...So, uh. What a book to coincidentally finish reading right on US Election Day, huh? It took me a while to get around to actually reviewing this one, and I'm sure you can work out why.

If you can't, though, that's all the more reason to start with a recap. Andrew Hickey's first contribution to the Faction Paradox novel series takes readers on a journey through a tumultuous US election cycle, Richard Burton's travels through the Arabian desert in the 19th century, a tale of dubious provenance labeled the "Thousand and Second Night", and more. Each element is presented to us through in-universe documents, from journal entries to book translations to a Shift hijacking the memetic connections in the reader's mind to overwrite the text of the book and speak to them directly – oh, and it all ends with the malevolent sentient timeship Lolita becoming President of the United States!

To get the elephant in the room out of the way: yes, this book hit different as an American reading it in 2024 than the Brit writing it in 2015 probably intended. Hickey has US elections down pat in some ways, with the party dynamics feeling particularly acutely represented – and yet Lolita's plan to become President feels unnecessarily subtle and complex now that we have the modern perspective of, well, everything about Trumpism. In general, though, despite some outdated details I was surprised at how accurate the politics felt.

The civilians we spend time with, meanwhile, are more exaggerated; Dave Larsen is a redneck orbiting conspiracy theory circles, who ultimately becomes the rope in a game of tug-of-war between two alien powers, while Rachel Edwards is a left-wing British journalist sent to follow the a candidate on the campaign trail. Neither of them are particularly likeable, with Rachel being a bit too snarky and self-assured, and Dave being a bit too dull and stubborn, but both of them feel vibrant and present their own stories interestingly enough despite occasional (intentionally) groan-worthy moments. When it comes to groan-worthy, Richard Burton's segments in 19th-century Arabia stole the show, feeling pretty meaningless and dragged-out. For what it's worth, though, they did pick up near the end – and besides, getting to know Burton granted some nice perspective to the Thousand and Second Night segments. In short, none of the characters were all that likeable, but Burton aside, they were enjoyable, and that kept the book flowing smoothly.

The readability is helped by the format, which flips between passages of different in-universe texts every couple of pages, ensuring dynamicity even as the plot itself is quite a slow burn. Feel free to make a quip about Gen Z attention spans, and you won't be wrong, but even beyond that I'm a sucker for the epistolary format. Having every bit of the book be composed of news articles, journal entries, transcripts of video recordings, and so on helped my immersion immensely. As the reader familiarizes themself with so many different documents across so many times and places, it's wonderfully easy to feel invested in the book's world.

Honestly, this book is pretty darn digestible in general. It's a surprising thing to say about a Faction book, let alone one with as many moving parts as Head of State has – Lolita's plan jumps across eras and locations, and the plot is presented in a very fractured and nonlinear way. Still, the core plot is simple, and the pace slow, so readers are given ample time to consider all the gears and work out how they interlock before it all properly comes together (or do I mean falls apart?) in the crushing climax. Sure, I was doubtful of the slow pace at first, but it won me over as I gradually realized the story structure the book was aiming for. The whole book is rising action, then your stomach drops right at the end.

My biggest concern with the book is that it might not land as well if the reader hadn't listened to some of the Faction Paradox audios and acquainted themself with Lolita. They'll probably get the general picture, but not quite why she's so dangerous, or what she plans to do; when every Faction book is presented as relatively standalone, it feels like a bit of a weak point not to demonstrate why the reader should be so scared of your main villain. Hell, I've listened to the audios, and I still would've appreciated more elaboration on her goals here to really drive the stakes home. Still, by the end you at least get a vague idea, and whew that final speech hits like a brick. Especially, yes, in November of 2024.

Head of State is a solid book. I don't think it's up there with some of the series greats, but it's memorable for its format and its clean simplicity if nothing else. It's genuinely impressive how Hickey can implement a plotline just as complex as some of the other Faction books while making it feel like such light reading – deftly navigating and explaining complex lore elements, jumping from time period to time period, and never throwing readers off in the process. Its levity might stop it from rising to the heights of, say, Warring States or The Brakespeare Voyage, but it'll stick in my mind as an engaging and clever read all the same. Certainly that ending won't leave me anytime soon...