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Ark Storm
The Ark Storm is coming—a catastrophic weather event that will unleash massive floods and wreak more damage on California than the feared "Big One." One man wants to profit from it. Another wants to harness it to wage jihad on American soil. One woman stands in their way: Dr. Gwen Boudain, a brave and brilliant meteorologist.
When Boudain notices that her climate readings are off the charts, she turns to Gabriel Messenger for research funding. Messenger's company is working on a program that ionizes water molecules to bring rain on command. Meanwhile, Wall Street suits notice that someone is placing six-month bets on the prospect of an utter apocalypse and begin to investigate. Standing in the shadows is journalist Dan Jacobsen, a former Navy SEAL. War hardened, cynical, and handsome, Jacobsen is a man with his own hidden agenda.
Linda Davies's Ark Storm brings together the worlds of finance, scientific innovation, and terrorism in a fast-paced thrill ride that will leave readers gasping.
When Boudain notices that her climate readings are off the charts, she turns to Gabriel Messenger for research funding. Messenger's company is working on a program that ionizes water molecules to bring rain on command. Meanwhile, Wall Street suits notice that someone is placing six-month bets on the prospect of an utter apocalypse and begin to investigate. Standing in the shadows is journalist Dan Jacobsen, a former Navy SEAL. War hardened, cynical, and handsome, Jacobsen is a man with his own hidden agenda.
Linda Davies's Ark Storm brings together the worlds of finance, scientific innovation, and terrorism in a fast-paced thrill ride that will leave readers gasping.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published August 19, 2014
8 people are currently reading
571 people want to read
About the author
Linda Davies
19 books83 followersWith the publication of her debut novel, Nest of Vipers, a book that would become a celebrated international bestseller, Linda Davies launched a new genre and a new career. But long before the global book deals and stellar reviews in the New York Times, Linda was logging 80 hour work weeks as one of the first women investment bankers in the City of London. At nights and weekends, she’d squeeze in time working on her first novel.
Born in Scotland and raised in South Wales, Linda inhaled books as child and dreamed of becoming a writer. But she was the daughter of an economist and a homemaker, and therefore, raised to be practical. So she went into investment banking instead. For the next eight years she worked in the City of London where she saved her running away money. One day, to her horror, she figured out a way to commit the perfect financial crime. After considering it for 3 seconds, she opted to instead write a novel about it.
18 months later, she decided to confront reality and test whether it really had been wise to give up her day job. She pitched her book to an agent... A week later he presented her with a stunning book deal that would see Nest of Vipers published in over 30 territories and optioned by MGM Studios. Since publishing Nest of Vipers, Linda Davies has gone on to publish twelve more books, seven for adults and five for children, which collectively have sold millions of copies and won various awards.
She has lived in Peru and the Middle East with her husband and three children. In 2005, in what could have been ripped from the pages of her own books, she and her husband were kidnapped, interrogated and held prisoner in Iran. She went on to write about this experience and what she learned from it in her first work of non-fiction, Kidnapped: The true story of my captivity in Iran.
Linda’s fast-paced page turners explore risk, identity, temptation and who we really are, when the things we value most have been taken away.
Born in Scotland and raised in South Wales, Linda inhaled books as child and dreamed of becoming a writer. But she was the daughter of an economist and a homemaker, and therefore, raised to be practical. So she went into investment banking instead. For the next eight years she worked in the City of London where she saved her running away money. One day, to her horror, she figured out a way to commit the perfect financial crime. After considering it for 3 seconds, she opted to instead write a novel about it.
18 months later, she decided to confront reality and test whether it really had been wise to give up her day job. She pitched her book to an agent... A week later he presented her with a stunning book deal that would see Nest of Vipers published in over 30 territories and optioned by MGM Studios. Since publishing Nest of Vipers, Linda Davies has gone on to publish twelve more books, seven for adults and five for children, which collectively have sold millions of copies and won various awards.
She has lived in Peru and the Middle East with her husband and three children. In 2005, in what could have been ripped from the pages of her own books, she and her husband were kidnapped, interrogated and held prisoner in Iran. She went on to write about this experience and what she learned from it in her first work of non-fiction, Kidnapped: The true story of my captivity in Iran.
Linda’s fast-paced page turners explore risk, identity, temptation and who we really are, when the things we value most have been taken away.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 18, 2014
Ark Storm isn't your average disaster book, where the focus is on the event and the horror it unleashes. The titular storm only occurs in, maybe, the last fifth of the book. Instead, the book is more of a thriller focused on the events leading up to the storm. These involve a confluence of activities and events that include suspicious car crashes, dead prostitutes, traumatized scientists, financial shenanigans, mysterious ex-military types, venture capitalists with a god complex, international terrorists hiding behind the mantel of wealth, and El Nino. Threading between all of these other factors is a scientific scenario that is, indeed, based in fact. Put it all together and you've got a whirlwind of a story that flows like an atmospheric river. (Yeah, I had to throw in some meteorological puns.)
And that flow is what may be one of Ark Storm's main flaws: Everything is too easy, and the conflicts seem to be resolved too quickly. The coincidences are too convenient (eg, a financial law enforcement task force happens to be investigating the same sleazeball getting tips from an aunt in California who knows more than she's supposed to). Not to mention that one of the most fantastical (as in not real, as opposed to gnomes and knights) elements of the novel is the ease with which various federal law enforcement agencies cooperate and partner to bring down the bad guys. There are no interagency pissing contests and no upper-level dick swinging. A once-in-a-millennium storm may be a longshot, but feds playing well together? Now that's some science fiction.
Still, Ark Storm is a fun read, and you'll learn something along the way.
And that flow is what may be one of Ark Storm's main flaws: Everything is too easy, and the conflicts seem to be resolved too quickly. The coincidences are too convenient (eg, a financial law enforcement task force happens to be investigating the same sleazeball getting tips from an aunt in California who knows more than she's supposed to). Not to mention that one of the most fantastical (as in not real, as opposed to gnomes and knights) elements of the novel is the ease with which various federal law enforcement agencies cooperate and partner to bring down the bad guys. There are no interagency pissing contests and no upper-level dick swinging. A once-in-a-millennium storm may be a longshot, but feds playing well together? Now that's some science fiction.
Still, Ark Storm is a fun read, and you'll learn something along the way.
August 29, 2014
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A book with an interesting premise (I thought it was fun reading about a superstorm and flood during a huge drought in the very area the book described) that is largely undercut by the cliched characters and storyline.
Mary Sue protagonist? Check.
Sensitive Special Forces Guy Boyfriend? Check.
And so on down the checklist. There is potential here, but really, this one contains so many cliches that I mentally checked out for a large portion of the book.
When the storm finally happens, the book picks up, but it's just too little, too late.
A book with an interesting premise (I thought it was fun reading about a superstorm and flood during a huge drought in the very area the book described) that is largely undercut by the cliched characters and storyline.
Mary Sue protagonist? Check.
Sensitive Special Forces Guy Boyfriend? Check.
And so on down the checklist. There is potential here, but really, this one contains so many cliches that I mentally checked out for a large portion of the book.
When the storm finally happens, the book picks up, but it's just too little, too late.
September 26, 2014
ARK STORM is a very exciting, fast-paced, scientific techno-thriller. This book was written in the perfect style for the story. There are 154 short chapters. The point of view and location changes with each one. This adds to the quick, fast-changing, movie-like feel of the book. The science of the weather patterns and potential disastrous events feel right on, like it really could happen. The financial profit-making that occurs in the story seems very likely, and the terrorist angle rings true. So all the story elements feel authentic. The writing is crisp and fairly tight. And there are enough engaging characters to tie it all together. All of this works quite well, and makes for a very entertaining, if somewhat frightening book.
The only gripe I have, and it’s a minor one, is that the description of the ARk Storms (Atmospheric River Storms) are repeated a bit too many times, using the same phrases, but I guess that Ms. Davies really wants to hammer home the scientific basis of her book.
I give ARK STORM 4 1/2 Stars out of 5, and a Big Thumbs Up! I recommend it to anyone who likes a good science based techno-thriller.
I received this book for free from the publisher, Forge Books, in return for an honest review.
The only gripe I have, and it’s a minor one, is that the description of the ARk Storms (Atmospheric River Storms) are repeated a bit too many times, using the same phrases, but I guess that Ms. Davies really wants to hammer home the scientific basis of her book.
I give ARK STORM 4 1/2 Stars out of 5, and a Big Thumbs Up! I recommend it to anyone who likes a good science based techno-thriller.
I received this book for free from the publisher, Forge Books, in return for an honest review.
July 24, 2025
Not what I expected
November 19, 2023
Ja, gewoon een prima boek.
January 29, 2015
Gwen Boudain has developed weather tracking software and has reached out to Gabriel Messenger for funding to help her software expand. But Gabriel has a creation of his own. He has used Gwen’s software to create rain or even prevent rain in selected areas. This has the potential to help out areas in need or the ability to be used for a weapon. And that is exactly what is happening.
Gwen has been followed and her weather software is about to be stolen by a man that wants to use it to destroy America. Gwen then teams up with ex-Navy Seal turned reporter Dan Jacobson to hunt down the terrorist and stop the destruction to come.
I really enjoy Gwen as a lead female character. She is well written as strong yet having trouble in her past that she is working over. The story is well written with the development as the main focus. You don’t even really get into the fear of the storm happening until later in the book. I love the science behind it that just made this even more believable.
There is so much going on in this story that you can’t put it down. I love how it was written and now I want to read more of Linda Davies stories. Make sure to put this one on your TBR list.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Gwen has been followed and her weather software is about to be stolen by a man that wants to use it to destroy America. Gwen then teams up with ex-Navy Seal turned reporter Dan Jacobson to hunt down the terrorist and stop the destruction to come.
I really enjoy Gwen as a lead female character. She is well written as strong yet having trouble in her past that she is working over. The story is well written with the development as the main focus. You don’t even really get into the fear of the storm happening until later in the book. I love the science behind it that just made this even more believable.
There is so much going on in this story that you can’t put it down. I love how it was written and now I want to read more of Linda Davies stories. Make sure to put this one on your TBR list.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
December 21, 2022
The new thriller Ark Storm is a fast moving and engaging tale of weather jihad, killer capitalists, and heroic scientists. Once a technology for amping up rainfall and storms is developed and falls into the hands of the bad guys, the heroic climatologist has to wade in and bring down the scheme to demolish California with an super-sized ArkStorm.
As it happens, I am the developer of the original detailed ARkStorm scenario, so I know the science of these things. The science of the storm and amping up is not always dead on (but then again this is not a science book, so that’s fine) but is certainly close enough. But the impacts of the storm are spectacularly well done! I have every intention of quoting some of Davies’ passages describing what a storm like this would do in California. We struggled in our own work and scientific world to be clear and believable about what such a storm would do to California. Davies as a professional fictionalist pulled out the stops and ended up with a more honest and believable result than we ever achieved in our scientific prose. All this, and a great thriller too!
As it happens, I am the developer of the original detailed ARkStorm scenario, so I know the science of these things. The science of the storm and amping up is not always dead on (but then again this is not a science book, so that’s fine) but is certainly close enough. But the impacts of the storm are spectacularly well done! I have every intention of quoting some of Davies’ passages describing what a storm like this would do in California. We struggled in our own work and scientific world to be clear and believable about what such a storm would do to California. Davies as a professional fictionalist pulled out the stops and ended up with a more honest and believable result than we ever achieved in our scientific prose. All this, and a great thriller too!
July 13, 2014
Linda Davies did it again. Linda keeps you enthralled from the beginning till the end while building the crescendo like a virtuoso. In all her books the female hero’s (thanks for portraying women in their most vulnerable and strong moments: they are indefinitely recognisable) have been through the hurdles of life. Scarred and scared but never giving up. Modern women facing and overcoming life. Linda does her research well and her stories are compelling and sound plausible. Her books left me with an awesome feeling. I have discovered her books by chance and was mesmerized by them. I loved the one about Peru , “Into the fire” (Linda’s book took me back to Machu Picchu, the most beautiful place on earth!) Her latest book, the Ark Storm kept me fascinated. What if…. Great innovative plot, packed with surprising moments that keep you wanting more…I ‘m addicted!
September 4, 2014
First off, thank you Tor for sending me a copy to review! Although this genre of novel is a bit out of my wheelhouse, change is always welcomed. While I was reading this I kept reminiscing about the film "day after tomorrow" which has somewhat similar weather related phenomena in it. I am a sucker for big event apocalyptic weather and this book did not disappoint. Weaponized weather devices and the like have seemingly come into more and more novels and films, and I thought Davies used the concept to full potential. As I have mentioned in previous reviews, romance aspects of novels always turn me a bit southward but I can move past that when a book is as good as this! I like an action packed, fast paced thriller any day of the week. Enjoyed the writing style and pace, and looking forward to diving into some more works from Davies! Worth checking out!
September 4, 2014
Excellent terrorism by weather!!! This is a really exciting thriller with lots of science included. I have family living in California so the premise is scary. A strong female main character leads this one with definite skills. The world of high finance and intrigue along beside the weather science is a new twist as well.A truly fun read, very entertaining.
January 3, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed this clever thriller in which weather is used as a weapon. Well located (on the Californian coast) and tense with strong characterisation (excellent heroine) and some intriguing twists, I'm sure this will be among my top thriller reads of the year.
September 4, 2014
The 'storm' was refreshing! I loved it. The first page-turned I've read in awhile. It kept me up nights. I couldn't put it down. The action was paced perfectly and the characters were real and believable. My new favourite thriller.
August 2, 2019
This book was like a frustrating cross between a cheap romance novel and a pulp science fiction novel, without achieving whatever payoff you'd expect from either of those genres. I could not finish it. And that's saying something.
August 11, 2014
Loved this book it was full of action.
The story sounds like something that could happen for real.Which makes it very scary and more interesting
The story sounds like something that could happen for real.Which makes it very scary and more interesting
October 20, 2014
Great book. Well researched, good action, good story ... . I particularly like the fact that the author has a professional background, and it showes.
September 3, 2015
Good idea. Little choppy. Storyline fell apart at the end.
November 19, 2017
What if? What if a billionaire terrorist has found a new way to wreak devastation on the United States?
And what if he and a few others could make millions while doing it by using insider information to cheat the market? They are going to create an ARk storm to wage jihad by weather and destroy a good part of California and it's economy while they're at it.
Enter beautiful surfer girl/meteorologist Gwen Bourdain and ex-Navy Seal/journalist Dan Jacobsen to figure out who the villains are and how to try to stop them.
The scary thing is there are such things as ARk storms and one hits every 100 to 200 years with walls of water 10 feet high and the rainfall being measured in feet instead of inches. Plus, it doesn't just rain for a day or two....it can go on for a month.
And what if he and a few others could make millions while doing it by using insider information to cheat the market? They are going to create an ARk storm to wage jihad by weather and destroy a good part of California and it's economy while they're at it.
Enter beautiful surfer girl/meteorologist Gwen Bourdain and ex-Navy Seal/journalist Dan Jacobsen to figure out who the villains are and how to try to stop them.
The scary thing is there are such things as ARk storms and one hits every 100 to 200 years with walls of water 10 feet high and the rainfall being measured in feet instead of inches. Plus, it doesn't just rain for a day or two....it can go on for a month.
July 1, 2025
Combination of science and action (including murders, financial malfeasance, and ecoterrorists deliberately causing massive atmospheric rivers to devastate an area).
The plot develops from different perspectives and locales: assorted main players, a counterterrorism center, the SEC, FBI, and assorted side players.
The plot develops from different perspectives and locales: assorted main players, a counterterrorism center, the SEC, FBI, and assorted side players.
October 25, 2025
The basic science in here on ARs was pretty good! Just a ridiculous, fun, read. Lots of really hot, successful, rich people living on cliffs next to the ocean, being incredibly in shape so they can survive things like falls from helicopters over the ocean in a storm. Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should, or whatever the jurassic park line is... also, even the supposedly "not so bad" guys are trying to predict things just so they can short markets and specifically do not want to warn people about a catastrophic storm. Side story about the main character's experience with her parents in south america, amazing. Finding the bad guy because he whistles REM, amazing. All together, fun & ridiculous.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2018
If you like science with you fiction, as well as a little bit of action, this is the book for you. The romance isn't even that cringey either!
November 21, 2025
Started off a little slow but I couldn’t put it down by the end. I really enjoyed it!
October 3, 2016
Gwen Boudin heeft een weermodel ontwikkeld om El Niño beter te voorspellen, en dan vooral de gevolgen van Californië, een ARK storm van de grootste schaal die weken, misschien wel maanden regen, wind, overstromingen, modderstromen, honger, doden gewonden en ontwrichting van de economie kan veroorzaken. Haar model vraagt nogal wat aan apparatuur en dat kost geld. Daarom gaat ze een contract aan met een investeerder. Die heeft uiteraard nog andere contacten en een ervan is met een sjeik die geïnteresseerd is in het opwekken van regenbuien. Hij heeft daarvoor iets ontwikkeld en vraagt Gwen om het nog te verbeteren. Wat ze ook doet.
Maar ze weet niet dat die man het model wil gebruiken om de storm die zij kan voorspellen, nog te verergeren. Zijn doel is de storm in te zetten als terroristische aanslag door Californië failliet te laten gaan, door speculatie anderen rijk te maken.
Verschillende interessante gegevens in dit boek. Om te beginnen de mogelijkheid om een storm van dat kaliber te voorspellen. Verder de mogelijkheid om het ergens te laten regenen, stel dat dat echt kan, dan is dat toch de aangewezen techniek voor droogtegebieden over heel de wereld. Dan stopt de klimaatmigratie want is er water genoeg voor iedereen.
Bovenstaande inzetten als terroristische aanslag, dat is nieuw, we kennen bommen en zelfmoordterroristen en vliegtuigen in gebouwen, maar dit, dit is nieuw en uniek.
Goed boek, heel vlot geschreven, korte hoofdstukken met enorme vaart.
Maar ze weet niet dat die man het model wil gebruiken om de storm die zij kan voorspellen, nog te verergeren. Zijn doel is de storm in te zetten als terroristische aanslag door Californië failliet te laten gaan, door speculatie anderen rijk te maken.
Verschillende interessante gegevens in dit boek. Om te beginnen de mogelijkheid om een storm van dat kaliber te voorspellen. Verder de mogelijkheid om het ergens te laten regenen, stel dat dat echt kan, dan is dat toch de aangewezen techniek voor droogtegebieden over heel de wereld. Dan stopt de klimaatmigratie want is er water genoeg voor iedereen.
Bovenstaande inzetten als terroristische aanslag, dat is nieuw, we kennen bommen en zelfmoordterroristen en vliegtuigen in gebouwen, maar dit, dit is nieuw en uniek.
Goed boek, heel vlot geschreven, korte hoofdstukken met enorme vaart.
March 27, 2014
Gwen Boudain is a meteorologist working on a program she calls Oracle that she���s hoping can predict catastrophic storms earlier than any other models. She wants to use this program to warn people of extreme weather coming their way and potentially save lives. In order to complete her project she needs funding. Billionaire Gabriel Messenger offers to fund Oracle in return for her expertise and help building a project that his company is working on. Gwen is initially skeptical of this program that they call Zeus until she witnesses it in person. Gabriel and his employees have discovered a way to create rain by ionizing water molecules in the atmosphere. Gabriel is intent on profiting from this system whereas Gwen wants to use it to help people.
As their work starts to attract unwanted attention Gwen meets Dan, a journalist and former Navy SEAL. Gwen and Dan soon find themselves in grave danger as they figure out that there���s another person who is interested in Zeus and wants to use it to create an Ark Storm which would devastate and destroy most of California. Racing against time and running for their lives, Gwen and Dan must discover who is behind this sinister plot before it���s too late.
This ecothriller was fast moving and filled with great characters. I very much enjoyed this book.
As their work starts to attract unwanted attention Gwen meets Dan, a journalist and former Navy SEAL. Gwen and Dan soon find themselves in grave danger as they figure out that there���s another person who is interested in Zeus and wants to use it to create an Ark Storm which would devastate and destroy most of California. Racing against time and running for their lives, Gwen and Dan must discover who is behind this sinister plot before it���s too late.
This ecothriller was fast moving and filled with great characters. I very much enjoyed this book.
October 25, 2014
Meteorologist Doctor Gwen Boudain has researched a method for predicting and controlling the Atmospheric River 1000, a naturally-occurring storm that periodically threatens California. Her boss intends to profit from her work by selling the research to a hostile nation along with a process that will allow those enemies to increase its effect, thereby creating a devastating torrential downpour.
What follows is a mile-a-minute, pulse-pounding thriller as Gwen, aided by Navy SEAL-turned newspaper reporter Dan Jacobsen, races to keep the ARk Storm from recreating the Biblical deluge.
Highly recommended.
What follows is a mile-a-minute, pulse-pounding thriller as Gwen, aided by Navy SEAL-turned newspaper reporter Dan Jacobsen, races to keep the ARk Storm from recreating the Biblical deluge.
Highly recommended.
November 24, 2014
We all learned the cycle of water when we were in grade school. The water is in the ocean. Warm air caused the water to turn into vapor and rise up in the atmosphere, where they become clouds. When the air chills enough, we get rain and the water eventually returns to the ocean. What we didn't learn is just how much water is in this cycle. We have invisible rivers in our upper atmosphere, called atmospheric rivers, which gives us the ARk in the title of this weather thriller. A jihadist plans to use drone technology to seeded a major storm, feed by these atmospheric rivers, to flush California into the ocean. This was a page turner.
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March 19, 2015This book was a very exciting book from the start to the finish. Gwen is a meteorologist who has invented a machine that could predicate when the next mega storm could happen. She was hired by a company that invented a machine that could make it rain called Zeus; add to that a terrorist that wants to use both machines to destroy southern California and a mega storm that does actually happen and you have a recipe for an exciting book.
November 10, 2014
One thing that drove me crazy about this book was the author's constant use of the word "reckon." This is more of a regional word, and I do not think it would be coming out of the mouth of Californians from all walks of life. "Guess" would be a good synonym, and that word would not call up visions of cowboys walking through dusty streets, saying, "I reckon you need some help, little lady."
March 25, 2015
What if a terrorist could control the weather? Create a storm of massive proportion that would decimate coastal California? A very quick read about a meteorologist and a journalist that set out to foil this terrorist plan.
July 4, 2015
Good plot, good character development, a little bit wacky premise but eventually believable. A little love & romance, good guys, bad guys, much adventure--all those things that make this type of read a good one for me.
August 18, 2014
Great Thriller about a major Hitting California!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews