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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Even die-hard conspiracy theorists will be dubious about the sinister government-led plots that form the shaky foundation of this political thriller. Alten, best-known for his gory novels featuring giant prehistoric sharks (Meg; The Trench), goes well beyond the already far-fetched idea that the Bush administration let the devastating 9/11 attacks happen to further the neoconservative agenda of reshaping the Middle East. In 2012, with centrist conservative David McKuin in the White House, the federal government plots to detonate a nuclear bomb in a U.S. city and blame Iran as a cover to take out that country's radical leadership. Standing in the plotters' way is Ace Futrell, an energy expert whose murdered wife was possibly targeted by U.S. intelligence. An awkward mix of actual and fictional political figures (Hillary Clinton is still in the Senate in 2012, having lost the 2008 election to McKuin) doesn't make this paranoid and superficial book more plausible. (Jan.)
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Review
Steve Alten proves his versatility in his latest thriller THE SHELL GAME, a tour-de-force thriller tackling oil, politics, and the state of the world. Controversial, shocking, meticulously researched, and sure to raise many eyebrows in Washington, Alten has produced both a dazzling political thriller and to a cautionary tale for our times. Anyone interested in the labyrinthine world of politics, international gamemanship, and the control of oil in society needs to read this book. --James Rollins, New York Times bestseller of The Judas Strain

Review
A nerve-wracking thriller about America's addiction to Middle Eastern sweet crude and the network of enablers who keep our dependent nation away from detox. --Kirkus Reviews

Review
Whether you embrace it or refute it, The Shell Game cannot, and should not, be easily dismissed. This is Steve Alten s boldest, bravest book to date. He s fearless, in fact, and his skills as a storyteller have not dulled. The Shell Game leaves you shattered, angry, and demanding change. -Andrew Tallackson, Michigan City (Indiana) News-Dispatch entertainment editor

Action packed, intense, and politically probing, The Shell Game is an intriguing blend of fiction and nonfiction that will most certainly disturb the practitioners of the game, because it will make readers stop and think about American foreign policy in the oil-rich Middle East. --Richard Folsom, Washington Daily News