Baldacci Sneaks Lessons Into Thrillers
By Caitlin Johnson
David Baldacci's books are quick, interesting thrillers that take many of his readers out of their boring lives into a fantasy world of intrigue and power struggles.
So, if someone reads his books for entertainment, that's fine with Baldacci, a former Washington-based attorney. He has become a wealthy man through his writing and had 13 consecutive New York Times best-sellers. More than 50 million copies of his books are in print worldwide.
But although Baldacci writes fiction, it's not always necessarily fantasy. He's also trying to make a statement about the true nature of power.
"It's just kind of a murky grey," he told The ShowBuzz. "It's just a game and everybody plays, regardless of what their intentions are; for the greater good, the good of the world, it's always about power."
His latest book, "Stone Cold," is part of his Camel Club series about a group of disenchanted former government henchmen led by the ex-assassin "Oliver Stone." They are on a mission to uncover the truth about the United States' real agenda.
The Camel Club is warring on two fronts in "Stone Cold." On one hand, Stone, formerly known as John Carr, is being chased by Harry Finn. Finn is a seemingly normal family man, but is also the most skilled of killers who has a serious vendetta against Stone and three of his former cohorts.
On the other hand, de facto Camel Club member Annabelle Conroy is running from casino magnate Jerry Bagger, who she swindled out of $40 million.
Photos: Book People
Having lived and practiced law in the D.C. area for years, Baldacci says he has a firm grasp of the way things work. It's not difficult for him to imagine characters like former CIA chief Carter Gray who tried to kill the president, or Finn, the doting father and loving husband who has done and seen things most people could never imagine.
"I'm not judging them right or wrong; depends on your perspective," he said.
Baldacci has a soft spot for those who work in the trenches making the real sacrifices for their county. But he does reserve some judgment for those who make policy which destroys others' lives without ever having to sacrifice something of their own.
He sees his books as warnings about what could happen and what might already be happening in the U.S. Little by little, Baldacci says, the truth seems to be creeping out.
"I think we've seen some of that where the earlier wire tapping stories, nobody in the United States had ever been spied on, it's only the guys from overseas, it's only terrorists," he said. "But come to find out if you've been to Las Vegas in the last year, and you're a mom and pop in Iowa, then the FBI has looked at your tax records and credit card purchases."
His first Camel Club book, "The Camel Club," grappled with the issue of what makes a terrorist a terrorist. He wasn't afraid to write about how some of U.S. foreign policy might alienate others and cause them to commit atrocities like the Sept. 11 attacks.
"The hate mail and death threats I got was just overwhelming," he said. "One guy wrote and said the only reason you can write crap like this is because you live in the United States of America where you have the right to freedom of speech so don't ever exercise it."
Baldacci, who says he's trying to write a book or two a year, has no illusions about why most people read his books: for entertainment. But if just one person understands what he is trying to say, it's worth it.
"I do get emails from people who say 'I appreciate the serious points you had in here, it gave me a lot to think about and you made me look in the world in a different way,'" he said. "But these days, I think it's unfortunate, in the era of Hemingway and Faulkner and Charles Dickens before them people looked to books to really explain the world to them."