Roadworks [Paperback]

Gerard Readett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2004

Roadworks is the story of one man's battle to be free of a system that oppresses him while dragging a hijacked city out of absolute gridlock. In a city where all rail, road and underground traffic is computerised, Hugh Ryan, a Transport Authority controller, has to outwit Akila Kama, an African terrorist who has taken the city and many foreign heads of state hostage. His demands are simple, either the greatest humanitarian aid package is sent to Africa by the nations of the West, or their leaders die. Later Hugh realises that while all traffic inside the city is at a standstill, Wellens, a local crimelord who helped the Africans, has embarked on his own traitorous plans which he hatches with a mole in the Transport Authority.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

With a surname like his, Gerard Readett was born to become a writer. His life has been spent bouncing between England and Belgium. At the age of five he left London and moved to Belgium where he became bilingual English/French. He returned to England to do a Joint Honours degree in Computing and Economics. Once again he went back to Belgium to work in the Network Operations department of a large credit card company. His job brings him into contact with people from many different nationalities. He loves to travel to see other cultures and traditions, is particularly interested in Pre-columbian civilizations like the Maya, Aztecs and Incas and Ancient Egypt. Also shows an interest in wildlife, nature and astronomy. Enjoys reading Sci-Fi, Mysteries, Thrillers. Gerard also has a personal webpage at http://users.skynet.be/fa032104/index.htm

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Writers Exchange E-Publishing (October 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1876962771
• ISBN-13: 978-1876962777
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,561,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in England and have lived in Belgium for many years.
Travelling is one of my passions and I have been fortunate enough to
have visited Russia, America, Mexico, Botswana and Australia, while
also cultivating a love of Pre-Columbian cultures; the Aztecs, Maya,
Incas, and Ancient Egypt. My other passion is storytelling: I read
Science-Fiction, Adventure, Espionnage books mainly but I also enjoy
what has become pratically a genre on it's own - Discworld novels. A
corollary to that (happy to write that word but don't ask me to
pronounce it correctly !) is my love for movies, any genre really but
my favourites by far are Science-Fiction, Action, Adventure and
Historical.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating near-future thriller, December 15, 2004

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Roadworks (Paperback)

Hugh Ryan's job might not be glamorous, but it is important. In the near future, Brussels has developed a highly sophisticated traffic network. Computers route cars around conjestion. Huge parking elevators keep cars below ground and yet easily accessible. Efficient trains and a subway system move hundreds of thousands of people to their jobs. When roads fill, computers send cars to another route. When too many become congested, the same computers send the cars to the rapid transit centers. And Hugh, along with a small number of fellow workers, controls the entire system.

When things start to go bad, Hugh springs into action--and the system does its best to self-repair. But the system was never designed to deal with simultaneous toxic truck wrecks in every major intersection, power failure in the subway, the collapse of the train system, and malfunctions in the parking elevators that turn the entire city into a stationary parking lot. Hugh isn't surprised with the call comes in--a terrorist organization is holding the entire city, including heads of state from all of Nato, for ransom.

Reading between the lines of the terrorist threat, Hugh realizes that someone in his own transport agency is somehow involved--and sets out to find who did it. What follows is an action-packed adventure with plenty of plot twists and even a touch of romance.

Author Gerard Readett makes his near-future traffic scenario feel real and interesting. Hugh, with his lost wife and anti-establishment tendencies, makes a sympathetic protagonist and Readett mixes in just enough scenes from those caught up in the disaster--and from the point of view of the criminals and terrorists who combine to take the city captive--to make the action seem real. I wish Readett had relied a bit less on coincidence in putting Hugh in just the right place to do so much against the terrorist threat, but that's a minor quibble with a really fascinating story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Engaging International Thriller!, June 19, 2009

By 

Todd A. Fonseca (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Roadworks (Paperback)

The year is 2022 and the worlds leaders meet for a summit in Brussels Belgium. This cities transportation system, a highly automated combination of auto, rail, and bus systems, is the envy of the world. Hugh Ryan, a Transport Authority controller for the system, comes to work one day preparing to train a new employee when suddenly multiple systems begin to fail. Automated parking garages crush cars backing up traffic, the rail system shuts down stranding passengers, and when multiple tanker trucks explode on the major highways, Hugh learns not only is the city in gridlock, but that terrorists have taken control of the system and are holding the city hostage. Hugh, with his unique knowledge, finds himself at the center of solving a major international terrorist plot. But can he do it in time?

Gerard Readett's Roadworks is a refreshingly original thriller featuring a very unlikely public works employee turned hero. While place in the not so distant future, the automated systems are within the realm of possibility and the Readett's main character is so real that it is easy for the reader to get quickly engaged in the story. Readett does an excellent job of weaving multiple plot lines of greed, deceit, terrorism, and politics which keeps the reader guessing throughout.

Roadworks is a fast paced, engaging, read. It's futuristic but not sci-fi. Readett also conveys a compelling world message which is not at all over the top but rather seamlessly connects the opening prologue to the final chapters resolution. Pick up a copy, you won't be disappointed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Talk about a traffic jam!, January 3, 2005

By 

Victoria Tarrani "writer, editor, artist, des... (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roadworks (Paperback)

.

Being in a traffic jam takes on a new meaning in ROADWORKS. Set in the year 2022, this high tech thriller creates innovative architecture, a Traffic Management Centre (TMC), subterranean parking structures, and a whole lot of problems for Brussels, Belgium, in which the roadways have been set up like the spokes of a wagon wheel.

Everything runs smoothly with the TMC keeping track of any minor emergency on the Metro, parking structures, or highway. TMC can easily re-route vehicles to other less congested travel patterns. However, there are sixteen entry points to the center of the city, and when terrorists block them, the roadway is literally a parking lot. Very few people can get to work, but fortunately, our hero Hugh Ryan, a Transport Authority Controller, always arrives a little before 7:00 AM, so he is on the job when the problems begin.

There are multiple villains with the access to shut down the city or blow up buildings, and they do both. Each is revealed, but not until the end do all of the pieces fall into place.

This is one of the most creative situations I have run across in a thriller, and all too familiar because of the traffic jams. I know just how irritated and anxious people are when stuck in traffic, and because I know, this book brought my own emotions into the story.

From Prologue to ending, this is an excellent read.