But what we get are just oblique references of the actual date, what are mentioned clearly are the events of the past like the Afghan and Iraqi wars, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, mentions of certain pop songs and the age of certain characters. I think that the story takes place in the late 2030s or in the early 2040s. When is this near future? I tried to decipher the date. Right above the Prologue, we find the remark “In the near future.” Well. But before the story summary – as vague as possible – let’s try to determine when this story is taking place. I’ll try to write as spoiler-free about these books as possible, but I just can’t omit some story parts when speaking about some aspects of the books’ events or characters. These books will take some time to read because of their extent counting at least 400 pages each (except for the bonus volume). The series contains the three books of the main story: Enemies of The State, Enemy of My Enemy and Enemy Within, completed by a bonus Christmas volume: Interlude, which is taking place between Enemies of the State and Enemy of My Enemy. I hope no-one will change their mind due to my little disclaimer, and you will find this post interesting enough to give the four books of the trilogy a try.

But as long as Google and Wikipedia is among my best friends, and the kindle Wikipedia app is also good at providing information, it is not really a bother. I’m now reading the books for the 2nd time, and I still have come cross with some internal and external political aspects that I had to check, for example, definitions, abbreviations, alphabet agencies, political events etc.

But before you start to read, I have to mention that you will need an above average understanding of American political and election system along with the American political approach of the Near-East and the attitude and taken steps towards it (the Afghan and Iraqi wars, civil war in Syria etc.) If you are hunting for some larger scale, thought-provoking read, search no more, the Executive Office trilogy is exactly what you need.

Secret Service by Tal Bauer