A sexy fast-moving cult novel, "The 2020 Players" was written in 2010 but amazingly it accurately predicts numerous future events. These include the rise of an Islamic caliphate; electronic interference in a Presidential election; a female Presidential candidate in 2016; a gay candidate in 2020; terrorism in France; extraterrestrial ambiguities; a crisis on the Mexican border; a new trade cooperative with China, the renegotiation of NAFTA, Media Madness, a Celebrity Presidency several more absolutely prescient predictions. Even with a few wild guesses thrown in, the author is astoundingly clairvoyant.
The fast-moving plot presents many colorful characters including Presidential candidate Josh Struben and his wife, singer/activist Gina Struben; Chinese industrialist, Sun Feng; CIA Operative, Catherine Cauley; Islamic terrorist, Faraq Hussein; and Kenneth Brady, the bi-sexual host of the network news talk show, "The Brady Focus." Other vibrant supporting characters invigorate the plot that covers the 12 months of January through December 2020. There is also a rich back-story that deals credibly with the intervening years between 2011 and 2020.
The Twenty-Twenty Players are the characters who each undergo a major personal transformation during the title year. Not only do these four-dimensional characters jump out of the text to illuminate the storyline, but they also permit thoughtful access to their individual spirituality as they cope with conflict or accept opportunity. The final 6 months of 2020 are fast paced, and unpredictable. However when the story ends on New Years' Eve, 2020, the reader feels hopeful and invigorated about the stretch of years yet to unfold.
The Twenty-Twenty Players has appeal to anyone who has ever felt, love, sorrow, fear, regret, lust, hatred, or hope. But there are several more specific audiences who will find additional meaning as the plot unfolds. Political junkies will sink their teeth into debates about Globalism, American Exceptionalism and the ongoing erosion of the middle class.
Questions are asked and answers are proffered. Some of these questions include: Will there be a female president anytime soon? Is the US ready for its first gay president since James Buchanan? Will Dictator Dominoes lead to theocratic unification and sovereignty? When will the USA become energy independent? Can a third-party candidate have a fair shot at becoming President? Will Puerto Rico become the 51st State? How will the Hispanic Vote impact the 2020 election? When, if ever, will Americans be able to cast their vote via the Internet? How will the USA/China relationship evolve? Does the media's role in the political process expand or contract? What is the role of the US military in the Twenty First Century? What is the USA's new Manifest Destiny? What impact will space exploration have on globalization? Embodied in the back-story of the novel are assumptions about what transpired between 2011 and 2020. Some specifics include another US based terrorist attack which takes place in 2017; the US military occupation of northern Mexico in 2015; the passing of the 29th Amendment to the US Constitution that has a fascinating and positive impact on the American political process. There are many more surprises, but all of them are plausible; some might even seem probable.
However, first and foremost, The Twenty-Twenty Players is a novel about people. What keeps the reader turning the pages at an enjoyable pace is the primitive curiosity at how the lives of the characters will unfold. Will sexy pop icon Gina Alvarez-Struben help or hurt her husband's chances at election? Why doesn't incumbent President Elder want to run for a second term? What impact will political pundit Kenneth Brady and "The Brady Focus" have on the election? Who will cause the most chaos in 2020, American terrorist, Robert Day or Islamic terrorist Zafar bin Zahid? And finally, what difference can 12 months make on history