Танцуващият с духове

by John Case, Джон Кейс, Милена Илиева (Translator)

Журналистът Майк Бърк документира ада на войната по света, докато хеликоптерът му не се разбива в пламъци в Африка. Години по-късно Бърк губи жената, която обича, както и вкуса към риска. Докато на пътя му не се изпречва зъл гений.

Отвъд океана друг мъж, Джак Уилсън, напуска затвора с единствената мисъл за отмъщение. Също като Бърк и той е изгубил нещо голямо и крои планове... за Апокалипсис. Въоръжен с тайните дневници на Никола Тесла, най-великият изобретател след Леонардо да Винчи, Уилсън разработва зловещ план да върне Америка и света в Средновековието.

Задействана е пусната верижна реакция и Бърк е единственият, който може да спре Уилсън, но преди това трябва да го открие. Започва преследване из целия свят. Бърк има противник, който не знае що е страх, а времето му изтича...

Genres: Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Adventure, Mystery, Crime, Novels

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Writing as 'John Case,' Jim and Carolyn Hougan are The New York Times best-selling authors of The Genesis Code and five other thrillers.
An award-winning investigative reporter, Jim is the author of The Magdalene Cipher, a novel of conspiracy, and two non-fiction books about the CIA: Spooks and Secret Agenda.
Carolyn is the author of four novels, including The Romeo Flag.

The name John Case is actually that of Carolyn's grandfather ( John F Case), a journalist and author of Tom of Peace Valley (Boy Knight of Agriculture).

Reviews

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read several books by the collaboration known as John Case, but this is the first for a while, and I found it to be one of their weaker efforts. As usual, there is a conspiracy featuring advanced technology and mad dashing around the world by the central characters. I think my problem here was that the central protagonist is actually the bad guy, and spending most of the book seeing his POV was draining, as he is a seriously cold-hearted villain, and we are only made to feel any sympathy for him towards the end, by which time it is too late.

Jack Wilson, recently released from ten years in a Super-Max prison, has a plan to get revenge on the world. To put his scheme into action, he must negotiate with terrorists on three continents, travelling to highly dangerous places, risking his life for his cause, but why is he so interested in a long-dead Serbian scientist...?

There was a hero here, Michael, an American photojournalist mourning the death of his Irish wife, but we are only introduced to him briefly early on, then it is fully halfway through the book before he appears again. There are a LOT of other characters, each with a small part to play, but it meant the story felt rather disjointed. I did like the gradual release of information and discovering how each piece fit in to the puzzle, as well as the scientific and Indigenous American history details, but felt the book was also let down by a weak ending.

[Bettie · Rating 1 out of 5]

workaday mp3 that looks pretty dodgy but I'll give it a go. Unabridged.

blurb - Photojournalist Mike Burke carried his camera into every war zone and hellhole on earth - and came back with the pictures (and battle scars) to prove it. He was flying high until, quite suddenly, he wasn’t. When Burke’s helicopter crashed and burned in Africa, he came away with his life but lost his heart to the beautiful woman who saved him. That’s when he decided it was time to stop dancing with the devil. But a wicked twist of fate puts an end to Burke’s dreams, leaving him adrift in Dublin with bittersweet memories . . . and no appetite for danger. But neither danger - nor the devil - is done with him yet. An ocean away, Jack Wilson leaves prison burning for revenge. Like Mike Burke, Jack has had something taken from him. And he, too, dreams of starting life over. Only Jack’s dream is the rest of the world’s nightmare. Driven by his obsession with a Native American visionary, and guided by the secret notebooks of Nikola Tesla, the man who is said to have “invented the twentieth century,” Wilson dreams of the Apocalypse - and plans to make it happen. As a terrifying worldwide chain reaction is set in motion, one thing stands between Jack Wilson and the time of reckoning he is calling forth: Mike Burke. With nothing left to lose, and little understanding of precisely whom and what he’s facing, Burke risks everything, one last time, in a battle of wits with an enemy who knows no fear . . . and shows no mercy. Adult Fiction.

Nah, NEXT!!

TBR Busting 2013

2* The Genesis Code
3* The First Horseman
1* The Murder Artist
1* The Syndrome
AB Ghost Dancer

[Alexandra Rolo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Já li um livro este ano!

Ok na verdade este vinha já de 2017 e foi a minha companhia no autocarro durante algumas manhãs.

A Dança Fantasma leva-nos a um misto de fantasia e ciência numa corrida contra o tempo, contra tudo e contra todos. Confesso que li o livro por pura teimosia. O autor pode ser excelente mas a história era aborrecida e só quase no final é que consegui ficar interessada porque... estava a torcer pelo "vilão".

Seguimos ao mesmo tempo o mau, o gajo que investiga o caso e o tipo que é apanhado no meio daquilo tudo e é na verdade o único ser vivo útil ali.

Comprei este livro na Feira do Livro depois de ficar convencida com o que estava na contra capa mas infelizmente ficou muito além do prometido.

A parte boa é que já peguei noutro e agora estou cheia de vontade de o ler para ver se me livro do tédio causado por este autor.

in: www.folhaembranco.blogs.sapo.pt

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed other books by this author so was disappointed to find that the first half of this story is a bit boring (the usual terrorist post 911 plot) then there is an interesting patch if you like Tesla history but over all could be better

[Halalilodri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zum Glück konnte er die große Kanone nicht mehr einsetzen.

[Joren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The motivation behind the main characters' actions is pretty thin. Even so I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the earlier release of this book under another title and didn't enjoy it as much as his other books

[Bob Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engineer tries to destroy the world with an electrical impulse. Lawyer comes to the rescue. Could have been more suspenseful.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good plot and characters with lots of suspense.

[Donn Lorber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Complicated story that turns out to be very cool. Drugs, diamonds, and plot to destroy American infrastructure

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a mix this book is - history, science, warfare, love and loss. All the characters are so well written and the plot is incredible!

[Laura Raupe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aizraujoša, intensīva. Beigas negaidītas, aprautas.

[Steve Pillinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great! Well up to Case standard.

[Billy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Character Study / Mystery / Quasi-Thriller. Excellent!!!,

This book, the latest by John Case (aka the husband and wife writing team, Jim and Carolyn Hougan), is a little out of the ordinary compared to the previous 5 offerings. Only 1 of the 6 books by John Case has disappointed me (The Eighth Day; it was not nearly as good as the others). Their books are, or up to now have been, mystery/thriller/suspense type books with great stories based mainly in science or medicine.

This book is based in science, specifically, the facts and mysteries surrounding Tesla (no not the band), the Serbian inventor, electrical and mechanical engineer and physicist Nikola Tesla. Tesla created, discovered, pioneered and/or patented many wonderful engineering marvels, including alternating current A/C (as opposed to Edison's D/C) electric power and wireless communication. He also advanced the studies of nuclear and theoretical physics and ballistics. Basically, the man was a friggin' genius, the likes of which we don't see very often. Many scientists and researchers now refer to him as "the man who invented the twentieth century".

An ex-convict, Wilson, who is wildly intelligent, plans to use Tesla's notes to create a device that will bring about the end of the world as we know it; a device that will stop anything with moving parts, electrically powered, or computerized. He wants to knock the world back to the dark ages, and he has the brains, gets the money and has the capability to build the device.
A former photographer, Burke, who works for a company that forms companies is unknowingly involved in Wilson's plan for international terrorism. Due to a cruel twist of fate, Burke is the only person who can (or will) track down Wilson before the cataclysm occurs.

The plot is very busy and moves from subject to subject including post 9/11 terrorism, drug trade, weapons trade, diamond trade (like in the movie "Blood Diamond"), scalar waves (don't worry, I didn't understand either), resonant frequencies, and physics, very quickly.

There are many characters that come and go and come back again, throughout the story, but each adds to the plot; although I can imagine it might be a lot to keep up with if you don't read the book quickly, I can't imagine not enjoying the genius of the plot and the character development that went in to this complex story. Many characters, their personalities, their motivations, their secrets make this an in depth character study, and a great one at that.

To sum up, this is like nothing Case has done before, but it is an excellent read. The characters are all developed well and the connections between them laid out well. The plot, though busy, is very good but merely borders on suspense, I wouldn't say that this is a suspenseful read; I would classify it as a MYSTERY / CHARACTER STUDY with a bit of suspense. It is, in my humble opinion, the best book by John Case to date.

Overall, the book is excellent, obviously well researched and very entertaining. If you are a John Case fan, I am certain you will enjoy this. If you are looking for taut suspense, this is not like The Genesis Code, The First Horseman, or The Syndrome, but it is an excellent mystery.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: photojournalist Mike Burke went into all the hellholes – then his helicopter crashed in Africa. The devil isn’t done with him.

[Michael Matson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jack Wilson is mad as hell and plans to blow up large chunks of the planet. Why? Because he's been in prison? Because he's an outraged Indian? Because he's nuts? We don't know. In any case he needs money, a lot of money to destroy things. Naturally, he turns to a terrorist group. It's the thriller writer's contemporary solution. Luckily he finds a group of terrorists clueless enough to overpay him for running errands they could easily do themselves. Jack encounters a number of vicious scoundrels, runs his errands and collects his millions.
Now he begins to put his plan into effect. Why? Okay, the authors relent and finally on page 279 of the book give us some motivation.
Alas, too late for this reader. The co-authors do provide some interesting characters, including a self-satisfied prig of an FBI agent, the sort of government bully we all love to hate and a former photographer (American of course) who is hot on the trail of Wilson. But they also give us Wilson, a villain wandering through most of the book without apparent purpose.

[C.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghost Dancer, the latest thriller from John Case ranks among his very best and that's saying something.

As with Case's best work, the greatest strength here is in the concept. Knowing the author's background in the CIA, the concept is just plausible enough to make readers go "hmmmmmm." In addition, the sequences where terrorist-in-the-making Jack Wilson circles the globe to convert a big hash score into diamonds into perfectly laundered cash are fascinating and relevatory.

Unfortunately, although the novel is intricately plotted, shifting between the points of view of Wilson, his nemesis, photojournalist turned businessman Mike Burke and numerous law enforcement agents, the ending is rushed and less than 100% satisfying, a problem common to many of Case's books. But hey, Case isn't really about endings anyway. The author's work succeeds because its concpets are so darn interesting, never more so than here, which makes this a first-rate page turner.

[Charm · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and pensive thriller done once again by John Case. His characters maintain complexity as they are cast about in his ever twisting plot. He has clearly done his research (which most likely results from former professional background) but at times the plot becomes to spotty and jumpy.

The novel opens with the tragic love loss background of Mike Burke, which has minor impact on the remainder of the novel. The he goes through the intricate twistings of Jack Wilson's personal vendetta, sequences of terrorist related attacks post 9/11, and the manipulation of Tesla's physics for personal revenge- all weaving smartly together in the end. This novel seemed more dense with problematics than Case's previous novels (or maybe it's just been a while since I've read one :) ).

The one big disappointment I had with this book was the ending. I won't give it away, but are you kidding me? After all the momentum I wasn't expecting to be disappointed. Sorry John, try again.

[Farhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A scientist's invention that had the potential to drastically change the way modern gadgets work was usurped by the U. S. government in national interest. The scientist ended up behind bars when he tried to go ahead, anyway, and sell his invention regardless of the ban imposed by the government. Having lost his pride as well as his illustrious career, the scientist decides to punish everyone by destroying everything electronic in the world. A journalist mourning his wife's recent death takes it upon himself to track down the scientist when even the intelligence agencies fail to do so. The historical asides about native Americans and Tesla, the great Serb inventor, are entertaining, and the story moves along briskly, nevertheless, the book lacks the immediacy and humanity of Case's previous novel 'The Murder Artist.' A good novel to have for the beach or the airport's waiting lounge.

[Iliyana]

Ходещо напомняне, че „нещата се разпадат, а центърът не издържа на напрежението“.

****************

Желанията са странно нещо, помисли си той и придърпа пешовете на палтото си. Първо, винаги са в ограничена наличност. Никой няма хиляда желания, да речем. В приказките ти се полага само едно, освен ако не си истински късметлия — тогава получаваш право на три. Така или иначе, не бива да се прахосват. Не ги хабиш за нещо, което можеш да получиш и сам — като билети за мач на „Лейкърс“ например — или което можеш да направиш сам. Като да прецакаш Коваленко например.
Желанията не са и молитви също така. Молиш се за възможности, обикновено крайно невероятни. (Мили Боже, нека тя оздравее.)
Желанията са за изгубени каузи, за истински чудеса.

[Bruce Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio book read by Dick Hill: well-crafted thriller and one of Dick Hill's best narrations. For example, there was the requisite lecture on physics in the middle to explain the science behind the device, usually boring and endless in most thrillers. Hill transforms the scene into a hilarious conversation exacerbated by the alcohol they consume. It's a ridiculous plot, of course, but the plotting is understated and careful, and the characters and their situations are believable and enlightening. Plus, a satisfying ending.

[Donald · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked parts of this one; like the stuff about Nikola Tesla doled out in broken English, and the actual “thriller” parts. I also thought the narrator, Dick Hill, did a wonderful job bringing this one to life.

But the story seemed choppy and underdeveloped, containing too much stuff to stay focused on the prize. It came across as a mixed bag of ideas, like one of those add-a-line stories.

Good enough as an audiobook to pass the commute and keep me from breaking seventy-five.

[Donna Mcnab · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Photojournalist Mike Burke's Irish wife dies, he remains in Ireland working with his father-in-law. Because of this business, which sets up off shore bank accounts, he becomes involved in the hunt for one of his customers. Back in America, that customer, the brilliant Jack Wilson, who has been unfairly imprisoned, gets out of prison seeking revenge through a machine originally invented by Tesla. This results in a an absorbing story.

[Charleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a while for me to get into this story. I could have used a little more from the protagonist's perspective; he's a pretty peripheral character for a good chunk of the book. But, once we start getting to the meat of the story, it does pick up. And I read the last third or so of the book in one sitting. Overall it was entertaining, though definitely not Case's best work.

[David Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thriller hardly describes this nail biting, absolutely contemporary and on the edge of your seats novel. Case weaves a complex web of clues and characters wasting few words, and making it nearly impossible to put the book down. This is a must read!

[corneliuscz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started really slowly and it proceeded this way to 2/3 of the book and then the story built up a speed and ended. Too many boring parts at the beginning that could have been reduced in favour of last quarter.

[Walt · Rating 3 out of 5]

FUSING SCIENTIFIC AND HISTORICLA FACTS INTO A CORE OF GRIPPING SUSPENSE

[Edb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book about a weapon created using Tesla's research. Also kinda scary to think that someone could possibly use it in this way.

[Isis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, as thrillers go.

[:) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really enjoying this book, then I got to the end and it sort of fizzled. Overall, it was a good book but not stunning.