Customer Reviews

Quantum Web

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On December 10, 1948 in Ann Arbor, someone guns down scientist Johann Wolf. The killer honestly thought Johann collaborated with the Nazis, helping murder innocent people through medical experiments.

Fifty years later at the University of Michigan, Professors Ted Sandstrom and Raphael Paramo invent a device that generates and stores a large amount of energy from a much smaller source. However, a Russian scientist listens to Ted's lecture before returning home to inform her bosses about the cutting edge technology. Moscow businessman Victor Olov plans to attain the device even if it requires KGB-like skills to succeed. This places Olov and his minions against Nolan Kilkenny who plans to make the eventual transfer of Ted's experimental design to industrial use. Olov and Kilkenny soon learn that Ted's work follows much of the theories of the ingenious Johann, missing for fifty years.

QUANTUM is an exciting thriller that entertains the reader although it's understandable there is a lot of difficult scientific information provided in the fast-paced story line. The lead couple is an enchanting duet who loves one another, but has not yet committed to each other. The villain is a stereotypical nasty character who is a Russian capitalist who will do anything to gain an edge. Fans of scientific espionage thrillers will fully enjoy Tom Grace returning with the stars of his previous triumphant work SPYDER WEB.

Harriet Klausner

I just couldn't give more than 3 stars to this thriller. Basically a story about a new quantum energy source discovered by an American scientist but stolen by a Russian industrialist billionaire. The convenience of much of the story was too much. For example, The ring switch and the digging up of the parking lot. Everything fell too neatly in place. Since when do trained Navy Seal snipers allow sun reflections off their scopes to be seen? I think with a little more time, Tom Grace can come up with a better written novel. Older teenagers will enjoy his books.

Recommend...Library

Is Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt one of your guilty pleasures? If so, Tom Grace's QUANTUM will have you hooked. Is the book literature? Of course not! But as an adventure novel, QUANTUM is a satisfying discovery for me. (I will mostlikely seek out Grace's first novel SPYDER WEB.) Like Cussler, Grace spins a good yarn and is a much more polished writer.

I was bitterly disappointed in a recent reading of THE ICE LIMIT, and was in need for a fix of fine escapist fare and found it in QUANTUM

Shady Russian industrialists attempt to wrest control of an amazing new energy device from the American scientists who developed it. Tom Grace's story doesn't really add anything new to the techno-thriller genre, but it is nevertheless interesting due to some multi-faceted characterizations: even the featured good guys have some dark secrets and less than savory aspects to their personalities. Good pacing, nicely drawn secondary characters, and a story that doesn't overstay its welcome also help things along.

RE: AUDIO TAPE VERSION. Scientist/businessman/Navy SEAL and all around good guy Nolan Kilkenny takes on the former Soviet Union's top evil industrialist, its most treacherous commandos, and the 21st century cyber world to prevent an earth-shaking discovery from falling into the wrong hands. It's a mismatch of course. A routine thriller, Quantum does feature a nice twist revelation about the long-dead superphysicist whose work prompts much of the mayhem. You don't need to be scientifically-inclined to follow the story but it helps if you enjoy graphic ninja violence. 3 stars and no more - as in don't buy a ticket, but still rent the video.

Tom Grace's second book was even better than his first -- Sypder Web. While Sypder Web and Quantum were quick and enjoyable reads, Quantum is more polished.

Although Quantum's characters and technical explanations lack the depth and detail, respectively, of a Clancy novel, the trade off is that the reader can actually move towards the end of the book in reasonably short order.

Unlike many other books of the genre, Quantum is a book that can be left on the coffee table for the enjoyment of nearly anyone in the household because it is devoid of gratuatus sex -- in the same vein as the late Robert Ludlum -- and is less violent than any episode of Xena, Warrier Princess.

I strongly suspect that Tom's next book will continue to surpass our expecations.

Quantum was a decent story from beginning to end. I had a bit a trouble keeping its pace when the story got bogged down in explaining complex mathematical and scientific concepts. A few of the characters were hard to believe. Nolan got shot twice and injured a half dozen other ways, yet never lost a fight, and never even felt pain from his injuries. He also was shooting a dozen people throughout the book, and never once was questioned about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kelsey somehow lived through two kidnappings, when her kidnapper killed pretty much anything that moved during the story. I think I could try another Tom Grace story, but I probably won't rush out to buy it.

This book started out fast paced and held my attention throughout. I recommend this book to anyone that likes the larger than life action heroes. This is my first book by Tom Grace, but it won't be my last.

I like a book that explores the scientific horizon while telling a good story. Just a good read!

For once this was an abridgment to a book that was read on tape in which I didn't feel like something important was left out.

Unfortunately, the plot and the characters were only so-so. Jerry O'Connell read the story - and at first I thought that would be a big plus since I've liked most of the stuff that he has done. However, this time I was not impressed. Not his best work.

Nolan Kilkenny, who should be known as 'the one man army' based on his unstoppable one man performances against several teams of battle-tested, better-armed former Russian Special Forces throughout the book, is a tiresome character. Many of the supporting characters were much more interesting and I would have preferred it if some of them would have had a greater role throughout the book.

I give this one a grade of C+.