The Benevolent Dictator by Tom Trott

THE BENEVOLENT DICTATOR 

by TOM TROTT 

Ben longs to be prime minister one day. 

But with no political connections, he is about to crash out of a Masters degree with no future ahead. So when by chance he becomes fast friends with a young Arab prince, and is offered a job in his government, he jumps at the chance to get on the political ladder.

Amal dreads the throne. 

And with Ben’s help he wants to reform his country, steering it onto a path towards democracy. But with the king’s health failing, revolutionaries in the streets, and terrorism threatening everyone, the country is ready to tear itself apart.

Alone in a hostile land, Ben must help Amal weigh what is best against what is right, making decisions that will risk his country, his family, and his life.

The Benevolent Dictator is an interesting, well paced and elegantly written political thriller. With its intriguing title, stylish front cover and an enticing blurb this is a satisfying package. It's a short book at around 190 pages, but one that is carefully constructed and thought provoking. Not only does the author explore political issues, he also raises questions about morality, duty and principles. 

The two main characters are well written and feel believable. Meeting at University, Ben and Amal find themselves forming an unlikely but intriguing friendship which thrusts Ben into a world which he has longed to be part of, but for which he has had no formal training. Facing situations he has only discussed hypothetically or debated over in the Student Union, the reader is curious to see how he might handle his new found advisory role and political power when Amal whisks him away to a foreign country. Throughout all of this, Ben stays a likeable character and always feel realistic. The dialogue and interaction between all the characters in the novel is well judged and shows a good understanding and insight about motives, behaviours, families and friendships. 

I enjoyed the structure of this novella and found its clear division into different sections neat and clever. The author's use of quotes from Shelley at the start of each section was an effective prelude to the next part of the story and helped add more depth to the themes the author was trying to convey through the narrative. The structure of the novella, and the neatly separated sections, really signified the changes in atmosphere, drama, action and relationships as well as building tension and a sense of threat and danger. This book has a very well managed story arc and a very well constructed and well orchestrated plot. 

The Benevolent Dictator is a very readable, well written and in parts very eloquent novel and I enjoyed it. There was only one passage where the author used internet searches to fill in some detail about the political and social history of the country which I felt pulled me out of the story, but these few pages aside, it was a good read. If you enjoy novels about contemporary issues and political thrillers then I would recommend you take a look at this one. 

*My thanks to Rachel for an advance copy of this novel and for inviting me to join the tour!

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