Synopses & Reviews
For five hundred years a despotic order of the supremely rich and powerful has kept a little known manuscript by the political thinker Niccolo Machiavelli hidden away under heavy guard:
THE COVENANT, a terrifying blueprint for the gaining and keeping of true political power. Bonded by complicity in ritual murder and dedicated to a singular vision of global domination, the group, guided by Machiavelli's document, has prospered far beyond any dreams of power and avarice.
In Washington, D.C., former LAPD detective Nicholas Marten comes out of hiding when he learns his former girlfriend, her child and husband, a U.S. congressman, have been mysteriously murdered. Marten discovers her husband had just uncovered a top-secret and illegal bioweapons program, and when the feds fail to investigate, Marten resolves to go after the killers himself.
Meanwhile, on his way to a NATO summit in Warsaw, President John Henry Harris is confronted by a secret cabal inside his own White House who demand he authorize the assassinations of the Chancellor of Germany and the President of France at the NATO meeting. He angrily refuses, knowing full well that in doing so he has put his own life and the fate of the country in jeopardy.
Fleeing for his life, Harris joins forces with Marten and the beautiful but enigmatic French photo-journalist Demi Picard. Together they uncover the truth about the most devastating and powerful group the world has ever known. Swept from Washington to Paris, from Berlin to Malta, Madrid to Barcelona they flee a ruthless circle of the president's here-to-fore most trusted advisors, military leaders and transnational corporate chieftains all of whom want them dead. Out manned, outnumbered and outgunned, these three stand alone against the age-old secrets of THE COVENANT.
Review
"Latter-day witches strive for world domination in this latest swollen thriller from Folsom." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Folsom excels at ratcheting up the action, and he does so here, generating more than enough excitement to please those who like high-concept plots." Booklist
Review
"More than a thriller, The Machiavelli Covenant is superb suspense, superbly written, Folsom's best so far." Stephen Coonts
Review
"You thought that The Manchurian Candidate and Seven Days in May could not happen here? You thought that hostile takeovers only occurred on Wall Street and not in the White House? Welcome to the twenty-first century. The Machiavelli Covenant will wake you up pronto. If you thought The Da Vince Code was gripping suspense, be prepared for a real roller-coaster ride. Folsom writes white-hot page-turners, guaranteed to singe your fingers and fry your hair." Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling co-author of he Book of the Dead
Review
"From the master of the genre comes the international thriller of the year. In one swift-moving scene after another, The Machiavelli Covenant sweeps you across the globe, drawing the strands of a spectacular conspiracy together, then twisting them tighter and tighter, and twisting you, too, with pulse-pounding suspense and a surprise on every page. If you like thrillers, don't miss it." William Martin, New York Times bestselling author
Review
"In Allan Folsom's The Machiavelli Covenant a coup d'etat is alive and kicking, right here in the USA. Folsom grabbed me on the first page and did not let go. Talk about blood-chilling, pulse-pounding reads. Folsom had my heart hammering in the high hundreds!" David Hagberg, USA Today bestselling author of Soldier of God
Synopsis
To investigate the killing of a former girlfriend, her child, and her congressman husband, former LAPD detective Nicholas Marten comes out of hiding, only to stumble upon a secret, illegal bioweapons program, joining forces with American president John Henry Harris to stop a secret cabal, led by prophetic lost writings of Machiavelli, and their plot for global domination. 150,000 first printing.
Synopsis
The New York Times bestselling author of The Day After Tomorrow pens a rocket-paced tale of global maneuvering and betrayal by a powerful secret society based on the prophetic lost writings of Machiavelli.
Synopsis
For five hundred years a despotic order of the supremely rich and powerful has kept a little known manuscript by the political thinker Niccolo Machiavelli hidden away under heavy guard:
The Covenant, a terrifying blueprint for the gaining and keeping of true political power. Bonded by complicity in ritual murder and dedicated to a singular vision of global domination, the group, guided by Machiavelli's document, has prospered far beyond any dreams of power and avarice.
In Washington, D.C., former LAPD detective Nicholas Marten comes out of hiding when he learns his former girlfriend, her child and husband, a U.S. congressman, have been mysteriously murdered. Marten discovers her husband had just uncovered a top-secret and illegal bioweapons program, and when the feds fail to investigate, Marten resolves to go after the killers himself.
Meanwhile, on his way to a NATO summit in Warsaw, President John Henry Harris is confronted by a secret cabal inside his own White House who demand he authorize the assassinations of the Chancellor of Germany and the President of France at the NATO meeting. He angrily refuses, knowing full well that in doing so he has put his own life and the fate of the country in jeopardy.
Fleeing for his life, Harris joins forces with Marten and the beautiful but enigmatic French photo-journalist Demi Picard. Together they uncover the truth about the most devastating and powerful group the world has ever known. Swept from Washington to Paris, from Berlin to Malta, Madrid to Barcelona they flee a ruthless circle of the president's here-to-fore most trusted advisors, military leaders and transnational corporate chieftains all of whom want them dead. Outmanned, outnumbered and outgunned, these three stand alone against the age-old secrets of The Covenant.
Synopsis
Allan Folsom returns with a high octane thriller in
The Machiavelli Covenant. In Europe for a crucial NATO summit in Warsaw, US President John Henry Harris is ordered by a secret cabal within his own administration to have the president of France and the chancellor of Germany assassinated. Refusal, he knows, will mean his death. Afraid to trust anyone, the president flees for his life. Pursued by the Secret Service, the CIA, and Spanish Intelligence who believe he is the victim of foul play, Harris joins forces with rogue detective Nicholas Marten and the beautiful but enigmatic French photo-journalist, Demi Picard. Together the three uncover one of the most secretive and brutally powerful groups the world has ever known, a brotherhood of blood that will stop at nothing.
For five hundred years this despotic order of the supremely rich and powerful has kept a secret manuscript by Niccolai Machiavelli—The Covenant, a terrifying blueprint for gaining and keeping political power—hidden under heavy guard, and worshiped like some divine doctrine. Bonded by complicity in ritual murder and dedicated to a singular vision of global domination, over the centuries they have prospered far beyond any dreams of power and avarice. Outmanned, outnumbered, and outgunned, three people now stand alone against it: Nicholas Marten, Demi Picard, and John Henry Harris, president of the United States.
Synopsis
A rocket-paced tale of global maneuvering and betrayal by a powerful secret society based on the prophetic lost writings of Machiavelli
Synopsis
In Europe for a crucial NATO summit in Warsaw, US President John Henry Harris is ordered by a secret cabal within his own administration to have the president of France and the chancellor of Germany assassinated. Refusal, he knows, will mean his death. Afraid to trust anyone, the president flees for his life. Pursued by the Secret Service, the CIA, and Spanish Intelligence who believe he is the victim of foul play, Harris joins forces with rogue detective Nicholas Marten and the beautiful but enigmatic French photo-journalist, Demi Picard. Together the three uncover one of the most secretive and brutally powerful groups the world has ever known, a brotherhood of blood that will stop at nothing.
For five hundred years this despotic order of the supremely rich and powerful has kept a secret manuscript by Niccolai Machiavelli--The Covenant, a terrifying blueprint for gaining and keeping political power--hidden under heavy guard, and worshiped like some divine doctrine. Bonded by complicity in ritual murder and dedicated to a singular vision of global domination, over the centuries they have prospered far beyond any dreams of power and avarice. Outmanned, outnumbered, and outgunned, three people now stand alone against it: Nicholas Marten, Demi Picard, and John Henry Harris, president of the United States.
Synopsis
Allan Folsom returns with a high octane thriller in
The Machiavelli Covenant. In Europe for a crucial NATO summit in Warsaw, US President John Henry Harris is ordered by a secret cabal within his own administration to have the president of France and the chancellor of Germany assassinated. Refusal, he knows, will mean his death. Afraid to trust anyone, the president flees for his life. Pursued by the Secret Service, the CIA, and Spanish Intelligence who believe he is the victim of foul play, Harris joins forces with rogue detective Nicholas Marten and the beautiful but enigmatic French photo-journalist, Demi Picard. Together the three uncover one of the most secretive and brutally powerful groups the world has ever known, a brotherhood of blood that will stop at nothing.
For five hundred years this despotic order of the supremely rich and powerful has kept a secret manuscript by Niccolai Machiavelli—The Covenant, a terrifying blueprint for gaining and keeping political power—hidden under heavy guard, and worshiped like some divine doctrine. Bonded by complicity in ritual murder and dedicated to a singular vision of global domination, over the centuries they have prospered far beyond any dreams of power and avarice. Outmanned, outnumbered, and outgunned, three people now stand alone against it: Nicholas Marten, Demi Picard, and John Henry Harris, president of the United States.
About the Author
Allan Folsom is the
New York Times bestselling author of
The Exile,
The Day After Tomorrow, and
The Day of Confession. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.
Jeremy Davidson has appeared extensively on stage and screen, appearing on Broadway in Epic Proportions, Kennedy Centers production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof On Broadway, and on television in Army Wives, Law & Order, Brothers & Sisters, The Kill Point, Cold Case, Without a Trace, Boston Legal, and Ally McBeal.
Author Q&A
Is a coup d'etat possible in a country like the United States? Could it happen today or tomorrow?
It would depend on the coup, who was behind it and how it was handled. As it plays out in The Machiavelli Covenant,
if the president hadn't put his life on the line to stop the
coup, there is every chance it would have succeeded because the people
guiding it were at the pinnacle of US government power, both
politically and militarily, and controlled everything. If it had worked
no one would ever have known it had happened.
Ironically, if the president had gone along with
their demands and the plot was carried out as planned the
entire Middle East devastated by a suddenly erupting,
seemingly natural but previously unknown deadly disease
and then quickly brought under The Covenant's
thumb in the guise of a massive United Nations Security
Council-approved, US-led, military-protected,
medical, and humanitarian response there is
every chance that in the end John Henry Harris would
have been viewed not only as president but very nearly
as King, such would have been the power of his very
public display of concern, leadership, and influence
over the Security Council and giving him unprecedented
popularity in the minds of a great majority of the
American people and most probably the rest of the
world. Not to mention the fawning adulation inside
The Covenant itself.
If
such a coup took place and the President of the United States suddenly
and secretly went missing to save himself, the country, even a good
part of the free world, what would the response be inside his inner
circle?
Assuming his inner circle were those
plotting against him, their response would be ALL-OUT-WAR to stop him!
But, it would be a very secretive, carefully executed, and extremely
covert war taking the vast highly secretive government agencies
designed to protect a sitting president and using them against him,
making them believe they were attempting to save him either from
unknown hostile forces who had kidnapped him or from himself and then,
suggesting that he might have suffered a sudden mental collapse and
gone mad.
Is it
possible or a pipe dream for us to have a president who is
as honest and forthcoming as President John Henry Harris is in the book?
It
is possible if he or she clearly knows right from wrong, is courageous
and daring enough to trust his or her instincts, abandon politics,
ignore the harshest critics and public opinion. The President would
also have to completely disregard how his or her actions would effect
his or her standing in history when the fate of the nation (and perhaps
the world) is directly at hand.
A pipe dream? It would
depend on the person at the helm at the time and the severity of the
test itself. What comes immediately to mind is the Kennedy
administration's response to the Cuban Missile Crises, a
two-week-long, nail-biting showdown with the Soviet Union that might
well have ended in all-out nuclear war.
You
worked closely with people at The Brookings Institute, a major think
tank in DC as well as secret service personnel to get the details right
for this book. Can you tell us about that?
It
wasn't with the Brookings Institute per se but with Ron Nessen
who holds a highly regarded position there. As you may recall, Ron was
White House Press Secretary during the Ford administration and was, and
in many ways still is, privy to how the White House operates, most
particularly in the flow of information to the media.
The
Secret Service personnel I worked closely with chose not to be publicly
identified. They are, after all, the Secret Service. Still, their
on-going advice and technical counsel during the writing of the
manuscript was extremely beneficial. While not free to tell me exactly
what their tactics might have been under each given circumstance, they
were most helpful in overall strategy, what other agencies might be
involved, and in pointing out places and situations where I was going
wrong. One of the daily exercises of the Secret Service, especially
within the details assigned to protect the president and
vice-president, is to play the WHAT IF game. WHAT IF the president is
walking down this corridor and a side door suddenly opens? WHAT IF he
is leaving a building and there is a sudden natural disaster such as an
earthquake?
In the situation created by President John Henry Harris's initiatives in The Machiavelli Covenant I was able to give them a major
WHAT IF? One I think they hadn't seriously considered before.
WHAT IF the president suddenly decides to go off on his own, telling no
one and is, at the same time, fully aware of his caretakers'
modus operandi because he is privy to the top secret details of how
they work? WHAT IF he carefully chose a time and place and made his
escape in a way that would seem highly improbable if not impossible?
WHAT IF they didn't realize he was gone until several hours
later? Then what?
That was precisely the WHAT IF game I
presented to them and they were hugely responsive and supportive in
playing it out. The end result is that I've probably put the
whammy on any future president who might decide to entertain such an
idea.
The story takes place mostly in Spain. How did you research their security tactics?
A
special agent of the US Secret Service arranged for me to meet in
Barcelona where most of the action takes place with members of the mossos d'esquadra, theCatalonian
state police. I had an intensive meeting with them there and later kept
in touch by phone and email. My on-going questions to them were pretty
much the same as those presented to the Secret Service. The difference
was that as official members of the host country, Spain, they would be
working under the direction of the Secret Service SAIC, the special
agent in charge, of the US presidential detail. It was through them I
was advised of the different Spanish law enforcement and security
agencies that would be involved and to the degree they could tell me,
how they would operate. One of the officers commented over lunch that
my questions "should be on the police exam."
You
go into great detail on some of the satellite tracking systems, phone
records, etc. used to find President Harris. What are your
thoughts on unrestricted surveillance of US citizens?
To digress from your question for a moment, what we have in The Machiavelli Covenant
is a president of the United States who has gone missing. This is
something that, as far as anyone seems to know or wants to admit, has
never happened before. As a result, nothing was or would be spared to
find him. The trick, of course, was and would be, to keep the situation
secret from the public and hence the media for as long as possible
while the massive search for him went on.
As to
unrestricted surveillance of US citizens. I think we can have NO LAWS
that are UNRESTRICTED otherwise we become a totalitarian state. Someone
has to watch the watchers.
Do
you think there's some truth to conspiracy theories that a secret
society or societies The Trilateral Commission or Illuminati
come to mind exist solely to take over world governments?
You
can add organizations like The Skull & Bones, The Bilderberg
Society or even the Masons to the list of secret or semi-secret
societies. Globally there are hundreds more. Most are historically
membered by people of privilege and are focused to one degree or other
on the concept of patriotism. Generally, they are societies carried
forward from generation to generation designed chiefly to be protective
of the status quo. In other words, closely held, members-only
associations deliberately planned to protect their lifestyle and
realizing they have a lot to lose if they don't.
The
idea of them taking over world governments seems to be counter to their
general make-up. Who would want to operate a government when the
governments already operating provide them with what they need?
Chiefly, as suggested before, maintaining the status quo and greatly
profiting from it. Not to say they can't and don't
influence certain directions a government might be taking, but that
usually happens through the political system itself simply by backing
or "influencing" favorites, whether they be sitting
politicians, challengers, or government, military or social programs.
As for a society even more powerful and secret than those discussed and as created in The Machiavelli Covenant,
why not? Every child has a parent and if you want to get into ways
these things could be kept clandestine one need look no further than
super-secret government agencies like the CIA, NSA, MI6, the old KGB
and Stasi, and agencies like them that have existed for centuries and
from which Covenant "soldiers" and "technicians" would no doubt be recruited.