The Standoff

If THE STANDOFF does nothing else, it again proves how our constitution has been "adopted" by people who use it for anything to justify their psychotic and anarchistic behavior. Here we have this guy holed up in his cabin in the Montana mountains, arming even his children with aforesaid guns, and accusing the Federal Government of instigating the war which is about to take place. Considering the fact that a US marshal was killed, and that the whole thing started when the redneck anarchist shot at a sheriff simply doing his duty. John Banish, the antihero of this book, has a past few characters would ever want to claim, and Hogan uses the book to show just how frustrating it is to uphold the law and save lives. The media, stupid supporters of this redneck, and countless others get into the melee. Hogan's problem: Why did he have to have baddies in the picture? Ables is simply a no good racist who uses his own family as protective shields. This book angered me with its portrayal of gun-crazy fanatics who claims their right to bear arms gives them the right to shoot lawmen. That's why it's so good. Hogan succeeds in exposing these racists for what they really are---guntoting cowards.

An absolute gem! This story of a white supremacist's confrontation with the U.S. government could be taken from the headlines but is described on several levels. Chuck Hogan, in his initial published novel, humanizes the difficult concept of armed conflict. The mesmerizing quality is found in the realism of dialogue and the differing perspectives of all the main characters representing different branches of government and law enforcement. The different points of view and agendas come into conflict with each other and are driven by their personalities, past experiences, and personal demons, especially of the chief hostage negotiator, Special Agent Banish of the FBI. He fights his own personal Hell as he attempts to secure a safe surrender while manipulating the situation so the US Marshall or Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will be blamed if anyone is killed or if anything goes wrong.This is fast-paced, thrilling and suspenseful with enough depth and surprises that you'll think about it well after you've put it down. As added enjoyment, I suggest you also listen to the audio tape. Stacy Keach does a yeoman's job; his voice along with the accompanying music makes this a listenning experience of the first order. Both book and audio are highly recommended.

If Hammond Innes (e.g. "Campbell's kingdom") and Donald Harstad (e.g. "Eleven Days") had written a book together; this book could have been the result of their effort. Chuck Hogan's novel mixes police procedural with a high-tension drama up in the remote mountains of Montana. The main character FBI Special Agent John Banish is not only trying to save the innocent people taken as hostage, he must also handle the local police and population as well as trying to come to terms with himself and the tragic events of his past. This is a book that you remember afterwards and it is good enough to read a second time.

A brilliant book, for a rookie author or even a veteran one. Hogan does a marvelous job of vividly taking us through the emotional instability of the main character, while also fleshing out the humanity of the "fluff" characters to present a very entertaining novel. The strength of this story, however, is that Hogan refuses to take sides in this conflict, rather taking the "reporter" approach-presenting both sides of the arguement, and letting the characters act out the rest. Kudos Chuck Hogan!

I can't wait for the next Chuck Hogan thriller. According to the book, he was 27 years old when he wrote it. Awesome. Enjoy.