Crooked is a novel by author Austin Grossman, published in 2015 by Mulholland Books. It is a cosmic horror fantasy and secret history of the Cold War and the Watergate scandal, narrated by a fictionalized Richard Nixon.
Crooked is a novel by author Austin Grossman, published in 2015 by Mulholland Books. It is a cosmic horror fantasy and secret history of the Cold War and the Watergate scandal, narrated by a fictionalized Richard Nixon.
Richard Nixon grows up on his parents’ citrus farm, occasionally perceiving eerie forces and noticing strange behavior by his mother. When he grows up he returns from service in World War II and wins office against incumbent U. S. Representative Jerry Voorhis. Once in Washington Nixon works with the House Un-American Activities Committee investigating Whittaker Chambers’ accusations against U.S. State Department official Alger Hiss. While tailing Hiss, Nixon is apprehended by KGB operatives Arkady and Gregor. Through a misapplied spell, Gregor becomes possessed by a powerful supernatural entity. Both Arkady and Nixon shoot Gregor, but only wound him.
Through subsequent study of Hiss’s papers, Nixon learns of a government project called Blue Ox, being run out of isolated Pawtuxet Farm in rural Massachusetts. The sponsor of Project Blue Ox, General Dwight Eisenhower, chooses Nixon as his running mate when he runs for President of the United States. Nixon witnesses Eisenhower cast a fatal curse on Josef Stalin (which directly leads to his death), but Eisenhower is reluctant to pass on all the mystical secrets of the Oval Office to Nixon, and many are forgotten after Eisenhower’s 1957 stroke.
Nixon withdraws from politics after losing the 1960 presidential election to John F. Kennedy and failing in his 1962 bid for Governor of California, but he is drafted to run again for president by Henry Kissinger, in reality a millennia-old wizard. Once in office, Nixon finds himself and his country once again targeted by Gregor, who Kissinger tells him has made a deal with challenger George McGovern. It is in response to this action that the 1972 Watergate break-in is planned.
Grossman has said that he chose Nixon as the protagonist of his novel because Nixon was President when he was born, and also because he had always been regarded as a villain and a joke. [1] When the novel was being written Grossman’s brother Lev read an outline. [2]
Washington Post critic Ron Charles gave the book a mixed-to-positive review, saying, "Only when it comes to Henry Kissinger does the novel really live up to its comic potential...The scene of Kissinger — Doctor Kissinger, please! — showing the president his lair under the Pentagon is a delightful tip of the sorcerer’s hat to Dr. Strangelove .” [3]
Novelist Elizabeth Hand offered qualified praise in her review for the Los Angeles Times , writing, "The most impressive aspect of the novel is how Grossman creates a nuanced, funny and moving characterization of a man reviled during (and after) his term of office," although she was more critical of the book's pacing. [4]
io9's Annalee Newitz praised Crooked alongside Linda Nagata's The Red, saying, "There’s a lot of sardonic humor in the retelling of Nixon’s career as a supernatural thriller, leading up to the ghoulish apocalypse of Watergate, [b]ut there’s also genuine insight into what motivates politicians, and how a lifetime spent clawing to get to the White House will drive people mad as surely as Cthulhu does." [5] io9 subsequently included Crooked on its list of the best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2015. [6]
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. His five years in the White House saw reduction of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, détente with the Soviet Union and China, the first crewed Moon landings, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Nixon's second term ended early, when he became the only president to resign from office, as a result of the Watergate scandal.
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's persistent attempts to cover up its involvement in the June 17, 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Washington, D.C., Watergate Office Building.
All the President's Men is a 1974 non-fiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, two of the journalists who investigated the June 1972 break-in at the Watergate Office Building and the resultant political scandal for The Washington Post. The book chronicles the investigative reporting of Woodward and Bernstein from Woodward's initial report on the Watergate break-in through the resignations of Nixon Administration officials H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman in April 1973, and the revelation of the Oval Office Watergate tapes by Alexander Butterfield three months later. It relates the events behind the major stories the duo wrote for the Post, naming some sources who had previously refused to be identified for their initial articles, notably Hugh Sloan. It also gives detailed accounts of Woodward's secret meetings with his source Deep Throat, whose identity was kept hidden for over 30 years. Gene Roberts, the former executive editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and former managing editor of The New York Times, has called the work of Woodward and Bernstein "maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time."
Nixon is a 1995 American epic historical drama film directed by Oliver Stone, produced by Clayton Townsend, Stone, and Andrew G. Vajna. The film was written by Stone, Christopher Wilkinson, and Stephen J. Rievele, with significant contributions from "project consultants" Christopher Scheer and Robert Scheer. The film tells the story of the political and personal life of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, played by Anthony Hopkins.
William Pierce Rogers was an American diplomat and attorney. He served as United States Attorney General under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and United States Secretary of State under President Richard Nixon. Despite Rogers being a close confidant of Nixon, National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger overshadowed Rogers and eventually succeeded him as Secretary of State. Rogers was the last surviving member of the cabinet of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The Final Days is a 1976 non-fiction book written by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein about the Watergate scandal. A follow up to their 1974 book All the President's Men, The Final Days concerns itself with the final months of the Presidency of Richard Nixon including battles over the Nixon White House tapes and the impeachment process against Richard Nixon.
Annalee Newitz is an American journalist, editor, and author of both fiction and nonfiction, who has written for the periodicals Popular Science and Wired. From 1999 to 2008, Newitz wrote a syndicated weekly column called Techsploitation, and from 2000 to 2004 was the culture editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. In 2004, Newitz became a policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. With Charlie Jane Anders, they also co-founded Other magazine, a periodical that ran from 2002 to 2007. From 2008 to 2015, Newitz was editor-in-chief of Gawker-owned media venture io9, and subsequently its direct descendant Gizmodo, Gawker's design and technology blog. As of 2019, Newitz is a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times.
Thomas Mallon is an American novelist, essayist, and critic. His novels are renowned for their attention to historical detail and context and for the author's crisp wit and interest in the "bystanders" to larger historical events. He is the author of ten books of fiction, including Henry and Clara, Two Moons, Dewey Defeats Truman, Aurora 7, Bandbox, Fellow Travelers, Watergate, Finale, Landfall, and most recently Up With the Sun. He has also published nonfiction on plagiarism, diaries, letters and the Kennedy assassination, as well as two volumes of essays.
Sarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky is an American author who works primarily in speculative fiction genres, writing under the name Elizabeth Bear. She won the 2005 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "Tideline", and the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Novelette for "Shoggoths in Bloom". She is one of a small number of writers who have gone on to win multiple Hugo Awards for fiction after winning the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
Charlie Jane Anders is an American writer and commentator. She has written several novels, published magazines and websites, and hosted podcasts. In 2005, she received the Lambda Literary Award for work in the transgender category, and in 2009, the Emperor Norton Award. Her 2011 novelette Six Months, Three Days won the 2012 Hugo and was a finalist for the Nebula and Theodore Sturgeon Awards. Her 2016 novel All the Birds in the Sky was listed No. 5 on Time magazine's "Top 10 Novels" of 2016, won the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novel, the 2017 Crawford Award, and the 2017 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel; it was also a finalist for the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
This bibliography of Richard Nixon includes publications by Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, and books and scholarly articles about him and his policies.
io9 is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has shifted to more of a focus on science-fiction/fantasy-based pop-culture including movies, television, video games, comic books, and related toys. It was founded by Annalee Newitz, a former policy analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation and contributor to Popular Science, Wired, and New Scientist. Other contributors included co-founding editors Charlie Jane Anders and Kevin Kelly, in addition to Geoff Manaugh (BLDGBLOG), Graeme McMillan (Newsarama), Meredith Woerner, Alasdair Wilkins, Cyriaque Lamar, Tim Barribeau, Esther Inglis-Arkell, Lauren Davis, Robbie Gonzalez, Keith Veronese, George Dvorsky, and Lynn Peril. Between October 2010 and January 2012 io9 hosted the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast, produced by John Joseph Adams and David Barr Kirtley.
Therefore Repent! is a bestselling Canadian graphic novel written by anarchist freelance writer Jim Munroe and illustrated by Salgood Sam. It is set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago neighbourhood after the predictions of Christian fundamentalists concerning the Rapture have come true, the righteous have risen to Heaven and a society divided between Splitters who believe there will be a second Rapture for those who perform good acts after the first and those who do not. The novel has been called "a progressive, humane rejoinder" to the Christian science fiction novels in the Left Behind series.
Nanopunk refers to an emerging subgenre of science fiction that is still very much in its infancy in comparison to its ancestor-genre, cyberpunk, and some of its other derivatives.
Throne of the Crescent Moon is a fantasy novel written by American writer Saladin Ahmed. It is the first book in The Crescent Moon Kingdoms series. The book was published by DAW Books in February 2012. The book was nominated for the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel, 2013 David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer and the 2012 Nebula Award for Best Novel. It won the 2013 Locus Award for Best First Novel.
Ancillary Sword is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in October 2014. It is the second novel in Leckie's "Imperial Radch" space opera trilogy, which began with Ancillary Justice (2013) and ended with Ancillary Mercy (2015). The novel was generally well-received by critics, received the BSFA Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, and was nominated for the Nebula and Hugo awards.
Carnival is a 2006 science fiction novel by Elizabeth Bear. It was nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award, a Locus Award and a Lambda Literary Award.
In 2019 the following events occurred in science fiction.
The 80th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Chicon 8, was held on 1–5 September 2022 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
