--- product_id: 16460389 title: "Crooked Paperback – August 2, 2016" brand: "austin grossman" price: "131 zł" currency: PLN in_stock: true reviews_count: 5 category: "Books" url: https://www.desertcart.pl/products/16460389-crooked-paperback-august-2-2016 store_origin: PL region: Poland --- # Crooked Paperback – August 2, 2016 **Brand:** austin grossman **Price:** 131 zł **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Crooked Paperback – August 2, 2016 by austin grossman - **How much does it cost?** 131 zł with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pl](https://www.desertcart.pl/products/16460389-crooked-paperback-august-2-2016) ## Best For - austin grossman enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted austin grossman brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Review "Ingenious ... every moment [is] perfectly motivated ... more believable than the truth. CROOKED works as gleeful satire, as wacky alternate history, and as a thriller, but what really shines is the character study at its center."―Neil Hollands, Library Journal (starred review)"Crooked confirms and details the extremely esoteric and occult presence we always suspected lay at the heart of the Nixon administration. It's got spies, and political intrigue, and a sitting President spilling his own blood onto a pentagram hidden beneath the Oval Office rug, which is to say there are few of my buttons this book does not push."―John Darnielle, Author of Wolf in White Van"At once wildly imaginative and deeply intimate, CROOKED is a demonically fun political thriller. The brilliance of Austin Grossman is in making big stories personal, even when the big story is super-powered presidents and intercontinental necromantic missiles."―Max Barry, author of Lexicon"In telling the secret story of Richard Nixon, Austin Grossman draws back the curtain on American history. Senator Joe McCarthy should have been much, much more frightened. Once I started reading Crooked, I couldn't put it down. But be warned, even as you devour this book, it will devour you."―Daniel O'Malley, author of The Rook Read more About the Author Austin Grossman is a novelist and game designer. His novels include Soon I Will Be Invincible, YOU, and Crooked. Soon I Will Be Invincible was nominated for the 2007 John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize. His writing has also appeared in Granta, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. His major game credits include System Shock, Deus Ex, Dishonored, and Dishonored 2. He is currently Director of Game Design and Interactive Storytelling at Magic Leap. Read more ## Images ![Crooked Paperback – August 2, 2016 - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41flbU%2Bx3WL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐ A Premise Turned Sour *by C***L on September 19, 2015* I held high hopes for this book, yet it never produced anything remotely satisfying. There is a lot - perhaps too much - trying to occur in 40 years and 350 pages of the author's imagination. Yet, it remains too disjointed. Eisenhower is barely depicted, Pat Nixon is a non-entity until the last 20 pages, and the author ignored Spiro Agnew (who is rather blank canvas). The reader is teased with a World War II Kissinger on pages 214-215 as a "young man", yet the author recasts Kissinger as an ancient wizard a mere 25 years later.The book reads like "Nixon goes from Point A to Point B and then Point C" as the author hits the high points of press conferences and events. Yet, the plot is not tightly woven together; it remains thread-bare. The prose ain't superb; one is never lost in the author's writing style. Honestly, this would work better as a graphic novel.Why did I finish this book? Desperate hope that it would get better. My mistake. ### ⭐⭐ So many possibilities, None of them explored *by J***D on March 15, 2016* I think nearly every thoughtful reviewer has touched on this, but, wow, what a great premise. I can't say a bad thing about historical accuracy or the idea behind a book where Nixon and McCarthy-era/Cold War politics were a struggle between ancient forces/the un-dead/magic.But man, oh man, this book completely dropped the ball in execution. While some books have a slow build, Crooked stayed lukewarm and occasionally glances at a simmer. I'm all for horrific manifestations a la Lovecraft that are more cerebral than the author physically fleshing everything out, but even on that level, Crooked is a bummer. I would have given it 1-star just for the writing itself, but I still can't stop myself for rewarding the author for the premise. ### ⭐⭐⭐ Enjoyable in many parts, but doesn't quite live up to its premise. *by M***Z on August 16, 2015* The first half of Crooked is wonderful, unfolding with a gradual, mysterious foreboding. It brought to mind the style of H.P. Lovecraft's storytelling, but with an engaging voice unique to author Austin Grossman. He writes Nixon in an immersive way without trying to erase the felonious "Tricky Dick" image, which Nixon himself fully admits to in the novel.Yet the novel never quite follows through on its own promise. Supernatural elements--and Nixon actually exploring them or dealing with them--often remain too far in the margins for my taste. The narrative moves a little too quickly from one moment in time to another, sometimes jumping a few months ahead when I would've liked a little more time to explore the supernatural elements lurking there. While it can be detrimental in this type of story to pull back the curtain entirely from mysterious forces of darkness, I would have liked more of a peek than is given. Perhaps an over-zealous editor?Nixon himself also lacks much agency after the earlier parts of the novel. He hears of things, is acted on by other people, and doesn't seem to do much but react. Certain important events Nixon only hears about, and a confrontation with a major antagonist toward the end is over so quickly that I had reread a couple of sentences to realize what happened.Bottom line: I did enjoy a fair bit of the novel, but found the overall experience not quite as satisfying as I would have liked. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pl/products/16460389-crooked-paperback-august-2-2016](https://www.desertcart.pl/products/16460389-crooked-paperback-august-2-2016) --- *Product available on Desertcart Poland* *Store origin: PL* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*