Doomsday Conspiracy (Charnwood Library) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Sidney Sheldon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1992 | Series: Charnwood Library

A weather balloon carrying military information apparently crashes in Switzerland and Bellamy of US Intelligence is despatched to locate the witnesses and swear them to secrecy. However, on his arrival he discovers that the truth is far more terrifying. From the author of "Memories of Midnight".

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sheldon spices his latest thriller, a 17-week PW bestseller in cloth, with science fiction, including aliens who arrive from another planet on an enviromentalist mission.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

A science-fiction--yes, science-fiction--novel from the master of soap. And one with a MESSAGE, too, just like the sf of yore--the clich‚s of which Sheldon shamelessly recycles as he ham-handedly depicts an earth under threat of invasion by aliens ticked off at- -what else?--our destruction of the environment. US Navy Commander Robert Bellamy--Sheldon's first male lead in many years--is assigned by NSA to locate the 11 people on a Swiss bus who saw the crash of a ``weather balloon.'' It takes only a chat with the bus driver for Bellamy to learn that the ``weather balloon'' was really a downed UFO containing two alien bodies. It takes talks with all the witnesses, however--Yank, Soviet, Hungarian, etc., each tracked down in the novel's repetitive first two-thirds with minimal sleuthing but maximal scenery-stuffing--for him to learn that each is killed right after talking to him: ``It was an international conspiracy, and he was in the middle of it.'' And so are: the aliens (``a form of vegetable life'' whose eyes ``resembled Ping-Pong balls'') circling earth in their mother ship, waiting to see whether world leaders will respond to their secret plea to halt pollution; the missing third occupant of the UFO, dying for lack of pristine water; and the international cabal, led by ``Janus,'' that's killed the witnesses with the intent of fighting the aliens and continuing earth's exploitation. In the livelier last third, Bellamy, resorting to clever spy-tricks and help from a winsome whore, runs from Janus--whose identity you'll spot chapters away--while plotting his downfall. The fitful action climaxes in an Alpine showdown, with the celestial calvary soaring in for the rescue. Inane as sf (and seemingly cribbed in part from sources ranging from John Campbell's ``Who's Out There?'' to Whitley Strieber's Communion); mediocre as a thriller, even Sheldon-style; but fascinating as one top author's earnest if inept effort (backed by a polemical postscript) to voice the kind of warning that H.G. Wells did with so much more style. (Literary Guild Dual Selection for Fall) -- Copyright ©1991, 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

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books Ltd; Large Print edition edition (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708986668
• ISBN-13: 978-0708986660
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Best known today for his exciting blockbuster novels, Sidney Sheldon is the author of The Best Laid Plans, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Stars Shine Down, The Doomsday Conspiracy, Memories of Midnight, The Sands of Time, Windmills of the Gods, If Tomorrow Comes, Master of the Game, Rage of Angels, Bloodline, A Stranger in the Mirror, and The Other Side of Midnight. Almost all have been number-one international bestsellers. His first book, The Naked Face, was acclaimed by the New York Times as "the best first mystery of the year" and received an Edgar Award. Most of his novels have become major feature films or TV miniseries, and there are more than 275 million copies of his books in print throughout the world.

Before he became a novelist, Sidney Sheldon had already won a Tony Award for Broadway's Redhead and an Academy Award for The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer. He has written the screenplays for twenty-three motion pictures, including Easter Parade (with Judy Garland) and Annie Get Your Gun. In addition, he penned six other Broadway hits and created three long-running television series, including Hart to Hart and I Dream of Jeannie, which he also produced. A writer who has delighted millions with his award-winning plays, movies, novels, and television shows, Sidney Sheldon reigns as one of the most popular storytellers of all time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspense, romance, and UFOs, October 26, 2004

By 

Kona (Emerald City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Doomsday Conspiracy (Mass Market Paperback)

Commander Robert Bellamy, crack Naval Intelligence agent, has been assigned the top secret job of locating ten people who witnessed the crash of a UFO in Switzerland. The job sends him to six countries, and, as soon as Robert and leaves them, each of the witnesses is violently murdered. He then realizes that several highly-placed representatives from around the world are behind the plot, and that his name has been added to the hit list.

This suspenseful page-turner kept me spellbound and I was unable to put it down. I felt like I was running with Robert as he used his skills and cunning to solve puzzle after puzzle, criss-crossing the globe in a frantic race against time. The exotic locations are described beautifully, and the large cast of characters is intriguing. The sci-fi parts are the weakest, and reflect the time in which the book was written, but the over-all reading experience was truly exciting, scary, and satisfying. I recommend The Doomsday Conspiracy to all fans of Sidney Sheldon's books; this one is different and one of his very best.

Kona

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dated But Still Fun, June 12, 2004

By 

Diana F. Von Behren "reneofc" (Kenner, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Doomsday Conspiracy (Mass Market Paperback)

I listened to the unabridged audio version of this book read by David Dukes. He does an admirable job of conveying Sheldon's minimal dialogue and page-turning episodic scenes. The plot is classic Sheldon with a Sci Fi twist, which I confess startled me at first, had me laughing for a second and then once I suspended disbelief held me until the end of the story, although loosely. The main character, Commander Bellamy is a supposed excellent field agent for naval intelligence, his final assignment before throwing in the towel leads him on a world wide search for a bus load of tourists who have witnessed what the Navy wants people to believe was a weather balloon. Shades of Roswell! Unfortunately with series like 'Roswell' and Sci Fi Channel mini-series like 'Taken', this plot line has definitely been done before in full technicolor conspiracy which reduces the power of the book to intrigue and keep the pages turning. Bellamy's past---he is grieving over a failed marriage whose reminiscences at times can be downright sickening---perhaps makes him a bit dim-witted regarding the fate of the people he tracks down---he discovers the identity of all of them before he realizes that something isn't quite right with his assignment in the first place. What takes weeks for him to puzzle, the reader already suspects and expects.

Similarly, the ending is ultimately disappointing because it seems rushed; so much time is spent on Bellamy's quest and his superior's subsequent action but little time is devouted to the climatic finish. The last tape cassette consists of Sheldon's notes to the reader, itemizing strange events and cover-ups that are associated with the US space program and hint at a real-life Doomsday Conspiracy.

Nevertheless, despite its flaws, the novel entertains as only a Sidney Sheldon novel can. Its not one of his best, but I think this is probably due more to the over exposure of the subject matter.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kind of silly, but I couldn't quit reading, October 7, 2004

By 

Alan Beggerow (Sterling, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Doomsday Conspiracy (Hardcover)

The science fiction aspects of this book were a little silly, and when I realized that the author was going in that direction I almost quit reading. But he is a good enough writer with enough twists and turns to the plot to keep me reading.

Not the best fiction I've ever read, but it was entertaining enough to cause me to read it all.

Recommended for light reading. It sure beat watching television!