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The Shadows of Power
Lieutenant Ed Stovic, an F/A-18 pilot, is vectored to intercept Algerians who are defending their newly claimed two-hundred-mile territorial limit. During a dramatic, high-stakes dogfight, the Algerians open fire and Stovic shoots down one of the Algerians' MiGs, its pilot tumbling to a fiery death in the Mediterranean. Stovic is hailed as a hero, and he sees this as the perfect moment to help him achieve his life-long dream -- flying with the world-famous Blue Angels, the Navy's elite flight demonstration team.
Ismael Nezzar, the brother of the deceased Algerian pilot, is in the U.S. on a student visa. He sees the boastful Stovic on the Today show and is enraged by his glibness. While attending his brother's funeral -- the biggest event in Algeria in a decade -- Ismael is coerced by a group of Islamic radicals to seek revenge for his brother's death. Though he withdrew from the powerful group years before, Ismael is filled with fury and will stop at nothing to destroy Stovic.
Unknown to either of these two men, Kent Rathman has been assigned by a highly placed government official to watch them. Working in the shadows, Rat moves easily among government agencies and is ordered by his White House contacts -- including the President and the NSA director, who has plans to bring about a change of power on her own -- to stop the Algerian. To save his country and his friend, Rat must devise a brilliant counterstrike -- a mission in which failure means certain death.
Packed with deadly intrigue, Beltway power plays, and high-flying adventure, The Shadows of Power is Huston's most exciting novel yet. Combining his knowledge of how things work in Washington with his expertise on military hardware, Huston has written an electrifyingly realistic tale of international terrorism and American triumph.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published June 4, 2002
31 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
James W. Huston
11 books107 followersIn addition to being the author of Falcon Seven, Marine One, Secret Justice, Shadows of Power, Fallout, Flash Point, The Price of Power and Balance of Power, I am a partner in the international law firm of Morrison & Foerster, and head of the Trial Practice Group, and a former Navy Flight Officer in F-14s.
I grew up in West Lafayette, Indiana, and attended the University of South Carolina on a Navy ROTC scholarship, majoring in history, with a minor in English. During my senior summer, I did an exchange cruise with the French Navy on a destroyer, the EE Kersaint out of Brest (which was a wonderful experience and reinforced my decision to go into the Navy), and then attended the University of Warwick in England, to study English Reformation history and English literature.
After college, I received my Navy wings as a Naval Flight Officer and after F-14 training in San Diego, was assigned to VF-84, the Jolly Rogers, on the USS Nimitz. While in VF-84, I participated in making the movie, The Final Countdown, starring Kirk Douglas, Katherine Ross, and Martin Sheen. The filming for the movie was done in several places, but most of the flying was done out of Naval Air Station Key West, Florida. The entire movie crew was in Key West, and we would review the dailies (yesterday's filming) every night. I was asked to help direct a couple of scenes—the blowing up of the yacht by the Zeros, and the F-14 low-level flyby over Katherine Ross—as well as filming several other scenes with a Panavision camera in the back seat of the F-14. The DVD version of The Final Countdown was recently released. The producers pulled together the Jolly Rogers guys who did the flying, to create and "behind-the-scenes" bonus cut.
I did two Mediterranean cruises while in the Jolly Rogers, and other shorter cruises to the Caribbean and the North Atlantic. I was selected to attend TOPGUN and graduated before my second cruise.
After six years in the Navy, I left active duty in 1981 to attend the University of Virginia School of Law. After graduation, I joined the San Diego-based law firm, Gray Cary Ames & Frye, and began flying in the Navy Reserves. After a few years in the Reserves, I transferred from flying to Naval Intelligence. Naval intelligence was quite interesting and allowed me access to top secret information about world affairs and military developments. I was on active duty at JICPAC, the Joint Intelligence Center, Pacific Fleet, in Pearl Harbor, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, leading to Desert Storm. I got to see a lot about what happened behind the scenes in an event like that, and how much of importance never makes it to the press.
My writing career started in the form of op-eds for the Escondido Times Advocate and the San Diego Union-Tribune, covering current affairs topics. After numerous editorials, I decided to try fiction. Neither my first novel nor my second were accepted for publication. I went through several hundred rejection letters, and labored almost every night for five years before I had any hope of getting published. I've gone back and looked at those books since, and I could make them publishable now, but they weren't very good back then.
My third novel was different. It combined many areas of my personal experience into one story—military action, political intrigue, and Constitutional Law. I found a clause in the U.S. Constitution that hadn't been used since 1812, and asked the simple question: "What if it was used today? What would happen?"
The first published novel, Balance of Power (William Morrow, 1998), was optioned by Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney. The novel was adapted into a screenplay by Mark Baumbach, but was never made into a film.
Five more novels followed in the next five years—The Price of Power (William Morrow, 1999), Flash Point (William Morrow, 2000), Fallout (William Morrow, 2001), The Shadows of Power (William Morrow, 2002), and Secret Justice (William Morrow, 2003).
I grew up in West Lafayette, Indiana, and attended the University of South Carolina on a Navy ROTC scholarship, majoring in history, with a minor in English. During my senior summer, I did an exchange cruise with the French Navy on a destroyer, the EE Kersaint out of Brest (which was a wonderful experience and reinforced my decision to go into the Navy), and then attended the University of Warwick in England, to study English Reformation history and English literature.
After college, I received my Navy wings as a Naval Flight Officer and after F-14 training in San Diego, was assigned to VF-84, the Jolly Rogers, on the USS Nimitz. While in VF-84, I participated in making the movie, The Final Countdown, starring Kirk Douglas, Katherine Ross, and Martin Sheen. The filming for the movie was done in several places, but most of the flying was done out of Naval Air Station Key West, Florida. The entire movie crew was in Key West, and we would review the dailies (yesterday's filming) every night. I was asked to help direct a couple of scenes—the blowing up of the yacht by the Zeros, and the F-14 low-level flyby over Katherine Ross—as well as filming several other scenes with a Panavision camera in the back seat of the F-14. The DVD version of The Final Countdown was recently released. The producers pulled together the Jolly Rogers guys who did the flying, to create and "behind-the-scenes" bonus cut.
I did two Mediterranean cruises while in the Jolly Rogers, and other shorter cruises to the Caribbean and the North Atlantic. I was selected to attend TOPGUN and graduated before my second cruise.
After six years in the Navy, I left active duty in 1981 to attend the University of Virginia School of Law. After graduation, I joined the San Diego-based law firm, Gray Cary Ames & Frye, and began flying in the Navy Reserves. After a few years in the Reserves, I transferred from flying to Naval Intelligence. Naval intelligence was quite interesting and allowed me access to top secret information about world affairs and military developments. I was on active duty at JICPAC, the Joint Intelligence Center, Pacific Fleet, in Pearl Harbor, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, leading to Desert Storm. I got to see a lot about what happened behind the scenes in an event like that, and how much of importance never makes it to the press.
My writing career started in the form of op-eds for the Escondido Times Advocate and the San Diego Union-Tribune, covering current affairs topics. After numerous editorials, I decided to try fiction. Neither my first novel nor my second were accepted for publication. I went through several hundred rejection letters, and labored almost every night for five years before I had any hope of getting published. I've gone back and looked at those books since, and I could make them publishable now, but they weren't very good back then.
My third novel was different. It combined many areas of my personal experience into one story—military action, political intrigue, and Constitutional Law. I found a clause in the U.S. Constitution that hadn't been used since 1812, and asked the simple question: "What if it was used today? What would happen?"
The first published novel, Balance of Power (William Morrow, 1998), was optioned by Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney. The novel was adapted into a screenplay by Mark Baumbach, but was never made into a film.
Five more novels followed in the next five years—The Price of Power (William Morrow, 1999), Flash Point (William Morrow, 2000), Fallout (William Morrow, 2001), The Shadows of Power (William Morrow, 2002), and Secret Justice (William Morrow, 2003).
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 11, 2019
Not quite gun porn, but close. Still a fun action romp with some good scenes about the Blue Angels & what they mean to our nation. Rat & company are a bit too good to be true, but the action is fast paced & the ending is satisfying. Well narrated. I won't be in a hurry to read more by this author, though. More of a 2.5.
February 19, 2017
This is the first book I've read by this author. I might try the second in the series, centered on Kent Rathman [Rat], a former Navy SEAL and counter-terrorism specialist.
I have no idea why I requested this one from the library, but I'm glad I read it. Although written in 2002, it reads as a contemporary situation in 2017.
The target of the planned terrorist attack is the Blue Angels, and there are some real ethical questions and character issues. Long-distance war is contrasted with hand-to-hand combat, very effectively.
I have no idea why I requested this one from the library, but I'm glad I read it. Although written in 2002, it reads as a contemporary situation in 2017.
The target of the planned terrorist attack is the Blue Angels, and there are some real ethical questions and character issues. Long-distance war is contrasted with hand-to-hand combat, very effectively.
July 3, 2020
I was surprised I really loved this book and author. 💕
The cops wouldn’t let me have any entertainment for days in pre- court detention holocaust when Lexus stole my car on a bribe!
I was grateful for something- normally hate military books- but this was a smart read.
They screened and it was only option! Lol
I have great respect for Navy Seals because a favorite brother survived into 40’s until HP suicided him.
He was a noble guy and I always worry about my favorite brave authors!
Grateful to find another Socal genius to fan girl as an author and follow in a new genre with enough refinement for my constitution! 💕🕊♾
Well researched novel and I loved that he had compassion for the tortured middle eastern terrorist too; makes you empathize how it could happen to anyone with a broken heart and a relative murdered- good warning to courts for covid grace abusing our civilians and army brats.
God bless you soldier! There’s a few old good ones! 🗽💕♾
#vets #authors #wisdom #nita #nitya #rainbowsintime #synchronicity #gratefulforthementhatdefendus #forwards #memories #words #comforts #divorcecourtcustodyhell #soldiers #trojans #ifonlymoregoodguys #attys
The cops wouldn’t let me have any entertainment for days in pre- court detention holocaust when Lexus stole my car on a bribe!
I was grateful for something- normally hate military books- but this was a smart read.
They screened and it was only option! Lol
I have great respect for Navy Seals because a favorite brother survived into 40’s until HP suicided him.
He was a noble guy and I always worry about my favorite brave authors!
Grateful to find another Socal genius to fan girl as an author and follow in a new genre with enough refinement for my constitution! 💕🕊♾
Well researched novel and I loved that he had compassion for the tortured middle eastern terrorist too; makes you empathize how it could happen to anyone with a broken heart and a relative murdered- good warning to courts for covid grace abusing our civilians and army brats.
God bless you soldier! There’s a few old good ones! 🗽💕♾
#vets #authors #wisdom #nita #nitya #rainbowsintime #synchronicity #gratefulforthementhatdefendus #forwards #memories #words #comforts #divorcecourtcustodyhell #soldiers #trojans #ifonlymoregoodguys #attys
November 14, 2024
Enjoyed the story. This book purports to be #1 of several about Rathman, but is more about one of the Blue Angels. It contains multiple characters on both sides and they're not easily separated on an audio book. Assertion that the USN would delete the "Blues" just to obtain another weapon system is absurd. Fast paced action.
March 20, 2018
Another well written book
Enjoyed the story with excellent
Portrayal of middle East ability to wage war against U.S. military. Author understand s the mindset of person needing revenge
Enjoyed the story with excellent
Portrayal of middle East ability to wage war against U.S. military. Author understand s the mindset of person needing revenge
August 8, 2018
One of his best!
April 18, 2019
Really like it - waiting to obtain the second in the series.
October 9, 2022
Absurd plot.
May 3, 2010
Good book along the lines of Vince Flynn's "Memorial Day", or a Tom Clancy thriller. Change the name of the offended Muslim extremist, change the name of the U.S. Special Forces hero, change the U.S. target to be struck, throw in a interferring U.S. bureaucrat, and you pretty much get the idea. In this Huston book, the target are the Navy's Blue Angels, and the weapon of choice is the shoulder fired missle.
August 30, 2015
#1 in the "Rat" Rathman series.
"Rat" Rathman series - Navy pilot shoots down an Algerian MIG over the Med. After the pilot becomes a Blue Angel, the Algerian's brother seeks revenge by planning to shoot down the American while the Blue Angels are performing at the Paris Air Show. Lt. Kent "Rat" Rathman is assigned to the Blue Angels to foil the plot.
"Rat" Rathman series - Navy pilot shoots down an Algerian MIG over the Med. After the pilot becomes a Blue Angel, the Algerian's brother seeks revenge by planning to shoot down the American while the Blue Angels are performing at the Paris Air Show. Lt. Kent "Rat" Rathman is assigned to the Blue Angels to foil the plot.
July 17, 2011
Loved the action and adventure and loved that there wasn't any romantic scenes to make one blush :). I found Ed likeable and loved the Blue Angels.
August 2, 2011
Was a great book! Excellent mix of military, political and lawyer work all in one fast paced book!
December 7, 2013
Another great read from James Huston.
January 15, 2015
I enjoyed this book quite a bit.The story had a good pace and the characters were believable.Never so much action that it became stupid; just the right amount.
December 12, 2015
This book was on a list of books that I read before 2005. So, I am adding it to my read books on GoodReads.
December 17, 2012
A good fast action paced read, highly enjoyable.
June 28, 2013
It was ok. Nothing that rocked my world. Felt, for some reason, that it could have been shorter.
March 18, 2014
Great story and good details on Blue Angel routines.
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July 19, 2017..
June 23, 2018
Shadows of Power is among many in the "Techno-Thriller" genre we've come to associate with names like Tom Clancy, Larry Bond and Harold Coyle. It gives the reader a mix of action, suspense and everything in between your expecting out of such a book, and it delivers in spades when it comes to these topics.
Ed Winters is a Navy F/A-18 pilot, stationed aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, when he and his wing-man are caught up in an aerial confrontation with Algerian MiG fighters, he shoots one down, becoming a National hero overnight and manages to use it to jump into a spot in the Blue Angels (The USN's flying show team) but when the brother of the pilot he killed vows his revenge, its up to Doug "Rat" Ratman at the behest of his government masters to keep Winters and the Blue Angels out of harms way...
Ed Winters is a Navy F/A-18 pilot, stationed aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, when he and his wing-man are caught up in an aerial confrontation with Algerian MiG fighters, he shoots one down, becoming a National hero overnight and manages to use it to jump into a spot in the Blue Angels (The USN's flying show team) but when the brother of the pilot he killed vows his revenge, its up to Doug "Rat" Ratman at the behest of his government masters to keep Winters and the Blue Angels out of harms way...
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews