A space-borne superweapon rains death down on an American small town, and Blaine McCracken races to learn who pulled the trigger before the fearsome beam turns on Washington
In the last years of the Cold War, policy and trust for the Russians have led to disarmament treaties and hope for a new beginning. But peace is not yet within grasp. An entire American town has been wiped off the map: not by nuclear strike, but rather a space-borne particle cannon capable of reducing the entire nation to dust in hours.
But who pulled the trigger? Was it the Russians, making a final bid for world domination? Or was it a third power—some aspiring conqueror hoping to pit the superpowers against each other?
It’s up to Blaine McCracken to find out. An old flame has contacted the rogue op, begging for help protecting her father, a jeweler who has just been robbed of five rare stones—five rubies that could mean life or death for the United States.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Jon Land including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.
Since his first book was published in 1983, Jon Land has written twenty-eight novels, seventeen of which have appeared on national bestseller lists. He began writing technothrillers before Tom Clancy put them in vogue, and his strong prose, easy characterization, and commitment to technical accuracy have made him a pillar of the genre.
Land spent his college years at Brown University, where he convinced the faculty to let him attempt writing a thriller as his senior honors thesis. Four years later, his first novel, The Doomsday Spiral, appeared in print. In the last years of the Cold War, he found a place writing chilling portrayals of threats to the United States, and of the men and women who operated undercover and outside the law to maintain U.S. security. His most successful of those novels were the nine starring Blaine McCracken, a rogue CIA agent and former Green Beret with the skills of James Bond but none of the Englishman's tact.
In 1998 Land published the first novel in his Ben and Danielle series, comprised of fast-paced thrillers whose heroes, a Detroit cop and an Israeli detective, work together to protect the Holy Land, falling in love in the process. He has written seven of these so far. The most recent, The Last Prophecy, was released in 2004.
Recently, RT Book Reviews gave Jon a special prize for pioneering genre fiction, and his short story "Killing Time" was shortlisted for the 2010 Dagger Award for best short fiction and included in 2010's The Best American Mystery Stories. Land is currently writing Blood Strong, his fourth novel to feature Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong--a female hero in a genre which, Land has said, has too few of them. The second book in the series, Strong Justice (2010), was named a Top Thriller of the Year by Library Journal and runner-up for Best Novel of the Year by the New England Book Festival. The third, Strong at the Break, will be released this year, and the fourth, Blood Strong, will follow in 2012. His first nonfiction book, Betrayal, written with Robert Fitzpatrick, tells the behind-the-scenes story of a deputy FBI chief attempting to bring down Boston crime lord Whitey Bulger, and will also be released in 2011.
Land currently lives in Providence, not far from his alma mater.
This review is from: The Alpha Deception (Mass Market Paperback)
"The Alpha Deception" is the second novel featuring Jon Land's recurring hero Blaine McCracken. While still a good read, it was not as entertaining as Land's previous novels, including "The Omega Command" -- McCracken's first adventure.
This one involves the discovery of a rare crystal that has unique powers. When it falls into the hands of the enemy, a death ray is created which destroys all carbon-based entities. A small town in Oregon is used as a test basis for the weapon and to show the world what power is harnessed by the weapon.
McCracken, a rogue agent who is no longer on the payroll for the U.S. Government, is called into action again. However, after becoming involved, his reasoning for stopping the weapon becomes personal in addition to saving the world. He eventually teams with a female Russian agent who is similar in nature to McCracken.
Unlike previous Land novels, the ending seems abrupt and should have been fleshed out a bit more. One of the two factions' efforts basically becomes meaningless. The mole is revealed, but simply surrenders which seemed to be the easy way out. Also, one of those that oppose McCracken's efforts seems to disappear at the end. If the ending had been better presented, this one would have been another five star effort from Jon Land.
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This review is from: The Alpha Deception (Mass Market Paperback)
The Earth is in peril of destruction, and it's up to Blaine,Wareagle and a beautiful Russian assassin to thwart the forces responsible. The people of a small Colorado town must endure the visciousness of a sadistic Nicaraguan major. The town is small but plays a big role to save Earth!
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