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Cloudburst (An Art Jefferson Thriller) [Kindle Edition]

Ryne Douglas Pearson
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)

Digital List Price: $4.99 What's this?
Print List Price: $12.99
Kindle Price: $4.99 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
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Book Description

 
In Los Angeles, the president is killed in a brazen terrorist suicide attack. Halfway across the globe, an American airliner is hijacked by another group of Middle Eastern extremists and forced to make a brief stop in Libya. Events that are first seen as unconnected soon are proven to be part of an interconnected plan to strike at the heart of the United States.
 
On opposite coasts, FBI Agent Art Jefferson and National Security Adviser Bud DiContino race to manage situations as they spiral toward disaster. With the hijacked airliner racing toward the United States, its cargo hold filled with what intelligence analysts believe is a nuclear weapon, the only hope for the passengers' lives comes in the form of an audacious rescue plan to be executed by the highly secretive Delta Force.
 
From its pulse-pounding opening to its action-packed climax, Cloudburst grabs you and will not let go. Ranging from the violent assassination of the President on the streets of Los Angeles to covert action against terrorist havens in North Africa, from the halls of power in Washington to a highjacked airliner racing toward the heart of the United States, Cloudburst takes the reader on a riveting journey as FBI agents and elite counterterrorist units fight a desperate battle to save millions of innocents, and bring those responsible to justice.
 


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A gripping blend of techno-thriller and detective story, Pearson's first novel is set in an all-too-convincing near future. The American President is assassinated in L.A. by a terrorist suicide squad. Shortly thereafter, an American 747 is hijacked to Libya, and when it sets off on its return flight home, it is carrying a deadly device, the second step in a plot by Libyan leader Muammar Khadafy, who plans to destroy Washington, D.C., in a nuclear holocaust. As Pearson's carefully structured plot unfolds, the FBI hunts down the terrorists' supporters while Delta Force moves to recapture the plane. Only the cooperation of Fidel Castro can save the aircraft and its passengers. FBI agent Art Jefferson, Delta Force captain Sean Graber, pilot Bart Hendrickson and other players are effectively characterized in economical prose. The suspense runs at a high pitch right up to the tense confrontation between Delta Force and the terrorists--at 20,000 feet over the Atlantic, with no room for error or hesitation. Genre fans will find this a must for midsummer reading.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Hyperreal whiz-bang first novel by a gifted high-tech specialist. The President is assassinated in L.A. by Libyan terrorists as the first act of a three-act vengeance scenario by Qaddafi, who is dying of leukemia from tainted blood introduced into him during surgery by order of the former CIA head. James ``Bud'' DiContino, named head of the National Security Agency when his boss is killed with the President, leads an immense cast of all variety of specialists whose working methods Pearson knows inside out and relates here with impressive realism. Bud answers directly to the new President as his team sets out to bust up acts two and three of Qaddafi's plot. An American 747 out of Athens is hijacked by a terrorist team, flown to Benghazi, loaded with a thermonuclear device, and then headed toward the States to blow itself up, praise Allah, in a suicide mission over the already mourning Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, we follow various FBI, Secret Service, and CIA teams as they try to fill in backgrounds on the terrorists, and we join an antiterrorist military team out to thwart the hijackers. We also hop all over the globe as enormous force is mobilized both to blow the passenger-laden 747 out of the air, if necessary, and to strike a fantastically big retaliatory atomic attack on Libya. Pearson keeps us alert to the drama aboard the plane and to a rising storm front causing the diversion of the aircraft to Havana, where it's refueled after a disastrous landing that all but disables it. And we also follow the progress of Joe Anderson, who may be able to disarm the nuclear device if by some miracle he can get close enough to it. The widespread plot includes an attempt to pluck out of Libya a high-placed informant who's kept the US up to date on Qaddafi's hideous activities. Newcomer Pearson ranges about smartly indeed with mind- boggling expertise. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

  • File Size: 619 KB
  • Print Length: 339 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0688122469
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0053SFIOM
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,328 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
110 of 110 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This one started off a little slow for me, say the first 5% of the Kindle version, but the author suddenly kicked it from first gear all the way to fifth. After a while, the turbo boost engaged and what you have is a pulse-racing thriller. Forgive the auto references but believe me when I tell you this is one action-packed thriller that had my heartbeat increasing on occasion until I completed it.

The author does a really good job of explaining the technical details related to science, aviation, and the military without the reader feeling either overwhelmed or the thought of being talked down to while reading. His character dialogue is outstanding as well as the development of those characters for both the "good" and the "bad" guys. I was impressed with how he was able to switch scenes from an FBI team, the armed terrorists, the Delta force team, and the defector with ease and weave it all together.

About the only negative I could give it is there are a few words that are typos, and some of it appears dated - early Vietnam war veterans still in active-duty front-line service, for example, but it does not take away from an all-around great read.

As I type this review, the book is free in the Amazon Kindle store which raises the rating an extra star; if it is still showing up for free I highly recommend you grab it. It was refreshing to read an action-packed novel that doesn't seem to repeat the Vince Flynn / Lee Child framework, and I am looking forward to reading more from the author.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A real thriller July 22, 2011
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The author REALLY had to do some homework for all the tech info involved, but it was explained so even the layman could understand. The plot was really detailed, but again, easy to assimilate. The skipping from one of many venues to another within a few pages was disorienting at first, as was keeping track of some of the characters, but surprisingly it all fell into place...eventually. For a real page clicker (that phrase has now entered the vernacular of ereaders) and edge of your seat thrills, I highly recommend Cloudburst.
One sort of odd typo...in about 12 to 15 occurances (on Kindle), the word "the" was printed as "die". From a German translator perhaps?
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good fast paced read July 27, 2011
By Tom
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Thought that the overall storyline and concept were well thought out and that the author was very descriptive throughout. I liked how as events were unfolding, he left just enough unsaid so that you had to keep reading to find out more. Another thing that added depth to this story was including the thoughts of all characters as they were immersed in dialogue. This gripped the reader more and kept the emotion alive during the more intense scenes. Pearson definitely knows his technology, weapons, vehicles, equipment, etc., and was able to put it in a language that even an accountant such as myself could follow. As noted by the other few reviewers, there was the occasional typo of "die" in place of "the". A bit annoying, but nothing to get overly hung up on. I do look forward to reading more books by Pearson, whether free or not, in the near future.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars memroable
very good reading I like these types of books, I read a lot will probably read this one again later
Published 1 month ago by steven middleton
1.0 out of 5 stars Cloudburst rating
I couldn't finish this book. Boring, confusing. People that understand how planes and military strategy work might be able to plow through it.
Published 2 months ago by Bonita Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars GOOD vacation read.
The book moved quickly with enough but not too much technical jargon. I'll very happily read more of his books.
Published 2 months ago by Dr Mark M. Rubenstein
4.0 out of 5 stars Military thriller at its best.
Great book and very hard to put down after I started reading it. I'll probably read more from thus author
Published 2 months ago by Sherri Smith
3.0 out of 5 stars Good - but a bit confusing
I thought the story line was good, and think it would make a good movie, but found the writing way too wordy and somewhat confusing. Read more
Published 3 months ago by 49shadestoo many
3.0 out of 5 stars Would Consider Reading a Sequel
This is a pretty standard tale of a washed up cop using his experience to solve a crime where others are failing. It is amusing if a bit predictable. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ann Geiger
4.0 out of 5 stars Spy-fi
This book gets your attention from the first page! Just as you are getting to know the characters you get a twist, then a turn. Then, what's next? Read more
Published 8 months ago by Rick Wintermute
2.0 out of 5 stars only so-so
I finished this book but it took a LONG time. Unusual for me, as I'll generally read a 300+ page book in about 4 days. This one took me almost 2 weeks. I dreaded it every day. Read more
Published 8 months ago by MKH
3.0 out of 5 stars Cloudbust
The whole story is like a CNN news article only longer. I found myself getting bored with the characters and the story about half way through. Read more
Published 8 months ago by m.wittmann
4.0 out of 5 stars Cloudburst
An action packed and entertaining military novel that keeps you turning the pages. I will most likely read other titles by this author.
Published 8 months ago by MNMINAK
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More About the Author

Ryne Douglas Pearson is an accomplished novelist and screenwriter. He writes thrillers and contemporary fiction, and is the author of several novels, including Cloudburst, October's Ghost, Capitol Punishment, Simple Simon, Top Ten, The Donzerly Light, All For One, and Confessions. He is also the author of the short story collection, Dark and Darker. His works have been translated into Dutch, Finnish, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, German, Polish, French and other languages. His novel Simple Simon was made into the film Mercury Rising. As a screenwriter he has worked on numerous movies. The film Knowing, based on his original script, was released in 2009 and opened #1 at the box office. Receiving Four Stars from Roger Ebert, who branded it 'among the best science-fiction films I've seen', it went on to earn more than $180 million worldwide. He has also done uncredited work on films such as the remakes of The Day The Earth Stood Still and The Eye.

Despite the often 'dark' nature of his novels and films, Pearson has been noted to have a 'sweet, disarming quality' by Entertainment Weekly-an accusation he has been unable to shake. When not writing he is usually thinking about writing, or touting the wonders of bacon in online conversations. He is addicted to diet soda and the sound of his children laughing. A west coast native, he lives in California with his wife, children, a Doberman Kelpie and a Beagle Vizsla.

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