The Cain Conversion [Paperback]

Richard Aellen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994

Investigating an overwhelming and inexplicable urge to assassinate the president, Secret Service agent Bill Sullivan learns that he is a victim of a KGB psychiatric engineering experiment. Reprint. PW.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-This story of international intrigue resembles Robert Ludlum's complex plots involving Russian espionage and Nelson DeMille's ideas in The Charm School. Bill Sullivan, seemingly a Secret-Service agent who protects the U.S. president, finds his stable world unraveling after he receives an anonymous phone call of one sentence, "I see the President and he's been bad." This triggers a series of involuntary behaviors that almost result in his assassinating the president. On suspension and under investigation by the CIA and FBI, Sullivan seeks answers in his Kansas hometown of Goodheart where the school yearbook and high school "friends" reveal that he is not who he thinks he is. Fleeing from the FBI, he follows clues that lead him to Russia where a duplicate town of Goodheart and a journal on the Sorin Project reveal that he is the central figure in a KGB plot. Sullivan is a strong, though stereotyped, character who drives an intricate plot to its tidy finale. A fast moving intelligence thriller with the kind of detail that makes its genre appealing.
Jessica Lahr, Edison High School,Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Aellen, an always trend-conscious suspense-writer (Flash Point, 1991, etc.), outdoes himself here with a cleverly au courant--and engrossing--thriller that mixes three timely suspense themes: multiple-personality disorder (cf. William Diehl's Primal Fear and James Patterson's Along Came a Spider), deep-cover Soviet agents left out in the cold (cf. Bob Reiss's The Last Spy), and child abuse. The brunt of all this misery is Secret Service agent Bob Sullivan, whose world shatters when he gets a phone call saying, ``I see the president and he's been bad.'' In a trance, Bob walks into the Oval Office and levels his gun at the President. The agent comes to before shooting, but the damage is done and, soon after, Bob is suspended. In intercut scenes set mostly in Moscow, we learn the truth behind Bob's troubles. Born in Russia as Mischa Amenov, he was subjected to an experiment that split him into three: Mischa; Cain, a homicidal maniac; and Bob, an all-American created by raising the boy in a replica of a small Kansas town. Mischa/Cain/Bob was then inserted into the US as a time bomb to kill the President by releasing Cain when the trigger-words are spoken. Bob knows none of this, but he begins to catch on when he visits his ``real'' Kansas hometown and no one recognizes him. Another clue takes him to Russia, where he learns that his stepfather, avenging Bob's unfaithful mother, is trying to trigger Cain. Meanwhile, the panicky Soviets have sent an assassin after Bob, but the stepfather kills that killer and then kidnaps Bob's two children to force Cain's hand. The kids manage to signal their location to Bob, though, leading to the blood-and-fire-filled climax. Too complicated, but strong characters and fresh, smart--and fashionable--action make this Aellen's best since his debut, Red Eye (1988). -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Harpercollins (Mm) (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061007110
• ISBN-13: 978-0061007118
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,678,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Easy Read, April 9, 2002

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cain Conversion (Hardcover)

This is a cool book with lots going on. I am always up for a good old spy vs. spy and this book is that at the base, but the author through in a psychopathic killer into the mix. The story is a fun read. The characters are well enough written and the plot construction is believable. Overall the mix of the two types of genre is done very well and it gives you a book that you run through. You do not have to think too hard to read the book which for escapism is good. It is an enjoyable book to pass the time on a summer weekend.