When a classified military convoy transporting nerve gas is hijacked in the Nevada desert by a group of Middle Eastern terrorists, Homeland Security investigator Matthew Drake is assigned to put the suspects under surveillance.
But when the gas is released inside a luxury high-rise hotel in an apparent attempt to assassinate the President, Drake realizes – too late – that the hijackers weren't terrorists, the convoy wasn't carrying nerve gas, and something is very wrong in Washington D.C.
Now mobs are rioting in the Bay Area and panic is spreading across California at a frightening speed, threatening to engulf the entire country.
On the run with disgraced CIA surveillance technician Gena Hahn, Drake struggles to contain a sinister plan to achieve total control over the human mind.
This techno thriller reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe 's Masque of the red death. A tale of a plague always seems to tell the same sort of stories? This a quite possible future.
PHASE FOUR is an intense thriller than lends itself towards the post-apocalyptic without reaching into the nether realms of the surreal.
Drake, a member of a covert government agency is embroiled in a conspiracy that has dire ramifications for mankind, only he doesn’t know it.
When a highly dangerous substance is high jacked from a suspicious convoy, Drake and his team are brought in to find those responsible. Thoughts of terrorists and chemical warfare are immediate yet the focus of the investigation leads Drake straight to the President of the United States at a function he’s attending in San Francisco. From there he’s to track down the head of the transportation company, presumed to have leaked details of the convoy to a known terrorist. Before long hell’s broken loose and reality shifts to the unreal.
PHASE FOUR is well paced and reads like a big budget action thriller. The characters are believable if not a little too conveniently placed at times and a tad bit stereotypical. Despite this, I found myself connecting with Drake and his adversaries – the others not so much.
The notion of a government wanting to change the world to serve a better purpose without delving deep into a whole new genre was smart. Author Garry Carson keeps the action full throttle while slowly drifting his characters towards his end game – one that I hope includes further exploration of the world post the events of PHASE FOUR.
It's the end of the World as we know it, a chilling story of what could happen if we continue to let scientists play with stuff that can kill us then let politicians decide our futures. This thriller was well written, fast paced with a nice twist but has the author got some fetish about Mars Lights! how many time does he mention them in this book.
Great story with all the government conspiracy angles covered. This book became very difficult to put down after about 30%. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
I don't tend to be a fan of the thriller / espionage genre and only picked this up by mistake - I was looking for a different Phase Four. Thoroughly enjoyed it though, especially the latter half as the pace intensified. Would highly recommend.