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Midnight Empire
Las Vegas, Nevada. Young Australian computer programmer Daniel Carter has arrived at the heart of the American war machine – the drone program at Creech Air Force Base, Indian Springs.
Naive, untested, but keen to make a difference, he is plunged headlong into America's surreal battle against its enemies in the Middle East – a battle fought at a distance of 7,000 miles from a city where nothing is real.
As geographic and political boundaries blur, Daniel enters into an unlikely romance with a professional poker player, Ania. But when the hunt for an Al Qaeda master-mind ramps up in the skies over Peshawar, and American pilots begin to die in the suburbs of Las Vegas, events take a devastating turn.
A novel of a new kind of war, of love and connection in the modern age, Midnight Empire is a powerful thriller that takes us to the troubling epicentre of a foreshortening world. It is a taut and at times terrifying vision of a world without frontiers, a novel about dangerous new realities and how they threaten to transform us.
Naive, untested, but keen to make a difference, he is plunged headlong into America's surreal battle against its enemies in the Middle East – a battle fought at a distance of 7,000 miles from a city where nothing is real.
As geographic and political boundaries blur, Daniel enters into an unlikely romance with a professional poker player, Ania. But when the hunt for an Al Qaeda master-mind ramps up in the skies over Peshawar, and American pilots begin to die in the suburbs of Las Vegas, events take a devastating turn.
A novel of a new kind of war, of love and connection in the modern age, Midnight Empire is a powerful thriller that takes us to the troubling epicentre of a foreshortening world. It is a taut and at times terrifying vision of a world without frontiers, a novel about dangerous new realities and how they threaten to transform us.
248 pages, Paperback
First published August 22, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 17, 2019
Maybe it was just my mood, but I couldn't get into this book, and I gave up after four chapters. I couldn't work out the plot line. What is this book about? There seemed to be nothing driving the story. Was it Las Vegas? Was it technology? Was it Daniel's personal problems? None seemed particularly engaging. It just felt like the book was still in first draft form and in need of some more work on the plot.
November 22, 2024
I wanted more character development in this book. The plot was far-fetched and didn't hold much interest for me.
April 21, 2014
I downloaded this because of a interesting serendipitous blog posting/search and always like to take a chance with Aussie authors. I was intrigued by the couple of comparisons with Don Dellilo, who's books have always entangled me, good and bad. I did get a slight sense of a Dellilo tone but with none of the weighty ambiguousness that I always get from DD writings.
The story is postmodern-engaging from the beginning and is structured to loop back round on itself but the strength of characterisation in the opening was jarring. When the story of the main protagonist starts, it's as if I missed a gear somewhere and there is a long slow grinding to get back into rhythm again.
This is a story about an Australian programmer who is sent to dvelop/support cutting edge technology on a US drone base outside Las Vegas.
Once installed in the base and getting caught up in the technicalities of the drone missions into Afghanistan the language has a suitable distant voyeuristic quality to it, which fits well with the idea of the disengagement of operators vs actualities of warfare. Unfortunately that tone never seems to lift, even as the personal story starts to get complicated. Perhaps that was the point but it left me unsatisfied with an ending that seemed obvious to all but the main character. The strange digression into gambling and the almost annoying card hands might have been some great game of code but again, removed me from the protagonists story. Perhaps as if I was sitting at home, watching this guy, navigate, then crash and burn, from my state-sponsored monitor, and when my shift is over I flick the switch and go home to family. 2 Star review definitely - It was OK.
The story is postmodern-engaging from the beginning and is structured to loop back round on itself but the strength of characterisation in the opening was jarring. When the story of the main protagonist starts, it's as if I missed a gear somewhere and there is a long slow grinding to get back into rhythm again.
This is a story about an Australian programmer who is sent to dvelop/support cutting edge technology on a US drone base outside Las Vegas.
Once installed in the base and getting caught up in the technicalities of the drone missions into Afghanistan the language has a suitable distant voyeuristic quality to it, which fits well with the idea of the disengagement of operators vs actualities of warfare. Unfortunately that tone never seems to lift, even as the personal story starts to get complicated. Perhaps that was the point but it left me unsatisfied with an ending that seemed obvious to all but the main character. The strange digression into gambling and the almost annoying card hands might have been some great game of code but again, removed me from the protagonists story. Perhaps as if I was sitting at home, watching this guy, navigate, then crash and burn, from my state-sponsored monitor, and when my shift is over I flick the switch and go home to family. 2 Star review definitely - It was OK.
December 10, 2013
Daniel Carter is a young programmer, employed by a hight-tech company located in Canberra, Australia. I used to live in Canberra and work in IT so I thought this book might be interesting. Certainly, local reviews were positive. Daniel's employer has software that is vital to the US Government's drone program in Afghanistan. Daniel goes across to the US (a secret base near Las Vegas) to support his employer's software.
The action is quite slow and not that interesting and perhaps because of this Daniel gets involved in gambling in the nearby casinos. From here its all down-hill.
The plot and may appeal to those with an interest in tech, IT and military gadgets but the gambling sub-plot just seemed unbelievable for somebody like Daniel Carter.
I wanted to like this book but found it unsatisfactory.
Regards,
Peter
The action is quite slow and not that interesting and perhaps because of this Daniel gets involved in gambling in the nearby casinos. From here its all down-hill.
The plot and may appeal to those with an interest in tech, IT and military gadgets but the gambling sub-plot just seemed unbelievable for somebody like Daniel Carter.
I wanted to like this book but found it unsatisfactory.
Regards,
Peter
November 14, 2012
This is Croome's second published novel after 'Document Z' which I also enjoyed. He's developing well in the politico/thriller genre.
The book takes an interesting imaginative leap into the new world war machine where killing is done remotely away from the theatre of war; in this case in a military bunker in Las Vegas from where drones are directed into Afghanistan. The novel explores the personal psychological and relationship consequesces of this weird remoteness while it plots a thrilling story of revenge and fear in the gambling dens of LA and elsewhere.
The book takes an interesting imaginative leap into the new world war machine where killing is done remotely away from the theatre of war; in this case in a military bunker in Las Vegas from where drones are directed into Afghanistan. The novel explores the personal psychological and relationship consequesces of this weird remoteness while it plots a thrilling story of revenge and fear in the gambling dens of LA and elsewhere.
April 29, 2015
Midnight empire has been the best fiction book I have read. It is a good book I think that you will like it to. It is about a young Aussie named Daniel carter, he has made his way to los angles. He meets a really good poker player that he falls in love more than his girl friend savannah. I like this book because it has been the best fiction book I have read, because at some parts you can make a good picture in your head. This is an amazing book you have a try. He has also wrote the book do document z.
November 4, 2012
This is a gripping thriller from a young Australian writer. Daniel Carter, a software engineer moves to the US to start writing encryption software for the US drone program. There's a strong and effective linking of an ever-present sense of personal menace with the global consequences of the work he is involved in. I particularly liked the bleakly ironic ending.
The passages about playing poker in Europe are a little tedious, though.
The passages about playing poker in Europe are a little tedious, though.
November 13, 2012
An intricate and disturbing spy thriller in which its main characters exist in a technological void that evetually collides with reality. Well worth reading.
September 20, 2012
great book
February 2, 2013
This book was gripping and scarily plausible. Clever, well written and a little bit spooky.
Want to read
March 18, 2013Putting this on the backburner for now. Spy fiction is not what I'm in the mood for just now.
April 23, 2013
An original perspective on the effect of drones and how it changes the notion of warfare and it's all wrapped up in a fiction thriller.
May 2, 2013
Gripping read with a chilling message.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews