Power Play	Power Play
	Author:	F. Ethan Repp
	Published:	2014,
	No. of Pages:	192
	Cover Price:	$14.95 (Paperback) $7.99 Kindle

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Small town politics can be fascinating, and in F. Ethan Repp’s Power Play politics behind the scenes are exposed. Pettiness and vicious actions are the norm in politics, and that fact is emphasized and illustrated to the extreme in this story of Albert Caso, who is well-known in this small town and considered the leader and political expert in his party. Caso recruits a young man, Collier Winthrop (Collie), to run for mayor against a popular 8 year veteran who has many loyal followers inside the mayor’s office as well as the governor’s office. Defeating Edward Ogden, the incumbent mayor, will be a long-shot, and even if Collie wins, there will be major problems to overcome due to loyalty on the part of very bitter councilmen who are actually members of Collie’s party. The events seem real, and give the readers a sense of what really happens in government.

Repp’s characters are likeable, and some even charming, although Caso is described as very old and decrepit, but is only in his early 70s (which nowadays isn’t really that old). Collie, while 27 years old, seems younger – stuck in the college scene - and is a womanizer (which makes him perfect for politics), as well as a rich kid with no apparent ambition; in fact, he isn’t particularly serious about much of anything. His best friend, Billy Gray, is more serious, and helps with the campaign. Billy’s influence is positive throughout the novel. Collie does take the campaign seriously, though, and researches the issues; during the campaign he matures and becomes a legitimate adversary for Ed Ogden.

The author has used his personal knowledge of politics to tell this story, but unfortunately has ignored the fact that novels are generally written in formal prose, and he has completely disregarded proper English grammar and usage rules; it seems that while obtaining his Masters degree in Public Administration, he either skipped or flunked his English classes. While much of the story is told in a third person narrative, there are dozens of places where the author switches to first person mid-paragraph, which is definitely improper, albeit extremely confusing. The characters also use a lot of profanity, which seems a bit forced and unnatural; it is definitely unnecessary and makes the book unsuitable for young readers. Although the story takes place in the 70s, it doesn’t actually say that anywhere, and the reader either has to guess or read the blurb on Amazon to figure it out. There are also major inconsistencies in word usage and spelling, such as I.O.U. and I. O. U. and Ward is capitalized in some places and not in others. There are question marks at the end of some sentences that should have periods, and spacing errors throughout, such as on page 71 where “The” is alone on one line and the rest of the sentence is one line down. There is also an asterisk on page 78 indicating that something should have been put in, but wasn’t. TV is spelled three ways: T.V, T.V., and TV. Creditable is used instead of credible, and use instead of used several places (“you also become use (instead of used) to personal situations.” And commas where there shouldn’t be commas, and no commas where there should. Run on sentences are common throughout, and…, well, you get the picture.

On a positive note, there are political quotes at the end of some chapters that are interesting and on target. While this author does have promise, professional editing is going to be necessary for him to become a mainstream author. He has a good imagination for a story, and if one can get through the ranting on political issues and the improper grammar and usage, Power Play will keep the interest of readers.

Special thanks to the author for supplying a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book may be purchased at Amazon:
Power Play (Paperback)
Power Play (Kindle Edition)