear them apart.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #93456 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 212 pages

Customer Reviews

A fun read
An America with a gay President and a woman Vice President and why not! That in itself is already a fun read as David, the gay President, fights for what is right and tries to rectify 12 years of grievous mistakes under the Republican rule. In the process he finds a lover in his personal bodyguard, escapes numerous assassinations during his first few days in office, flies to the Middle East to stage peace talk and let's not forget Buckingham Palace to visit his cousin, King William. Right, King William. I feel the writer has a fun time writing this as he creates a political world to his own liking in 2012. So much so that certain parts become too wordy as he voices out his own personal political views. Also, romance is lacking in this story, coming across stilted at times. Or maybe this is not meant to be a M/M romance. Still a pretty entertaining read, with suspenseful moments.

Condor One
David Windsor, the 2012 Democratic Presidential Candidate, refuses to lie when he's outed by his opponent during a live television debate. Although most people don't believe it's possible for an openly gay man to win the election, Windsor narrowly wins. When one of the Secret Service agents assigned to protect him, Shane Thompson, saves him from an assassination attempt on the day of his inauguration, David decides he wants Shane in the White House with him. There's a strong attraction between them, but David's determined not to pressure Shane into anything. With several groups out to get David, and other problems on the horizon, will David and Shane ever have a chance at a relationship?

Reading Condor One made me feel like I had the inside scoop on the process of campaigning and transitioning between presidents. John Simpson must have done a lot of research, because the details seemed very realistic to me. I'm very interested in politics, so getting a window into all the little things that have to happen when a President is leaving or entering office was really cool. I also thought the idea of an openly gay President was cool. All the characters were larger-than-life types, but not in a bad way. David Windsor is a tough politician and a relative of England's royal family. Shane Thompson is a skilled agent who's willing to do whatever he has to in order to protect his President. There's a lot of action in Condor One, ranging from assassination attempts and exciting escapes to international intrigue. Unfortunately, there were several things that kept me from truly immersing myself in the story. Condor One is told via first-person narration from David's point of view, and there were several instances in which he relates incidents and conversations he couldn't possibly have known about. Also, there were times when I felt as if I was being beaten over the head by a political agenda. Yeah, this is a book about politics, but it's also fiction, and a romance, a fact that seemed to be secondary at times. Lastly, there was so much going on that David and Shane didn't really get much time alone together. They had sex several times, but I wanted more conversation and emotional connection to help me believe in their love. In the end, Condor One was an interesting read that worked very well as a political commentary and action story, but not quite as well as a romance.

Cassie
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Hail to The Queen!!!..........

........er.....uh.....I mean........The Chief!! (hey, the President, himself, said it......not me) (Page 60)

((Here is my approach to obtaining/reading/reviewing Gay romance tales in book form. Simply, it's seeking the holy grail of that genre---or looking for the "Addictive Read"). Selection of read materials is based mainly on purchase of new stories by favorite authors or on comments/reviews by you in these online "Book" pages. Sometimes I feel correctly steered by you (the "Keepers" filling my shelves), other times mislead---occasionally badly (the "Throwaways"). Rarely, I come across the "Addictive," those I can reread at least monthly (see below starred *** area for a list......and for some "near-Addictive" as well). For some reads, I'll share comments with you, as follows. Thanks for sticking with me so far.))

This author had to walk a fine and difficult line in creating in our minds one of the most noble of men, a man gifted of unusual abilities, someone to look up to----a President of the most powerful nation on Earth. Yet at the same time he must expose us to a man with basic emotional and physical needs (particularly sexual ones, in light of this story's type). This reader believes that, for the most part, that line was successfully walked. Nevertheless, because Simpson did his "create a hero" thing so well, there were points which struck me as being somewhat jarring or out of character, and not just from a sexual angle:

- The overuse (to me) of the Brad Pitt exemplar. When he did it a second time, it seemed to be a bit of overkill/schmaltz we could have done without.

- Not giving us any segue from this man's normally highminded thoughts to the plunge into those such as not being able to check out someone's ass---or later getting to see it and finding it "stunning." (I'm probably being priggish about this, as I probably wouldn't be any better at writing the transition from world leader to just-a-man-with-sexual-needs).

- Page 75 gives us an untoward remark by one of the President's subordinates (who refers to a telephone operator as "stupid woman." The President this author had been building in our minds would have dressed down that subordinate for such a chauvinistic and inconsiderate remark.

THINGS I LIKE........(or maybe not so much):

- I do love this author's sense of humor (and he certainly gives it to our President and to his lover); it's never over the top, but you'll get more than one wallop of a chuckle as you read this tale!

- Oh, and you do have to go for, in a big way, Presidential Secretary, Mary, who knows (and says) more than our President is willing to own up to. And speaking of that feminine name, the author gives us a few laughs in the way he juggles the "two Marys" co-existing in this story.

- There are writers who possess more finesse in, and are more romantic at, painting the picture of physical sex taking place........but none I've encountered who even give us a conversation between their couple concerning the physical acts just concluded, let alone such a dialogue that's any better written (don't believe me, just check out Pages 120 -121). Oh, but then there is that "declaration of love" scene he sets up for us which, to this reader, comes across as stiff (written in almost a flowery, soap-opera-ish manner---some of it sounding so dramatically "put on" that it tended to embarrassing......and when you add to it the mention of Shakespeare and Wilde......oh, my, my). However, I will allow him some redemption for, at that point, throwing in a fun, morning awakening bed romp.

English Problems: There are a number of grammatical and typographical errors (missing commas, words dropped [Page 163], but I have to give Dreamspinner Press kudos for achieving less of them than many, many other publishing houses. What these guys and gals do most excellently, however, is give us (as for this novel) extremely suitable-to-the-story, and memorable, book covers, e.g., "Diplomacy," "Caught Running," and there are others. BUT, a particular pet peeve of mine involves misuse of "who" / "that"----something about which this author is inconsistent. Examples from his own pages: #85---"Not only had I gotten sex, but great sex with someone 'that' really attracted me." / #121---"I had just.........and now got to sleep with a man 'that' I was fond of......" Yet on #141 he gets it right: "So, they're using........and the man 'who' was Washington's ambassador......." To possibly make this matter easier for all of us, allow me to ask which pronoun would you use in the following sentences: The horse (who / that) crosses the finish line first will win. The racecar (who / that) crosses the finish line first will win. The triathlete (who / that) crosses the finish line first will win. To close out this little English usage diatribe of mine, how about we use: "who" for a person / people and "that" or "which" for animals/organisms and for inanimate objects? Thank you very much, authors.

PS--Following a second read of Simpson's work prior to writing this review, I have to admit it is now bordering on "Addictive" for me. ***Other reads which are "Addictive:" "Caught Running" (Urban & Roux) // "Freshman Pledge: The Magic of Love" (Larry Coles) // "Diplomacy" (Zahra Owens) // "Bareback" (Chris Owen). Some "near-Addictives: "Brokeback Mountain" (Annie Proulx) // "The Dreyfus Affair: A Love Story" (Peter Lefcourt) // "The Carnivorous Lamb (Little Sister's Classics)" (Agustin Gomez-Arcos) // "Afterlife" (Paul Monette) // "Cowboy Up" (short stories edited by Rob Knight)

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