Crisis: The Kelly Turnbull Prequel – a review

Crisis is a rollicking good read.

I spent the weekend reading the Kelly Turnbull Prequel Crisis by Kurt Schlichter. And I really enjoyed it.

Whereas the first four Turnbull novels take place after America has split in two, the action in Crisis takes place prior to the split.

I confess I thought the prequel would deal more with the events that caused the split, and I found myself getting a wee bit disappointed that the split seemed well underway at the start of the book.

But as I thought about it, I realized that there was no reason for Schlichter to spend time spelling out the schisms that were developing because those schisms are developing right now in real life. We don't need Schlichter to tread over that ground because we're standing on that ground right now in 2020.

Instead, what Crisis does is take the schisms we’re currently experiencing to their logical end.

Once I realigned my thinking on that, I really got into the story.

There’s a lot I love about the Kelly Turnbull novels. They are action-packed books accented with Schlichter’s trademark humor.

And Crisis definitely has that.

Unlike the other four books, Crisis takes place while the country, though quickly fracturing along ideological lines, is still intact. But the military is growing divided; FBI agents and other government bureaucrats are picking sides. And elected “progressive” politicians are under pressure from outside Leftist groups determined to “reimagine” America.

Chief among the outside agitator’s is the central villain of Crisis, Merrick Crane III -- a wealthy man with an outstanding skin-care regimen who exploits the violent street protests to form a “people’s militia” with the hope of instigating a bloody civil war.

Unlike most of the sunken-chested Antifa thugs who crumble at the first sign of pushback, Crane is no poser. He is violent, manipulative and has enough of a connection to the rich and powerful to hold sway over politicians in Washington.

Crane doesn’t want the country to split; he wants the country destroyed. Then Crane, like a violent phoenix rising from the smoldering ashes, can place himself as the new country’s strongman leader.

It is up to Kelly Turnbull to stop him.

When I reviewed Book 4 Collapse, I said reading the book was a lot like watching an action movie. You know the kind where it’s so exciting you find yourself pushing down on an invisible brake pedal while gripping the armrests like you somehow could control the action.

Truth is, every Turnbull novel is like that.

I don’t know how Schlichter gets me to react the same way to words on a page as I do to an action movie, but he does.

Crisis is no different. The battle scenes are vivid, and there is plenty of grip-the-armrests, push-down-on-the-brake-pedal action to be had.

And the best part is Crisis is just Part One. The Turnbull Prequel concludes with The Split (which I really hope comes out very soon).

If you haven’t read the other Turnbull novels, you can start with Crisis without any confusion since it is a prequel. However, I think you’d enjoy it more if you start at the very beginning with People’s Republic and work your way up from there. And as with every Kurt Schlichter book, never ever skip the Preface.

Crisis is available in Kindle or paperback exclusively at Amazon. You can check out all five Turnbull novels HERE.