Synopses & Reviews
2034: Evangelical secret
agents, fast food moguls, the voice of God in computer software,
violence in the Bermuda Triangle! George W. Bush's foreign policy
vindicated by a quick victory in Iraq, lucrative invasions of Egypt and
Syria followed, bringing unparalleled prosperity to America and setting
off thirty years of right-wing rule. But when a war in Iran goes
bad — and the resulting cover-up goes worse — the democrats reclaim the
presidency. This is the time of Pax Americana and its zealous anti-hero, government agent Tuck Squires.
Reading the ironic silences between the lines of the thriller, and roaring like a jet engine, Pax Americana
is a sacrilegious, conspiratorial monster; like a literary dogfight
between Martin Amis and Robert Anton Wilson, loaded with prophecy,
Baumeister's debut is an exorcism and an antidote for our era.
Review
“An impressively creative blend of political intrigue and sci-fi drama…” Kirkus Reviews
Review
"If there is to be an
American peace, it's certainly not going to come on the pages of this
lit match of a novel. Kurt Baumeister has fashioned exactly the old
school pre- and post-Bond techno x-travaganza everyone bored with
explorations of the louvre has been waiting for. Pax Americana
is both dark satire and deeply satisfying, an adrenaline rush that runs
through suspect politics, spirituality software, and the sacredly
profane. It's a blast. Buy it now." Sean Beaudoin
Review
"Like an episode of Archer
written by Kurt Vonnegut, Baumeister takes us into a hilarious and
high-velocity world of espionage and global politics in this send-up of
god, country, and the possibility of doing good in a world gone bad.
It's fast-paced fun, watch out for paper cuts as the pages fly by." Shya Scanlon
About the Author
Kurt Baumeister is an American novelist, essayist, critic, and poet. His debut novel, a satirical thriller entitled Pax Americana (Stalking Horse Press, 2017) was selected as a Best Book of 2017 by [PANK] Magazine. He has written for Salon, Rain Taxi, Electric Literature, Guernica, Entropy, The Nervous Breakdown, The Rumpus, The Good Men Project, and others. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College and is a contributing editor at The Weeklings. "Review Microbrew," his review column, is published by The Nervous Breakdown.