Talk

A Novel

By: Michael A. Smerconish

Narrated by: James Edward Thomas

An explosive novel exposing the inner workings of conservative talk radio and campaign politics from New York Times best-selling author and one of America's leading talk-radio hosts and political commentators, Michael Smerconish.

Stan Powers finds himself at a crossroads. Poised to take the last step in his unlikely ascent to the top of conservative talk radio, his conscience may not let him. Set amid the backdrop of "the most important presidential election of our lifetime", Powers - as the most influential voice in Tampa’s hotly contested I-4 Corridor - holds the key to Florida, and therefore the Oval Office. His on-air attacks singlehandedly put an abrupt end to the top candidates' main competitors in the primaries, and now he is in the singular position to influence who wins the highest elected office in the world. Will he continue playing the game according to his cynical advisors, or listen to his own conscience and drop an even bigger bomb than expected?

With a story that could have been ripped from the headlines, deeply developed characters and interconnected plotlines, and one of the most shocking and rewarding denouements you’ll ever experience, this is the perfect political thriller for today’s America.

©2014 Michael A. Smerconish (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

excellent! pure Smerconish

listened to it in less than 24 hours. it is awesome and recommended for any political junkie

Great Book!!!

The beginning of the book is really good and the story continues to evolve throughout the book. However, the last chapter ends the book to abruptly.

great story!

very gripping, didn't want to turn it off. would like to hear more of this

an enjoyable listen

narrator grows on you during the listen. it's a solid novel that inserts most of smerconish's ideology into the role of Stan Powers. I would recommend it to anyone interested in politics. it gives a new perspective

Good Read

What did you like best about Talk? What did you like least?

Great performance, instructive story about how talk radio industry works. Language was more vulgar than expected.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Stan was a compelling character.

Which character – as performed by James Edward Thomas – was your favorite?

Stan professional coach was cool

Good Story

Enjoyed the story and I hope we get a movie soon. I wanted to have Michael Smerconish read the story.

Jeff

I listen to the author on his daily talk show. I loved this story. The narrator was awesome. Toward the end I was really wondering what was going to happen with Stan.

LACKS DEPTH

Some interesting insights about the operations of the media, but little of depth on fixing the polarized political system. I haven't seen Michael's program on CNN, but did see him on MSNBC. He has a good on air presence, but this book lacks depth.

Great contemporary "historical" fiction

Where does Talk rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

If you have ever wondered how did we get here with the polarized media and the crazy partisan politics Talk offers a historical fiction account of how we got here. It's the most entertaining book about why our politics and media is all screwed up I have ever read. If I was to have any complaint it is that it is a great story about a guy, but it really has limited solutions to the problems.

What did you like best about this story?

It's a great story and while the protagonist is not a real person he feels real and your really interested in what is going to happen next. I would love a sequel to find out what happened to the guy.

What about James Edward Thomas’s performance did you like?

The story is 75% told by the protagonist with 10 other people having recurring roles with dialog on a semi regular basis. The top 5 people have very distinctive changes in voice and it's easy to hear the difference between them. The next 5 are not quite as unique in their voice and sound somewhat generic. The pace and timber are very easy to listen to.

If you could take any character from Talk out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would love to take the protagonist our for dinner a year after the book end. But I would live with the end of the book. The consultant would also be really amazing to talk with.

Any additional comments?

I really love the message of this book we need to have less partisanship in our discussions. We need to talk and listen not just soapbox.

Love the ending

As the story develops we see how an individual can be swayed by outside influences to follow a path that doesn’t gel with their beliefs but one that will move them closer to their goals, fame and fortune. The ending gave a perfect picture of our political scene today. I also loved that he took responsibility for the things he said, not blaming anyone else.