Breakpoint (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The yellow flame leaped into the air where the ocean hit the land..." (more)
Key Phrases: cyber crash, exoskeleton suits, Living Software, Jimmy Foley, Chen Fei (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Against All Enemies, Richard Clarke warned about how we were conducting the war against terror. In his bestselling first novel, The Scorpion's Gate, he demonstrated what could happen. And now, in Breakpoint, America's preeminent counterterrorism expert and #1 bestselling author shows us all what might come next.

The global village--an intricately intertwined network of technology that binds together the world's economies, governments, and communication systems. So large, so vital--and so fragile. Now a sophisticated group is seeking to "disconnect the globe"--destroying computer grids, communications satellites, Internet cable centers, biotech firms. Hard to do? If only that were so.

Quickly, a dedicated team of men and women assembles to try to track the group down, searching through right-wing militias and Russian organized crime, Jihadist terrorists and enemy nation-states. But the attacks are coming more swiftly now, and growing in destructiveness. Soon, they will reach the breakpoint--and then there may be nothing anybody can do.

In an exclusive video message for Amazon.com customers, Richard Clarke introduces his new novel, and explains why, as he says, "sometimes you can tell more truth through fiction":

Reviewers everywhere praised the suspense and pace of The Scorpion's Gate, the vivid depictions of war, espionage, and bureaucracy, but most of all they hailed its authenticity. "Unlike most novelists, the man has been there and done that," said The New York Times Book Review. "Some of us," added The Washington Post, "have learned to listen when Richard A. Clarke has something to say." And we'd better hope they're listening now.

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran counterterrorism official Clarke, author of Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror and the novel The Scorpion's Gate, proves once again that authenticity, insider information and top-secret access artfully applied trumps fancy writing with this cutting-edge, nail-biter techno-thriller set in 2012. Clarke's intriguing plot centers on the development of Living Software, a massive computer program designed to travel throughout the Internet correcting computer errors and creating software without any help or oversight from human beings. Volunteers would be connected to this program in a project aimed at reverse engineering the human brain. Added to this fascinating mix is the Transhumanist movement, whose labs grow designer children with extra chromosomes. Mysterious entities who would deny this progress are blowing up government Internet connections, killing scientists and destroying the labs participating in this research. Savvy readers will ignore the evidence that points to the obvious suspect, but still be surprised at the identity of the perpetrator when all is revealed. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (January 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399153780
• ISBN-13: 978-0399153785
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #512,716 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating World View of Technology, January 17, 2007

By	Mel Odom (Moore, OK USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Richard Clarke has just shot to the top of my list of people I'd love to interview. In only three books, one nonfiction and two fiction, he's grabbed my attention and paranoia about all the scientific and technological changes that are going on -- and that will be going on -- in the world.

BREAKPOINT isn't the best writing to hit fiction because there are writers who paint pictures and characters with words better, but there's no one I can think of who writes with the easy authority Clarke brings to his novel. The author has been involved in Washington politics since 1973, and been involved in the clandestine evolvement of scientific advances with DARPA and other think-tank institutes that work on defense technologies.

The novel centers on a terrorist threat against the United States that starts with the destruction of communications nodes that allow the internet to work. With those avenues shut down, banking, investing, business dealings, and even political diplomacy get crippled in a matter of hours. Clarke points out how pervasive the emerging technology is, and how everyone seems to have integrated it into their lives. Presented even in fiction, this is truly scary stuff and I found myself thinking about the possibilities as much as the plot and characters.

Two crack agents of the Intelligence Analysis Center are assigned to ferret out the truth. Although almost paper-thin characters, Jimmy Foley and Susan Connor pull the reader through the frantic chase for the truth behind the attacks. There's just enough insight behind the characters to flesh them out, but not get in the way of the plot. BREAKPOINT is about technology, not people, and Clarke keeps his focus sharply on delivering a summation of what's out there in the world that's just out of sight, and to what ends those things might go.

The plot is straightforward, though there are enough surprises to keep the interest there, but Clarke's views on what's going to happen through the Transhumanist Movement and the overload of technology on old communications systems are the best.

I found myself reading sections of the book over and over again, not concerning characters, action, or plot, but about the information Clarke deals out with the no-nonsense rapidity of a blackjack dealer. He shows you the cards, but you have to form your own opinion about what you think, though Clarke isn't shy about suggesting what you should pay attention to and probably think.

Clarke is a writer a cut above most technology thriller writers. He's a man who has been behind the scenes and witnessed all of these things he writes about. There's a credibility there that I haven't found in anyone else's writing. And Clarke writes well enough that readers will understand easily what he's getting at.

I'm looking forward to more. This isn't just entertainment. Clarke is providing and education as well. Read the book and prepare to learn a lot of scary information that's all true.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Story, January 25, 2007

By	Jamie Ratliff - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I didn't read Clarke's earlier novel, but I found Breakpoint to be entertaining. I noticed some people complained about his writing style, and I admit it's not perfect, but I read a book for the story and the entertainment value. Breakpoint is indeed a very fast read, and I thought he did a great job tying in new and emerging technologies to create a story that is set in the future, but is imaginable. Will the book win a literary award? Not even close. Is the book entertaining? Absolutely. The characters are not deep, and you will not feel an emotional tie to them, but the pace is fast and the story is interesting.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keep An Open Mind, January 22, 2007

By	Harrison S. Miller (Arizona) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Whether it's judging future applications of scientific advancements or determining whom our enemies are,
"Breakpoint" illustrates the need to not leap to erroneous conclusions. Rather, the meat of this novel is very
good at stressing the axiom, "think before you act".
The only faults I find have to do with cardboard characters and dialogue that sometimes reads like something
from a "B" movie. However, it is the discussion and use of technology which saves the day.