Gripping new technothriller reflects current events, shows the fate of American democracy is at stake

“A gut punch to the soul of America and a must-read for all those who value their freedom and future” –Kirkus Reviews

 

Tasmania, Australia – Concerned by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the rise of far-right politics in the United States, debut author Duncan Ritchie picked up his pen in 2023 to write “The Truth Chamber” (Sept. 1, 2026), a no-holds-barred speculative fiction novel that takes the decline of American democracy to frightening extremes. 

 

In an election year marred by violence, “the Red Caesar” Mack Leach rises in the polls. His rival, Democratic presidential candidate Anna Hoffman, warns a divided country that under the Red Caesar, the US will devolve into an authoritarian state: a Russia 2.0.

 

A confrontation with a book burner jolts Admiral Liam Driscoll into action, and he joins Anna’s campaign. His team enlists the help of a Stanford PhD student developing an AI technology—the Truth Chamber—to figure out who is behind the escalating violence and an assassination attempt on Anna.

 

Behind the domestic chaos, a far more sinister game is being played as global forces eye the restoration of long-lost empires and work to ensure the Red Caesar takes the White House. This is no longer just an American election; it is a global stratagem to topple the last bastion of the old world order. Liam’s team soon learns that the truth has become political … and dangerous. And to save democracy, they may be forced to leave muddy footprints on the Constitution.

 

For readers of high-stakes political thrillers, “The Truth Chamber” explores the intersection of artificial intelligence, disinformation, and the fragility of modern democracy. It is a sobering reflection on unchecked power and the increasingly distorted concept of truth.

 

About the Book…

 

“The Truth Chamber”

Duncan Ritchie | September 1, 2026 | Aletheion Press | Political Thriller 

Paperback | ISBN 978-1764538701 | $24.99*

Audiobook | ISBN: 978-1764538770 | $18.99*

Ebook | ISBN: 978-1764538718 | $9.99*

*All prices are in USD

 

“A fast-paced, intelligent and superbly written thriller that couldn’t be more apt”

–Nick Jones, editor at Full Proof

 

“A fascinating, enlightening, and brave read. It’s imaginative. It’s dark. It’s tough. It’s a book for our times” 

–Sam Jordison, author of “Enemies of The People”

 

“…political savvy, moral clarity, sharp intelligence, and a welcome sense of hope power the story… Epic, humane political thriller”

–Publishers Weekly, BookLife

 

“symbolically powerful…eerily prescient…readers may feel like they’ve found a history book from the future instead of a contemporary thriller”

–Kirkus Reviews

About the Author…

 

DUNCAN RITCHIE is a former (recovering) investment banker and author of the political thriller “The Truth Chamber.” Duncan grew up on a plantation in North Borneo. After graduating from the University of Western Australia, he spent thirty years advising governments and companies on energy and infrastructure transactions and policy. He has also written persuasive non-fiction for multilateral agencies (including ADB and UNEP), advocating for policy changes and investment to address climate change (evidently, not persuasive enough). 

 

Concerned by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (again) and the rise of right-wing extremism, Duncan began scribbling down what-if scenarios in 2022—at the time, many seemed outlandish. At the core were the questions: if someone wanted to bring America to her knees and disturb the world order, how would they go about it? And what could be done to counter that? Those what-ifs became the foundation of “The Truth Chamber,” initially intended as a warning of the rise of fascism in the United States. Duncan lives in Tasmania with his Malinois pup, Aletheia (Alé), who thinks he’s slightly mad. Learn more at: https://www.duncanritchie.com and follow Duncan on Bluesky: @duncanritchie.bsky.social and Instagram: @duncan.ritchie

Interview:

What inspired you to start writing, and how did your journey as an author begin?

The seed for The Truth Chamber was planted while I was working for a Japanese bank in Singapore in 2016, with the twin shocks of Brexit and Donald Trump’s election. But the true catalyst came in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. I watched UC San Diego professor Barbara F. Walter discussing her book How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them. I devoured her book, then dozens of others. I began filling notebooks with “what if?” scenarios. Those notebooks became the foundation for The Truth Chamber.

 

Until then, most of my writing had been professional non-fiction. Turning those ideas and “what ifs” into a fictional narrative was a very different proposition. I enjoyed the freedom and creativity that fiction writing offers. 

 

Can you share a little about your latest book and what readers can expect from it?

In The Truth Chamber, America stands on the precipice as two presidential candidates with radically different visions for the country face off in an election that could determine whether American democracy survives. Democratic candidate Anna Hoffman—the “Lioness of Georgia”—warns that a victory for her opponent, the “Red Caesar,” would push the United States toward authoritarianism.

 

After a confrontation with a book burner, Anna’s longtime friend, Admiral Liam Driscoll, joins her campaign. Alongside a Stanford PhD student developing a revolutionary AI-enhanced lie detector—the Truth Chamber—he sets out to expose the forces behind an escalating wave of political violence. But truth comes at a price, measured in “muddy footprints” on the US Constitution.

 

At its heart, it’s a political thriller about power, truth, deception and democratic fragility. I wanted it to work first and foremost as a page-turner. But I also wanted to leave readers thinking about how democracies decay—and how much of that decay can happen in plain sight. It seems the real world is in a hurry to catch my fiction.

 

Which character has been the most challenging (or rewarding) for you to write, and why?

Liam Driscoll, the main protagonist, was the hardest character to write. He’s a decorated Navy officer—a former SEAL who rose to the rank of Admiral—and is deeply principled, patriotic and loyal. He is also reserved and reticent. When we first encounter him, he is immersed in grief after the losses of his wife and son (to brain cancer and combat, respectively). And, as we discover later in the book, he has a few skeletons in the closet. 

 

The challenge was to find the balance between Liam’s innate stoicism and his vulnerability and humanity. I didn’t want him to be a caricature of the ex-military man—either defined by PTSD or reduced to an invulnerable alpha-male stereotype. I wanted his strength and restraint to feel authentic, while still allowing the reader to feel his grief and his doubt as he confronts the moral ambiguities that underpin the story.

 

Did you encounter any surprises or unexpected turns during the writing process of your newest book? 

The ground shifted materially as I finished the first draft of The Truth Chamber: Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. It upended some assumptions I’d made about what politics in America might look like in the near future and forced me to rethink the novel’s political backdrop. 

 

That was one of the challenges of writing speculative political fiction so close to the present—the ground kept shifting under my feet. In the end, I knitted a speculative future to a (largely) historically accurate American past, diverging around 2016. My goal was to hold up a mirror to America, then tilt it forward slightly—a warning: “This is where you could be heading.” 

 

How do your personal experiences or background influence your storytelling? 

I spent much of my career working on complex transactions across Asia, where political risk was often intertwined with financial risk—I lived through the Asian financial crisis and a coup in Thailand. You learn to ask hard questions: What could go wrong? What are we taking for granted? What happens if institutions, governments or political leaders behave differently from the way everyone assumes they will? 

 

I think that was why Barbara Walter’s interview and book caught my attention—she was identifying warning signs of potential instability and political violence in the US that we tend to associate with decaying democracies in more troubled parts of the world. So I did what risk analysts do: I followed those risks to their logical extremes. It turns out the “what if” approach is a pretty good premise for plotting a thriller.

 

What’s one piece of writing advice you wish you’d received when you were starting out?

I think it would be: write for your genre. In my early drafts, I was caught between wanting to combine prose worthy of literary or upmarket fiction with the pacing demands of a commercial thriller. I spent a lot of time polishing descriptive passages that ultimately ended up on the editing-room floor, sacrificed for pacing. I learned that you need to understand what kind of book you’re writing—and what readers of that genre expect from it.

 

Another great piece of advice one of my editors gave me about writing scenes was: arrive late and leave early. Don’t spend half a page getting your characters into the room, and don’t hang around once you’ve nailed the reason for the scene.

 

Are there any authors or books that have especially influenced your work?

I read a lot of non-fiction in my research for The Truth Chamber. Rachel Maddow, Timothy Snyder, Marcel Danesi, Heather Cox Richardson, Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Luke Kemp were some of the stand-out authors. In a sense, what I have tried to do with The Truth Chamber is to synthesise and make accessible some of the ideas and insights from these great writers and thinkers.

 

Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors. I wish she’d written a political thriller. Among thriller writers, Tom Clancy is one of the best. I loved his Jack Ryan books. Elmore Leonard is another favourite—a wonderfully versatile writer.

 

How do you balance research and creativity—especially when writing about complex or unfamiliar topics?

My novel covers a lot of ground, most of which was relatively unfamiliar to me at the outset. I wanted to understand and authentically portray the forces that ail America, and how those forces could be exploited by a fascist leader: the Red Caesar. I scoped out what I needed to achieve that, drew boundaries around what resources I’d need and allocated time budgets. But research can be a proverbial black hole, and it is never really finished. 

 

I had two fairly intensive research-only periods—around four months before I started writing, then about six months after I finished the first draft, including a six-week research trip to the US during the 2024 election. While I was writing, I usually reserved evenings for reading. 

 

I read around fifty books on fascism, propaganda, political deception, constitutional law, the Supreme Court, and the role of money and religion in American politics. I sought out unvarnished, uncomfortable histories of the United States and its founding. I still have boxes of “TBR” books on the floor in my office.

 

Sometimes creativity would trump discipline. I’d sit down for ten minutes after dinner to jot down notes or an outline for a scene or chapter, and it would just burble out. I’d find myself still writing at 2 AM, wondering where the time had gone.

 

What do you hope readers take away from your stories?

When I started working with my editor, Sam, I told him that I wanted to tell stories that make people think about real-world issues and potentially see them from a new perspective. That was my goal with The Truth Chamber. One of my reviewers said that I had “crafted a novel that demands reflection long after the final page.” I can’t think of higher praise.

 

Can you give us a sneak peek at what you’re working on next?

I’m wrapping up a non-fiction companion essay to The Truth Chamber and percolating ideas for a new novel. Hopefully, I can shorten the book gestation period this time.