Conspiracy Theory Review

Mission Accomplished
by Patrick S. Johnston
ISBN-10: 1598582445
Review by Heather Froeschl

Just how interested is the government in your everyday life? You may or may not be surprised. Patrick S. Johnston gives readers something to think about with his work of fiction, "Mission Accomplished."

John Hudson is a college student, exploring his views of politics, the Gulf War, and life in general on the campus of Louisiana State University. In a specified area, students are permitted to get up on the soapbox and share. John captured the attention of a particular student as she smacked him with a soda can for mentioning, in the heat of the moment, that he'd kill President George Bush if he could. Only this student wasn't a student, she was an undercover agent planted to identify threats to national security. John's fate was sealed that day and his life would never be the same.

As time progressed, John was brought to "meet" President Bush Sr. where he discovered that his "girlfriend" was an agent and his life a lie. Refusing to be brought in under the wing of the government and take an offered job where he can be controlled and closely monitored, John seals the fate of his loved ones. His father meets with an unfortunate demise, and later his mother is in grave danger, all in the name of national security. John does eventually take a job with the government where he begins to research what is really going on right under our noses. Did presidential hopefuls die at the hands of those in power? Was there a plot to kill his father simply because he'd mentioned killing the President?

When Bush Jr. takes office, John is still a blip on the Bush radar. He becomes a tool to help the current president look good in the eyes of the people. In a most elaborate and detailed scheme, involving plastic surgery, falsified backgrounds and identities, and a seemingly domestic terrorist plot wherein the Trade Exchange Building in Chicago is imploded, full of daily workers, John is set up to take the fall.

Told in flashback style, as John is led to and undergoing lethal injection, the story is captivating right from the start. Just what would our government do to "protect" national security? How far do "we" go before lunacy is proclaimed? Patrick S. Johnston is likely standing on that soapbox trying to draw readers' attention and insight questions of the supposed truth as it is reported to us. As a work of fiction the book unfortunately falls right in with our current events. A conspiracy theory at its best! - Note to Homeland Security: this is simply a book review and nothing more.