Extreme Hazard

Thunderbirds FTL #5

by Joan Marie Verba

Gordon Tracy, aquanaut, weapons expert, and fun-loving fourth son of Jeff Tracy, learns of a missile that can destroy an International Rescue aircraft. While working on a way to defeat that, the team discovers an even greater menace: plans for a bomb that could destroy the Earth have been lost. Unless International Rescue finds those plans, they could fall into the hands of criminals, who could build such a device and use it for their own ends. Can International Rescue retrieve the plans and save the planet from certain destruction?

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 29, 2011

About the author

Joan Marie Verba earned a bachelor of physics degree from the University of Minnesota and attended the graduate school of astronomy at Indiana University, where she was an associate instructor of astronomy for one year. She has worked as a computer programmer, editor, publisher, health/weight loss coach, social media manager, and web developer. An experienced writer, she is the author of the nonfiction books Voyager: Exploring the Outer Planets and Boldly Writing, as well as the novels Countdown to Action, Action Alert, Deadly Danger, Situation: Critical, Extreme Hazard, Danger Zone, Defying the Ghosts, and Sword of Queens, plus numerous short stories and articles. She is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers.

Reviews

[The Bookseller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well quite surprised. This could be the best one so far. After reading the previous four in the series, you start to notice the reoccurring tropes of Joan Marie Verba's writing. Amazingly this novel did a good job of avoiding some of them. Plus the book had an actual story, instead of the usual format of story and multiple rescues which do not mix.

I still wouldn't say it is a good novel. The character voices are a bit off, Lady Penelope gets far too much screen time for a book about Gordon and scenes that could have led to tension are quickly diffused.