WL's Mainstream Gay Book Reviews - 47. Enemies of the State (Book 1 of Executive Office Series) by Tal Bauer

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34664699-enemies-of-the-state

I can think of no better Action-Adventure book to review than the first book of the Executive Office Series by Tal Bauer. I have all three of his books in the series, plus the Christmas special novella that takes place between books 1 and 2. I’ll review all of them in the coming year, but I want to focus on this book that launched the series. As a gay male author from Texas, he weaves a tale of intrigue, high political games, and military honor that would worthy of Tom Clancy, if Tom Clancy had written gay spy thrillers. This story is amazingly detailed and sophisticated with mysterious villains, allies with dubious loyalties, and complex characters.

Length-wise, it is 444 pages long and 14 hours 15 minutes on audible. This book is sizable bit of reading and comparable to Tom Clancy’s Patriot Games in terms of level of detail between US military hardware, foreign spy services, political structure discussions, and so on. I would advise the reader to be ready for a slow burn romance set against international high-stake intrigue with literal nuclear consequences.

Plot: Secret Service agent, Ethan Reichenbach, is the gay head of Presidential Secret Service detail, he’s been around the block across various Presidents from both parties. He takes himself and his job very seriously, his training and expertise are one of the best. He doesn’t discuss his sexuality or date out of professionalism rather than being in the closet. Newly elected President Jack Spiers is a moderate Texas Republican, who got elected through promoting a middle-of-the-way approach on issues and securing military and Veteran voters. The US president is a widower, his late wife died in service to her country. Faced with issues from across the world from terrorism in Europe to Russia aggression to escalating tensions with China, and so forth, the President has a full plate. However, despite his position, Jack wants to also be a normal human being and befriends Ethan. They cultivate a deep relationship that keep building until an encounter makes it unmistakable to both Ethan and Jack that they are in love. Both men know how precarious such a love would be, but neither of them wishes to separate. They keep their relationship private and clandestine in the White House. In the background, international player is making their moves from the belligerent President of Russia, Sergey Puchkov, to silent allies like Saudi Arabia’s Director of Intelligence, Prince Faisal al-Saud, along with mysterious players like China’s Colonel Song, a leader of Chinese intelligence, and the unseen enemies from within the US, like General Porter Madigan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. A nuclear weapon is used in a major African city, claiming the lives of thousands. Due to the historic use of a nuclear weapon by a non-state sanctioned actor, the world grows weary and the major powers along with their intelligence services attempt to discover the truth. Danger looms everywhere, until a public assassination attempt of President Jack Spier occurs by elements of a terrorist insurgency with ties to US military. The story ends in a “Happy-For-Now” ending with hints at bigger global dangers and social upheaval, but Jack and Ethan remain resolute and devoted to face them.

Review: This is the book that got me to start reading again at a rapid pace. It re-ignited my love of gay fiction and gay romance as something more with its incredible scope. Tal Bauer deserves a lot of praise as a gay male writer, he wrote what could have easily have been a cliché into what I think is the epitome of what a “Gay Spy Thriller” should look like. It had everything in the romance front from a traditional gay story, but the mixed allegiances and bountiful character storylines just kept me interested until the very end.

Ethan Reichenbach is not a stereotypical gay character, he’s brawny and courageous. He’s also smart and capable to handle himself in dangerous situations. As a secret service agent, I can truly imagine him being a someone that would be safeguarding Presidents. As a gay lover, he is the most reliable man you could possibly ask for by your side. While he knew he loved Jack first, he kept that knowledge suppressed and it just continued to boil, until he could not hide his emotions. He was horrified with how he reacted by kissing Jack; even knowing that Jack returned his feeling was wrong, because Secret Service agents cannot fall for their assignment, especially the top assignment, a sitting US President. I love how he came to terms with being in love with Jack and protecting him.

Jack Spiers is what I can imagine Tal Bauer would want in a President and heck, I’d probably vote for him, too. Despite being a Texas Republican, Jack Spier embodies probably the best elements of Bush Sr., Reagan, and Eisenhower with no trace of Trump or Bush Jr. excesses. His policies are even-measured, he’s not afraid to use the sword, but he’s afraid of making mistakes that could cost unnecessary lives. At his heart, he cares about the people, who voted him into office. He’s a contradiction being a Texan intellectual and military widower, having lost his wife a year before the story began. His sexuality is also quite interesting too, he did not fall in love with his wife, but they developed love together, just as he and Ethan did in the book. If I base his sexuality on these facts, I think Tal Bauer might have written a demi-romantic character, which Is quite interesting. I like the approach of crafting a homosexual relationship between people, who grow to love each other rather than sudden realization one or both is gay or bisexual. Jack can sometimes come off as a damsel in distress, but he’s a civilian President in a world filled with agents, military men, and spies. He’s more realistic as a character by being weak physically with high intellect than Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan as US President actually taking on terrorists with nuclear weapons, which isn’t a dig at Tom Clancy, the Godfather of spy-thrillers, but just a point on why this character is written realistically.

As for side characters, there are many of them each with interesting backstories and fun concepts. I have love for spymasters, so Lawrence Irwin, the unassuming director of the CIA, Prince Faisal al-Saud, Director Saudi Intelligence, and mysterious Colonel Song, Head of Chinese Intelligence, are all amazing side-characters with layers of intrigue that I was dying to learn more about. They each had a piece to the puzzle and they even play against each other’s sides, despite being nominal allies or adversaries. It’s fascinating how the twisted world of spies operate in this universe. Additionally, there’s trusted friends in the White House like Ethan’s secret agent friend, Scott Collard, who would play a key role in the story. There are also characters like Lt. Adam Cooper, who is the “John Clark” leader of Tal Bauer’s elite military commando unit, aka his version of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six. I love the concept and the storyline that goes into this character in the middle and end. There’s a history between Adam Cooper and Prince Faisal Al-Saud, hinting a gay relationship between them. I know the other books dig deeper into this and I am hesitant to spoil things.

Were there issues? Yes, but I held my suspense to believe several major plot points in the story, I did find it quite fascinating how Tal Bauer got main characters out of tight spots. I don’t have anything negative to say about his book. I think this is something an author like GA's own @C Jamescould have written if he

My Review: 5 out of 5, it’s worth reading for anyone seeking something exciting and fun in gay fiction. It’s an international thriller worth your time and several re-readings.