Hypersonic: A Short Story of Strategic Challenge

by Tom Maddox

The unthinkable has happened. In the dead of night, a hypersonic missile streaks across the Arctic, too fast to track, too unpredictable to stop. As alarms blare from Pearl Harbor to Alaska to NORAD, a small group of watch officers—an enlisted airman in Hawaii, a Space Force captain in Alaska, and a seasoned NORAD colonel—must piece together the a direct attack on American soil.

As missile defenses scramble to respond, experimental laser weapons flicker to life, and countermeasures launch in desperation, one grim reality becomes clear—nothing can stop what’s coming. The target is strategic enough to demand retaliation, but not catastrophic enough to trigger all-out nuclear war. With minutes until impact, the world watches in horror as a new era of warfare begins.

Hypersonic is a gripping, pulse-pounding thriller written in the spirit of Tom Clancy—packed with real-world military strategy, cutting-edge technology, and a terrifyingly plausible scenario. If you love high-stakes geopolitical thrillers, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and hard-hitting military action, this short story is a must-read.

24 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 7, 2025

About the author

In the 1990's, Maddox was a professor of literary studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.