First of all, let me sum up the plot. The year is 2001 and activities to put the International Space Station into orbit are on at full throttle. NASA and UpLink International, the main civilian contractor for the ISS, are gearing up for the launch of Orion, a manned shuttle carrying crucial components for the ISS. Everything seems perfect and a smooth launch is expected. But that's when things go terribly wrong.
In the disaster that ensues, one senior astronaut loses his life and the others barely escape with theirs. The shuttle is reduced to scrap metal, leaving behind bits and pieces. And a shocked world. But, even as the investigation into the matter begins, mysterious guerrilla attacks occur at the UpLink manufacturing facility in Brazil. Two hundred people perish in a train crash in Spain. A senior Russian physicist is murdered in a remote area of Albania. Are these events connected?
With the impending launch of the main modules of the ISS from the famous Baikonur cosmodrome in Russia, in a race against time, a handful of people must work together to piece together the jigsaw. For in their hands lies the fate of the ISS and as we find out later, the lives of millions.
The plot, as you can probably see, is amazing and is a signature, high voltage Tom Clancy plot. But the writing was not his and this was evident from the beginning. As an avid Tom Clancy reader, you get used to certain cliches, like for example the skillfully crafted fight scenes or the perfectly developed characters. You get used to the information overload in almost every page; to staying glued to the book, forgetting everything else in the real world and feeling as if you are there in person, shooting up a villain with an advanced rifle or driving that souped up Humvee. Each book of his is an amazing experience and this book was nothing close to that.
A little research showed me that I was, in fact, right. The writer was a certain Jerome Preisler and he'd been writing under Tom Clancy's brand name. This was in no way Tom Clancy's writing! However, with all that said, this book was not bad. If it had been released under a name other than Tom Clancy's, I would have actually voted it good!
So the final verdict! Once you've blotted out Tom Clancy from your mind, once you've lowered your expectations and when you have lots and lots of free time with nothing better to read, then this book is very much worth a read!
In the disaster that ensues, one senior astronaut loses his life and the others barely escape with theirs. The shuttle is reduced to scrap metal, leaving behind bits and pieces. And a shocked world. But, even as the investigation into the matter begins, mysterious guerrilla attacks occur at the UpLink manufacturing facility in Brazil. Two hundred people perish in a train crash in Spain. A senior Russian physicist is murdered in a remote area of Albania. Are these events connected?
With the impending launch of the main modules of the ISS from the famous Baikonur cosmodrome in Russia, in a race against time, a handful of people must work together to piece together the jigsaw. For in their hands lies the fate of the ISS and as we find out later, the lives of millions.
The plot, as you can probably see, is amazing and is a signature, high voltage Tom Clancy plot. But the writing was not his and this was evident from the beginning. As an avid Tom Clancy reader, you get used to certain cliches, like for example the skillfully crafted fight scenes or the perfectly developed characters. You get used to the information overload in almost every page; to staying glued to the book, forgetting everything else in the real world and feeling as if you are there in person, shooting up a villain with an advanced rifle or driving that souped up Humvee. Each book of his is an amazing experience and this book was nothing close to that.A little research showed me that I was, in fact, right. The writer was a certain Jerome Preisler and he'd been writing under Tom Clancy's brand name. This was in no way Tom Clancy's writing! However, with all that said, this book was not bad. If it had been released under a name other than Tom Clancy's, I would have actually voted it good!
So the final verdict! Once you've blotted out Tom Clancy from your mind, once you've lowered your expectations and when you have lots and lots of free time with nothing better to read, then this book is very much worth a read!
You mean there is a ghost writer?How did you find out?When was this book published?Are you sure it wasn't just an early work?
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