Storming Intrepid [Hardcover]

Payne Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 13, 1988

"A stunning success...A literally out-of-this-world chess game of nuclear proportions."
THE BALTIMORE SUN
What begins as a routine voyage of a space shuttle carrying Star Wars technology, turns into a harrowing nightmare in outer space when a Russian agent siezes command of the vehicle. The President is prepared to use everything from stealth bombers and SR-71 Blackbirds to untested space fighters, as this precendent-shattering confrontation hurtles toward its tension-crackling climax.
"Harrison has created a most believable scenario, with an amazing series of twists and turns....Run, do not walk, to the bookstore."
UPI


From the Paperback edition.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With its evil-empire depiction of the Soviet Union and obsessive emphasis on the latest and best American military equipment, this first novel owes a heavy debt to Tom Clancy, but manages to carve out its own niche in the technothriller genre. In the author's version of the near-future, the lame duck American president (all but identified as Lee Iacocca) is using the revived space shuttle program to deploy the "Star Wars" defense system. Meanwhile, certain powers in Moscow, beset by Kremlin infighting and conspiracy, see their government's chance for military parity eroding and resort to a desperate measureplanting a psychotic Soviet-trained agent on the U.S. shuttle crew delivering the Star Wars payload. When the spy murders his fellow astronauts and radios Russia, NASA begins a race into space to destroy the shuttle before it reaches enemy hands. Harrison's prose is only serviceable and often much worse; he runs on for pages about a telescope or a bomber, but doesn't describe a major character beyond calling him "very big, very black and very, very smart." But his plotting is better, gathering speed as it goes and saving some effective surprises for the end. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A saga of a post-Reagan Star Wars. In his first novel, Harrison has already mastered the art of effortlessly intricate plotting. There is the thrill of crackling confrontation between the superpowers with KGB shenanigans of unprecedented boldness. There is a wealth of characters that are not only likable but also recognizable as contemporary American heroes. And best of all, there is daredevilry that evokes the feisty dogfights of classic war stories. After building a wonder of technical wizardry high above the earth, Harrison lets his heroes duke it out in a fierce showdown near ground level. This novel hums with vigor and resonates with the hottest daily news. Fans will hope that Harrison, like his models in Cold War intrigue, will produce more.
- Barbara Conaty, Library of Congress
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 473 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (January 13, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517571331
• ISBN-13: 978-0517571330
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,028,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! THIS BOOK IS AWESOME!, April 13, 1999

By 

Mr N Forbes-warren "author of RESURGENCE and ... (Newport, South Wales, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Storming Intrepid (Mass Market Paperback)

A real page-turner! The story is simple - a Russian agent hijacks a US space shuttle and the mission goes wrong, and the US and USSR have to race to bring down the shuttle, using any means at their disposal! This book features everything - Star Wars weapons technology, an experimental space fighter project which might be quite feasible one day, a dnagerous shuttle launch, Stealth bombers on a mission into Russia and a spectacular apperance by the highest-flying plane in the world, the SR-71 Blackbird under attack by Russian air defences! As the story unfolds, so do some exceptional plot twists and a detailed but easy-to-read insight into how the Russian mission to steal the shuttle came about. On the whole, this book is often similar in various aspects to Dale Brown's SILVER TOWER, with the space weapons ideas, but STORMING INTREPID definitely leaves Dale Brown standing on the ground! I would give this book at least 100 stars but the scale won't let me. Oh well. The US vs Russia angle may be Cold War-era, but this electrifying thriller is still a superb read. One I'll definitely read again in a few months, and this I'd recommend to any technothriller fan!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book, January 20, 2006

By 

Carl Swanson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Storming Intrepid (Mass Market Paperback)

Storming Intrepid is an outstanding thriller, I just finished it and I will imimediately begin looking for more books by Payne Harrison. Very well done, he as a good eye for detail, this book was obviously a long time in the making.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shuttle Hijacked?? What'll we do?? We ENJOY!!, December 13, 2000

By 

Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff" (Twin Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Storming Intrepid (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first introduction to Payne Harrison, and it was so good I have since picked up everything else by this talented author--who doesn't seem to be tied to writing just techno-thrillers...

I felt the idea of hijacking the Shuttle was a clever one, however since I had not heard of Payne Harrison, I was reserved and grabbed a copy of this book... . I found out quickly enough that this was written by a talented author who had a major future in the techno-thriller genre, should he continue to write in that particular field. I loved every moment of this book. I can't TELL you how ANGRY I was at my son when he knocked over a cup of water and soaked my copy of 'Storming Intrepid'...it took several days to dry it out, and it was hopelessly bloated out-of-shape, but I was about three-quarters through it and I was NOT going to be stuck without a resolution--which, I might add was far from predictable.

This wasn't simply a techno-thriller, but it was a grand adventure in every sense of the word. With everything that makes a Clancy novel so exciting (minus the endless drone of needless details) plus the added excitement of getting a shot at going into space, I don't need to tell you that this is rocket-ride you NEED to take, and the sooner the better. I have to say that Harrisons other novels are JUST as fun, so if you found this one good, check his other books out, too--you will be VERY glad you did.