Head of State

Head of State
Head of State by Andrew Hickey is a full length Faction Paradox novel published by Obverse Books. It features a number of characters and situations from The Book of the War (published by Mad Norwegian Press). Each of the major characters' storyline is told in a different style (from journal entries to Blog posts) which tie together in different and shocking manners.

Blurb
‘When the seventh head speaks, the War will end…’

In 11th century Arabia, Shahrazad tells her final story, on the thousand and second night. In 19th century Britain, Sir Richard Burton is sent on the most important mission of his life. In 21st century America, a serial killer is stalking a Presidential campaign.

And the hero has been written out of the novel.

‘”…and the true War will begin.’

Synopsis
A number of factions (including, naturally, Faction Paradox) conspire to facilitate or prevent the election of the President of United States of America.

What connects a right-wing conspiracy theorist to a left-wing Blogger to a disembodied being only able to communicate via altering media to a 19th century explorer to an 11th century literary heroine?

Who is leaving a trail of bodies along the Presidential campaign? What is so important about the thousand and second night of Saherazzad's life with the Sultan? What is Sir Richard Burton really tracking in the desert? And where is the hero of the tale?

Reviews
"As spoilerlessly as possible .... "head of state" by Andrew Hickey. Whenever I start a new FP novel, it's with some trepidation, you know where you stand with a Doctor Who novel, you know what to expect from a Jim Butcher, you know what the gist of a Star Wars novle's going to be. But A Faction Paradox story? Be it novel, anthology or Novella, it's entirely possible it could be anything. This one is what happens when an 18th century travelogue is dumped into a box of Lego with a political thriller and liberally shaken about. For the FP fans who've been here since the days of the "Book of the War" (incidentally, Stuart, we need a second volume to that) there are some lovely little references that make you go "ohh my giddy aunt" when you twig what they're referring to. Each character has a distinct voice, Burton's a stuffy, pompous arse (and all the more entertaining for it) Rachel almost a stereotypical Social Justice Warrior, Dave an Internet Troll and the omniscient narrator doomed, lonely and just a little jaded. And that last line ... STOP TEASING US! Must be time we saw someone stand up to that character and score a "win"."

Originally published on the Eleven Day Empire Facebook page, and used with the permission of the original reviewer.