Customer Reviews

Pipeline: A Novel of Suspense

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A California black-out during the heat of summer shocks the nation. All the infrastructure needed for society to function collapses when the generators no longer function. Hospitals and prisons no longer provide the needed safety nets. As the death count rises, the black out becomes more than just a minor inconvenience. Even in the wake of the fall-out, few politicians seem willing to risk making tough decisions about America's energy dependence. Meanwhile, in South America, a meeting between a Peruvian senator and managers of a large natural gas company plan a new strategy that seems to be a good more environmentally friendly solution to America's precarious dependence on the Middle East for energy needs. Is the plan too good to be true? with an urgent call, Special Assistant to the President Tony Ruiz has a new assignment to investigate the plan, an investigation that will lead him into the maneuverings behind the emergence of a new Cold War, a war fought on different terms than the last. Will Tony Ruiz be able to discover the truth and at what cost?

Peter Schechter's PIPELINE is a fast-paced, action-based political thriller. Drawing on several headlines from Russia's aggressive tone and South American politics to California's past energy crisis notched up several steps and the push for more environmentally friendly energy solutions, Peter Schechter creates an all too real terrifying scenario. Scenes change rapidly, creating tension as more and more players become involved with the plot. Peter Schechter creates global connections between several characters. Long intricate political and historical asides do not slow down the race to discover the connections between all the pieces. Rather, Peter Schechter highlights each connection with a series of vignettes of focused scenes and characters representing the various sides. Fans of Cold War suspense will appreciate the chilling possibilities of Russia's re-emergence as a challenge with which to be reckoned. Most intriguing are the parallels and contrasts Peter Schechter draws between Tony Ruiz and his Russian counterpart, Daniel Vladimorovich Uggin. Although both have similar beginnings in certain ways as hard-working non-political characters, each one rises and falls due to choices made and other factors. Tony Ruiz is an admirable character, but one who also makes mistakes. Tony Ruiz is definitely a character worth developing in future geo-political thrillers, especially in contrast to other players.

PIPELINE escalates news headlines into a terrifying scenario where America is poised to become an unexpected pawn in the hands of a familiar historic enemy now using new tactics. The author's impressive biography (founder of a Washington strategic communications firm, adviser to presidents, political advertising writer, counseling international organizations out of crisis, foreign language fluency, etc.) adds an exciting international dimension. PIPELINE provides relief from the all too common proliferation Mideast terrorist thrillers with history reframing new unforeseen threats to America's survival among present-day changes in the international political landscape. Future Tony Ruiz adventures would benefit from more concentration on characterization, such as the parallels between Tony Ruiz and his counterpart, if done so without sacrificing the fast-paced action herein. As is, in this his second novel, PIPELINE is a fun, fast-paced work of suspense in which simple actions and decisions create escalating scenarios. PIPELINE leaves a reader's imagination thinking of new possibilities and dangers.

Courtesy of Book Illuminations

WOW!!! What a fantastic book PIPELINE by Peter Schechter is!!! I absolutely loved this book! You can read about the plot in the product description listed above but I just want you to know that you need to get this book fast and devour it and then start telling others about it. Even though this is set in the near distant future...a couple of decades from now...it is terrifying to think that we would still be dealing with foreign oil at that point in time. Peter Schechter has visualized an alternative solution that seemed the perfect answer in the beginning but then as he went on to explore the further ramifications, I came to understand that it wasn't the rosy future we had envisioned. With POINT OF ENTRY, Peter's first book, he had set the bar so high for himself that I'm delighted to say that PIPELINE has exceeded all of my expectations. His characters are strong and vibrant...especially the female characters. Wait until you read how he linked those events happening in D.C., Peru and Germany and how we face the geopolitical reality of natural gas. Read this book....read Peter's blog and then start the discussion because we need to get the ball rolling today rather than waiting yet another thirty years. Just think how different our world would be today had we done something constructive about facing down foreign oil thirty years ago when we were in the midst of an oil crisis...what a vastly different world we'd be living in today. No 9/11...no Iraq....no more Saudi oil. Think about it!!!

On page 138 it states that "sold Alaska to the Americans for 7.2 billion dollars". It was 7.2 million dollars, I learned that in grade school. Check your facts next time.