Arc Light [Paperback]

Eric L. Harry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1996

A political thriller by a military expert with extensive first-hand knowledge of the Russian military describes an accidental nuclear holocaust that erupts between Russia and the United States. Reprint. NYT.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a scenario terrifyingly close to today's headlines, Harry's debut novel opens with a North Korean invasion of South Korea that leads, through a series of tragic errors and decisions, to a Russian nuclear attack on military bases in the U.S. Like techno-thriller master Tom Clancy, Harry offers a sprawling narrative that focuses on a small army of soldiers, politicians and their families, American and Russian. National Security Advisor Greg Lambert must keep and tell secrets that may lead to Armageddon; Reservist David Chandler must leave his pregnant wife in order to drive a tank; U.S. President Walter Livingston, eager for peace, must endure the ignominy of impeachment; Russian General Yuri Razov must deal with the consequences of his initial decision to launch nuclear missiles. Ground, air and submarine battles alternate with scenes of anarchy stateside as exhausted leaders are forced to make instant decisions that might snuff out humanity forever. With a masterful grasp of military strategy and geopolitics, Harry moves his characters through nightmares of blood and death; his intricately detailed scenes of nuclear devastation are particularly horrifying. Told through a series of rapid-fire climaxes, this novel, a political and military cautionary tale of considerable power and conviction, will keep readers riveted.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Counterforce or countervalue? 'Tis but the chance of war, nuclear style. In this silly scenario, Russia nukes China, China nukes Russia, Russia nukes America, America nukes Russia. In MAD parlance, a "counterforce exchange" has just been conducted, leaving valuable cities intact. Although it's as stale an idea as any in the Armageddon genre, debut author Harry manages the atomic war competently enough, whitening the knuckles of even hardened military techno-junkies. After the thrill of ICBM countdowns and the obliteration of each side's military targets, Harry switches gears to the political struggle inside (or rather underneath, in a bomb shelter) the Kremlin and within the U.S. government. The latter impeaches and convicts its president, who has futilely maintained that a few million deaths is enough war for one day; his hawkish successor then prosecutes the war by invading Russia. (At this point, pure equipment nuts get their pound of flesh: drive on Moscow in an M-1 tank, and make an amphibious landing in Siberia!) By the climax, as the Russian general threatens to fire his remaining bombs at America's remaining cities, only one thing remains certain: this tale of doom has been, as the author notes, thoroughly "wargamed"--and thus will thrill military-minded readers. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 1 pages
• Publisher: Jove (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515117927
• ISBN-13: 978-0515117929
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable!, January 4, 2003

By 

Jackie Tortorella - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arc Light (Paperback)

This will be short and sweet, because the plot has been laid out by so many reviewers by now. Suffice to say that I read this book years ago, and have never forgotten how completely captivated I was. I couldn't believe the graphic realism, right down to the last thoughts of those who were dying. It was chilling because it just seemed so real. Of all the 3rd world war stories I've read, this is the one I enjoyed the most. I'd give it 10 stars! (And I'm a woman....probably my husband would have given it 20 stars if he'd read it.) Unfortunately, I lent this book out and never got it back. Now I see it's out of print. What a tragedy! By all means get a hold of it and savor every word...

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hour Hand Sweeps Closer To Midnight, May 31, 2002

By 

darklordzden "darklordzden" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arc Light (Paperback)

"Arc-Light" is the techno thriller for people who don't like techno thrillers. If Tom Clancy and his many, many imitators leave you cold, theres still a good chance that you'll enjoy this. North Korea invades South Korea and Russia launches tactical Nuclear strikes on insurgent Chinese forces...and thats just in the first ten pages. Over the next five hundred pages Eric L Harry deftly sweeps a trans-global cast of characters, that are unusually well written for a novel in this genre, into the nightmare of a world war that threatens to escalate into total Nuclear annihilation. One of the greatest page turning experiences of my life. I literally could not put this tome down until I'd turned the final nail-biting page and reached the shocking climax.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling Look at Post-Cold War Nuclear Dangers, August 28, 2003

By 

Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arc Light (Paperback)

The gradual dissolution of the dreaded Cold War atmosphere in no way translates into a permanent cessation from the dangers of nuclear warfare. In fact, for a brief period during the early 1990s, the threat of an atomic exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union seemed more possible than during the Cuban Missile Crisis of the early 1960s due to the collapse of the communist regime and subsequent coup by old Soviet hardliners. Literally tens of thousands of nuclear tipped missiles in silos and submarines throughout Russia and the world's oceans could have been launched by accident or on the orders of the coup plotters back in Moscow. The uncertainty of these incidents inspired Eric L. Harry to write "Arc Light," a novel about a limited nuclear exchange between a non-communist Russia and the United States. Harry's sprawling nuclear epic will raise the hackles of any reader who remembers the bleak old days of doomsday planes, MAD policies, and May Day parades in Moscow's Red Square.

"Arc Light" takes place in a near future scenario where the former Soviet Union, now a federated Russian Republic, undergoes a series of military coups after civilian leadership fails to alleviate serious economic problems. Moreover, the Russians fight several wars with China over the mineral rich Siberian regions. These Sino/Russian conflicts bring in the United States, who sends military advisors to assist the Russians in their logistical operations. In other words, the Russians and the Americans form tentative bonds centered on placating the Chinese menace. All goes well between the two former enemies until the North Koreans launch a surprise attack in order to reunite the Korean peninsula. This invasion ties up American forces in Asia, but it also creates enough confusion to allow a rogue nationalist Russian general named Zorin to seize control of the Russian government. Things go from bad to worse when China manages to squeeze off a few nuclear warheads against Moscow. Zorin, with limited information at his fingertips, thinks the warheads are American missiles and issues orders for a retaliatory strike aimed at American military installations in the continental United States. Five to seven million Americans die in this terrible exchange, along with millions of Russians who perish in revenge strikes conducted by the American military. The rest of the book tracks the disintegrating situation between the two countries as both sides struggle through unprecedented death and destruction, a process made no easier by the fact that situations keep arising that promise further war.

Harry follows several characters and scenarios throughout the tribulations of a world at war. He takes us into the presidential aircraft when our leaders give the launch orders to wreak havoc on Russia. We see deep inside the Kremlin and we are privy to the battle plans of the Russian high command as they face down an American land invasion. We intimately walk side by side with National Security Advisor Greg Lambert as he witnesses the horrors of nuclear war and the death of his wife. Harry takes us into the world of the average civilian as he looks at Melissa and David Chandler, a couple looking forward to the birth of their first child when war calls David away to lead a tank battalion against the Russians. The reader even experiences life in a missile silo in Wyoming before and after the missiles fly. Throughout all of these places and through all of these characters, death stalks ever present in the background whether through open conventional warfare or the scurrilous effects of radioactive fallout. The game is afoot, and winning this game involves discovering a way to a lasting peace before a full nuclear exchange takes place, and with Russian submarines lying on the bottom of the ocean poised to launch missiles at America's cities the possibility of total destruction becomes a chilling likelihood.

According to the cover flap, Eric L. Harry speaks fluent Russian and works as a corporate lawyer and military affairs expert. I've never served in the military, but it does appear that the author understands how the military structure operates in times of crisis. There is a lot of military and governmental jargon in "Arc Light," and Harry explains what it all means as he veers from tank battles on the plains of Russia, to the destruction of NORAD from nuclear weapons, to bombing runs on the Kronstadt naval base in Russia. This book may well be one of the most involved apocalyptic stories I've ever read. Especially noteworthy is the author's treatment of the Russian leadership. During the Cold War, our leadership painted the Russian military as sinister, slightly mad soldiers with fingers twitching on the button. Harry rejects this propaganda in favor of Russian generals who worry and fret over the implications of a nuclear war while practicing remarkable levels of prudent restraint.

"Arc Light" differs from other apocalyptic themed novels because it places the nuclear conflagration after the Cold War. Indeed, to this day thousands of nuclear tipped missiles still sit in silos throughout Russia and the United States, all of them certainly aimed at targets somewhere in the world. The problems in Russia continue unabated to this day, with a real possibility that conditions there will deteriorate into complete instability in the future. Perhaps those missiles will soar from the silos yet, and I for one hope I'm not alive to see that dark day.