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Epicurus.com - Condor One
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List Price: $5.99
Our Price: $4.79
Your Save: $ 1.20 ( 20% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Dreamspinner Press
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Kindle Edition
Format: Kindle Book
Label: Dreamspinner Press
Manufacturer: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 2008-07-01
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Studio: Dreamspinner Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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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.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Hail to The Queen!!!..........
Comment:
........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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Customer Rating:
Summary: Hope there is a sequel
Comment: This was a really good story. Plenty of suspense to go with the sex. Definately hope there is a second book to answer the questions that still remain.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A fun read
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Condor One by John Simpson
Comment: Condor One is a fantapolitic novel. David Windsor, multimillionaire business man and far cousin of William V, the King of England, is now a democratic candidate to be the new USA President. His campaign goes very well since the american citizens are tired of years of Republican government, and he is the most probable winner. So his adversary lets drop the bomb during the last official speech: David is gay. Unexpected to everyone, David doesn't deny the news and au contraire, he embraces this new turn of his campaign, gaining even more consent from people who appreciate him for his honesty.
So David becomes the new President and his life takes an accelerate path; in all the whirlwind, his only stepping stone is Shane, his bodyguard. Shane is a late twenty very handsome man, with the look of an American movie star and the character of Gandhi. He is always quite and sure, always ready for "his" President. At first David is a bit of a playboy, he plays with Shane but he is not against the idea to "play" also with some other fine looking men who happen to be near him, even if he has never had the chance to conclude something, since the official duty and the lack of intimacy don't allow him any free time. But when the events turn mad and all around him seems to crash, again and again Shane will be his only safe shelter.
The story has a very strong suspense plot, with a lot of action. It's almost like reading a Tom Clancy gay novel. What I find really interesting is David's character, a man that should be upright and detached, and instead, when he can, he is always ogling the fine ass of his bodyguard. But despite the weakness of his body, his mind is very strong and ready and when he needs to take an important decision, he is up to the task. And even if he tries to be fair with everyone, he is also willing to use the iron hand with necessary, and sometime I understand that he is also gladly to do that, when the justice falls upon someone he doesn't like: even if David is a good man, he has a naughty and devil side that sometime surfaces.
Shane maybe is too perfect. He is handsome, clever, generous... I never read about some faults about him. Maybe to be the man of a so important figure, he needs to be so, but well, I would like for him to be a little more angry, above all when David lets his weak body to lead him astray.
The erotic part of the novel are pretty strong, graphic and detailed... these are two men who are making sex (before love) and it's very clear: not chocolate and flowers for them, they go directly to the core of the matter.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliant story!!
Comment: I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting, the story and details were fascinating, and there was plenty of suspense throughout to make it a real page turner. I highly recommend this book as well as all other work by this author!
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