You may have to suspend a bit of disbelef to swallow one of the earliest conceits of The Ascendant – that mega-super-genius Garrett Reilly could ever get past his distaste and hatred for America’s armed forces after what they did to his brother. But once you get past that little quagmire, it’s smooth sailing in Drew Chapman’s wild ride through Chinese-American relations, international intrigue, an undeclared Internet war and so, so much more. DREW CHAPMAN podcast excerpt: "I always tried to stay within the realm of what was possible. In Seattle, I have lots of tech connections. I know all these Microsoft people who kept getting sent to China and coming back with tales of, "Oh, my God, you would not believe how they hack into anything we bring over there!' It's like a war! (Microsoft) won't let you take your own computer from Seattle to Beijing. They hand you a sterile computer and say, 'Take this!' Because if you take your own, everything on it will be corrupted and stolen. It is literally war. The minute you walk into a hotel and log in, they're in, too. Boom!" Over the last few years, this show has hosted a growing number of writers who, like Drew Chapman, first cut their teeth in film and TV work. These guys – including (I Am Pilgrim), (The Girlfriend Game) and (A Hole in the Ground Owned By A Liar) have all hit the ground with terrific first novels that leave the reader begging for more. The cinematic qualities of these books comes across loud and clear and it’s obvious that the authors’ backgrounds in writing first for the eye and the ear brings great benefit to those of us who still like to be entertained by line after line of written words. If you like great espionage thrillers packed with almost incomprehensible danger on a global scale and no shortage of action, stay tuned for my interview with novelist Drew Chapman. And then go order his first book, The Ascendant! Drew Chapman • • • •