Mindless drifter on the road

Moonlight Hotel is a book that will have great appeal to a small section of readers with limited appeal to most. Brilliant, eh? I've just described most books. Anyway, the ideal reader for the book is someone who likes satire, written non-satirically, who has an interest in American foreign policy and is willing to give the author a pass on character development.

The book is set in a fictional nation that may be in Africa or Asia, but is a backwater. The local US military rep starts a war and when it goes sour, he skedaddles, leaving a small group of Westerners in the Moonlight hotel, who watch the captial get pulverized. The book is a critique of American policy in a number of ways, but it boils down to an attack on the hubris, incompetence, and hand-washing that seems to come up with alarming regularity. Now you know and I know that foreign policy is a damn tricky business with trade-offs and no-win situations a-plenty. Still there is reason to be critical. Anderson uses a competent Britsh diplomat as a foil to show the wacky ways of the USA.

Despite being a satire, the author avoids the satirical voice of people like Christopher Buckley. All well and good given the serious nature of the story. The one exception is the military rep who speaks the amusing dialect of English heard around the NCR (national capital region). The CYA factor is high with these folks.

The big downside that will hold many of you back is the character development. It's pretty weak to non-existent. There is back story to everyone, but its not that compelling. If the people don't really work, a lot of the detail shines. Anderson is a reporter and he takes advantage of his experience in war reporting. For example, he explains what happens when an artillery shells explodes in a city. He goes on to explain how stringers work with news agencies. All interesting stuff, but most likely to appeal to those who love international politics, not the general reader of fiction.