David-Michael Harding

Breakage is a very good novel written by an author I have not read for many years. The last book I read by him was The New Illuminati published in 2016. I've enjoyed all his work that covers many different topics from Native American life to Resistance fighting in Europe during World War II.

Breakage is an interesting term relating to parimutuel betting at horse racing tracks. When betters cash in their winning tickets the payoff is in in whole number dollars. All of the change is rounded down and kept by the track administrators. For example, if the payoff is $7.20 the winner gets $7.00. If it is $8.90, the payout is $8.00, always rounded down.

It would seem that the breakage would not have much consequence on the cash intake at a race track. But when you think about the millions of bets that are placed in person at the track and by computer operators anywhere in the world, it all adds up to a lot of money. Where there’s money you can bet there will be criminals interested in finding a way to cash in.

In Harding 's novel, criminals manipulate the odds by betting large and small amounts at crucial times to influence the betting of mostly small-time players. The daily races at tracks involve betters who wager small amounts but do so frequently. This is a different strategy from major players who bet big money on major races, like the Belmont Stakes.

Donnie Chariot is a long-time gangster who has predicted the horse racing odds successfully for many years. He has a unique talent for seeing patterns in large data bases and making quick assessments. Then he can manipulate patterns with strategic betting to make accurate predictions of race winners. He is basically a parimutuel savant who sells sure-thing bets in advance of races to other gangsters. Breakage has another meaning when aging Donnie cannot crunch the numbers as well as he once did. Donnie believes in honor among thieves but other gangsters only want ROI, return on investment. Donnie and his gang go all in.… (mais)

The New Illuminati is a novel series of America in our time. In style, scope, and interaction of many well-developed characters, David-Michael Harding’s first novel in the series reminds me of the work of Irwin Shaw (Rich Man Poor Man -1970). Like Shaw, Harding is a great story teller, who engages the reader in the language and culture of the times.

Cyber specialists military officers, FBI agents, Sicilian Mafia, and others take the reader from Tampa, Florida to Washington, DC to Sicily as opposing forces battle for the hearts and minds of Americans. Right out of today’s news, wide-spread political and government corruption is apparent to long-suffering citizens who feel powerless to correct matters with their votes.

Cyber vigilantism becomes a surprisingly powerful solution as miscreants are surreptitiously exposed in the media by Clayton Rand, a politically conservative cyber security specialist. Corporate leaders, and local, state, and federal politicians are targeted by Clayton as he hacks a variety of cyber sources without leaving a trace back to his legitimate business operations.
Unlike Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (1957) in which the Americans submit to the power of self-serving elite, in The New Illuminati citizens’ direct actions lift them from impotence to super power. They turn the tables on the ruling industrial/political/media complex following Clayton’s secret leadership. Many members of the elite and corrupt class are frightened into abandoning their chicanery and cutting their losses. Many, however, continue abusing the American people and the exposure of misdeeds is not enough to stop them. Social, economic, and physical retribution evolves way beyond Clayton’s initial public disclosures of the enemies of the people.

In Part 1 of the New Illuminati, readers will start to question their enjoyment of the evil players in society getting their just desserts. Upholders of the laws of the land, Military Police, FBI, federal state and local District Attorneys and police make headway in their investigations of the source of the campaign of vigilantism. The nefarious victims are powerful and can put pressure on law enforcement to end the reign of terror. This might be a good time for Clayton Rand to close operations and stop his cyber attacks before he and his few confidants are arrested and prosecuted. Will Clayton shrug like Atlas or press further into the cyber “Bleeding Edge” (Thomas Pynchon’s 2013 novel)? That remains to be seen in Part 2 of David-Michael Harding’s great new novel series.… (mais)

Losing St. Christopher is the second volume of a trilogy telling the sad tale of the Cherokee Nation from the time of the American Revolution through it's ultimate removal from it's ancestral lands in the Mid-Atlantic region. The first book in the series, Cherokee Talisman was exceptionally moving and powerful and this book is no less so. It picks up as the son of Totsuhwa is learning the ways of the white man by living with a family who accepts him and his culture. He knows he needs to assimilate but does not want to leave generations of beliefs to die. Chancellor ultimately marries a white woman but learns that there will never be full acceptance for him or his children in this new world.

The book is extensively researched and well balanced showing both sides of the story but this was a shameful period in this country's history and the Native peoples were treated as less than human in the colonist's grab for land. The book details the Trail of Tears and that is not easy to read in a history tome so be prepared for some emotional moments when dealing with a this horrifying event in the hands of a skilled writer.

I believe that books like this should be read and are necessary to remind us exactly how this country was built - it is a great nation but it has both good and bad in its history. We cannot forget the bad to only remember the good for what do we learn from that? I will await the third volume to continue my walk with the Cherokee.… (mais)

An arrogant people, moreover an arrogant nation, seeks to remove a particular group of people. Losing St. Christopher is from the point of view of Totsuhwa, a highly respected Shaman of the Cherokees, but many Indian tribes were affected by the Indian Removal Act of 1830. At the start of this novel, he is nearly sixty years old. He had parted with his son, Chancellor, many years before sending him to school as his wife, Galegi, had desired for him. Chancellor had learned much from his father about the ways of the Cherokee. He kept these things close to his heart and he incorporated the teachings of the white man. When Chancellor saw his father again, he was an adult and the Indian Removal Act was about to be implemented. Chancellor had met and fallen in love with Monterey Mason, a white young lady, while in school. The news of this match dissatisfied Totsuhwa. However, Chancellor takes her as his wife.

This is a compelling story of our young nation fighting for and taking land that had been the homeland to the Indians for thousands of years. It is a thorough historical fiction account and it is very thought provoking. The author gives ‘skin’ to the history we’ve read about and makes it authentic and life-like. Mr. Harding does as well with scenes of men clashing and fighting as to those of tenderness and love. I rated Losing St. Christopher at 4.5 out of 5.

http://www.fictionzeal.com/losing-st-christopher-david-michael-harding/… (mais)