Reviewer: Sharon Brunner
Nathan Shore’s “The New King” offers a view of an extremely dangerous and corrupt organization hidden under the guise of a benevolent religious cult. A couple of wealthy parents from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (U.P) hired a disbarred lawyer to find their daughter. Hirsch found their daughter but also uncovered a vast array of corruption, from forced prostitution to the trafficking of illegal drugs. The story took place in various places in the U.P. and an island located near Petoskey and Charlevoix in lower Michigan, approximately 40 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. The story ends on Sugar Island, which is located near the town of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The main characters in the story were Ben Hirsch (disbarred lawyer), his girlfriend, Prophet Jonathan Teller (new king on Beaver Island), the Winslows (wealthy U.P. residents), Winston (their assistant), and a multitude of criminals associated with the Dykmans. Shore unveiled a series of twists and turns in the plot of the story when his main character Ben Hirsch strived to seek justice for the many harmed by corruption, while he faced near-death experiences.
Shore’s book was based on a new king who replaced King Strang on Beaver Island. Teller felt through the spirit of Strang that he was chosen to continue Strang’s mission of divine revelation. He fought against false idols such as greed, avarice and vanity. Approximately 150 years ago, King Strang oversaw Beaver Island and a group of Mormons. Things seemed to be on the up and up when Hirsch viewed the singing of songs and how much respect Teller had for his followers. When he found Alex, the rich family’s missing daughter, she was more than happy to stay at the commune and help with the growing of vegetables sold and used at the commune. Hirsch received a rude awakening when he was pulled from his bed and beaten by Clint, a man who worked at the commune. Clint questioned why he had a picture of one of the girls, what his mission was and who sent him. He had to run for his life on bare feet while being shot at. He wanted nothing to do with the goings on at Beaver Island until he was met with more financial problems.
The main themes in the book were corruption and the striving for justice. Hirsch, again the main character, uncovered a vast amount of corruption. He met with a poor girl who was tricked into coming to Beaver Island under the belief she was going to help children with disabilities. This poor young woman and others were forced to take meth and heroin until they developed an addiction. Their captors forced some to go through withdrawal to prove how painful that would be to keep them hooked. Then the poor young women were forced to work as prostitutes on a boat that provided mini cruises around the area of Traverse City. Wealthy men paid $1,000 for their services. Drugs were also provided to their customers. Hirsch discovered a young woman was shot and killed when she tried to escape, and he could not give up his search for her murderer and the people who were behind the criminal behavior associated with the commune.
The book that came to mind was “King of Beaver Island: The Life and Assassination of James Strang” by Roger Van Noord. Van Noord described the time James Strang was crowned as king on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan in 1850. Strang at one point claimed to be an atheist until he had been anointed by an angel to lead God’s people. As mentioned earlier, Teller felt he was chosen to be the king to replace Strang. Many movies existed that covered religious cults. I chose Robin Hardy’s “The Wicker Man,” which ended up being one of the most influential horror movies. A Christian police officer was involved in investigating the disappearance of a child on the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle. The officer was met with a surprise when the commune abandoned Christianity to follow pagan fertility rites. The movie contained a missing child like Shore’s book, coupled with strong sexual content.
Concerning Shore’s book, the only thing I could actually relate to was the name of the commune which was “Manitou.” A name I am very familiar with, however, I know the term more as “Gitchi Manitou” meaning Great Spirit for the Ojibwe people. I am a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which was originally the Ojibwe tribe. I questioned why Shore decided to use the name of the tribe mentioned in this book as the Michilimackinac Tribe. Two tribes concerning the areas mentioned in the book could have been my tribe and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, located in the area of Petoskey, Michigan.
I recommend The New King for its suspense, its historical data, for its information concerning the beliefs associated with a religious cult and because of its corruption under the guise of religion. Shore provided suspenseful experiences when Hirsch was close to losing his life several times and the poor girl who was trying to swim away from her captors. He gave an interesting recap of the former king of Beaver Island. It was interesting to learn about what happened at a religious cult. Everyone had to pull their weight, and some even believed in what they were doing and strongly supported their prophet. Clint and other undesirable characters would stop at nothing to protect their financial interests and Hirsch was taken by surprise when people he thought were decent ended up as equally corrupt. Shore painted a picture about what can happen when situations go unchecked and legal organizations can serve as a front for criminal behavior.
Title: The New King
Author: Nathan Shore
