A guide to serializing western culture

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Over at The American Spectator, senior editor Scott McKay is doing something almost unique these days: he’s serializing his political novels.

It isn’t a bad fit, as unusual as it is. Since its founding, TAS has been a publication priding itself on witty social commentary and pull-no-punches political satire. That they’ve now posted three of McKay’s Mike Holman novels in one small chunk after another, in advance of their release on Amazon, isn’t really a surprise.

It might be a well-kept secret, though. And that’s a shame, because the Holman stories are a hoot.

The latest, “Blockbusters,” which just published on Amazon, is a rollicking satirical thrill ride that skewers Hollywood’s excesses while delivering a timely message about reclaiming American culture. As the third Mike Holman novel, it follows McKay’s lead character, an intrepid journalist who earned the moniker “the world’s greatest newsman” through multiple adventures described in the first two novels, as he dives into a bold new venture.

Namely, saving Western culture, one bite at the time.

Holman, with resources heaped on him by his old college roommate and mega-billionaire industrialist Pierce Polk, aims to disrupt the entertainment industry using old-fashioned cultural perspective and cutting-edge AI tech. The story crackles with sharp dialogue, larger-than-life characters, and plot twists that keep you turning pages late into the night.

And along the way, McKay crafts a not-altogether-implausible scenario in which the media oligopoly dominating the entertainment industry, and particularly with respect to film and TV, implodes into something… different, if not far better.

McKay’s prose is crisp and engaging, blending humor, action, and pointed social commentary without ever feeling preachy. Holman’s journey from newsrooms to boardrooms exposes the absurdities of Tinseltown in hilarious fashion, while raising thought-provoking questions about the media’s role in shaping society. Fans of fast-paced political fiction like Vince Flynn or Brad Thor will devour this, but its clever take on AI and cultural decay gives it fresh relevance even if it’s not a shoot-em-up thriller like Flynn’s Mitch Rapp novels were.

It’s not an action novel. McKay’s books, the Holman series at least, aren’t action stories, though “King of the Jungle,” the first in the series, was about a war in South America and the second, “From Hellmarsh With Love,” was a gritty prison story. McKay’s characters aren’t quite ordinary people; they’re extraordinary in many ways, but they’re relatable in that most of them don’t possess super powers.

And Holman, in this story, is an ordinary man thrust into an extraordinary mission.

The first third of the book is something of an anti-Get Shorty, the famous Elmore Leonard novel turned into a Hollywood comedy starring John Travolta, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito and Gene Hackman. Holman arrives in L.A., virtually unlimited funds in tow, seeking to ally with a conservative, or at least traditional, counterculture in film. It doesn’t go well; in fact, it nearly ends in tragedy, as he barely escapes from the seedy underbelly of showbusiness with his good name intact. It’s a biting satire of the Hollywood everyone knows – the exploitation, the hypocrisy, the closed-mindedness of the gatekeepers.

But after Holman’s West Coast adventure ends, the plot really builds. “Blockbusters” says something true about showbusiness, which is that it’s corporate America, rather than artists and storytellers, who really control American entertainment.

And corporate America has utterly trashed pop culture. Holman’s mission, as he sees it, is to repay that sin in kind – although if he wasn’t an accomplished Hollywood player as he launched his assault in California, he’s no more advanced a Wall Street titan, either, and even with good coaching our hero still faces a steep learning curve.

“Blockbusters” unfolds quickly, building to a fast pace at the end where that corporate structure collapses with a push, as Holman, Polk and the team they’ve assembled pull off a grand reorganization of the industry and the culture as a whole, or at least the institutions which drive it.

And for those who aren’t satisfied with anything at the theater and complain there’s nothing on TV, which seems like a large swath of the country, if not a majority, the finale to “Blockbusters” will be a sure crowdpleaser.

It’s funny, it’s very relatable, and it’s full of interesting ideas. Most of all, though, it’s a positive, upbeat story even despite the biting satire.

If you’re tired of woke Hollywood fare and crave a story that champions traditional values with wit and verve, this is a must-read. Five stars – can’t wait for the next Mike Holman adventure!

Greg Young is host of the nationally syndicated Chosen Generation Radio Show which airs Monday through Friday on Stations coast to coast. He served as a Russian Linguist is the USAF, discover more at chosengenerationradio.com.

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Greg Young

Greg Young is host of the nationally syndicated Chosen Generation Radio Show which airs Monday through Friday on stations coast to coast. He served as a Russian Linguist at the USAF, discover more at chosengenerationradio.com.