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Ray Bowman #2
Pinnacle Event
While in power, the South African apartheid regime made nuclear weapons. Later, they told the UN that the weapons were destroyed. But in fact the weapons were secretly stored by a white South African exile group. Now they have been refurbished and sold, but to whom?
American intelligence expert Ray Bowman is brought in to find out. With the help of a black, female South African intelligence officer, he races around the world to discover who bought the bombs and what they plan to do with them. Washington fears the bombs are intended for American cities, timed to explode before a presidential election that is just weeks away. What Bowman discovers is that the people who control the bombs intend to do something so devastating that it will make nuking a few U.S. cities look like a mild attack.
American intelligence expert Ray Bowman is brought in to find out. With the help of a black, female South African intelligence officer, he races around the world to discover who bought the bombs and what they plan to do with them. Washington fears the bombs are intended for American cities, timed to explode before a presidential election that is just weeks away. What Bowman discovers is that the people who control the bombs intend to do something so devastating that it will make nuking a few U.S. cities look like a mild attack.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2015
51 people are currently reading
644 people want to read
About the author
Richard A. Clarke
30 books234 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Richard Alan Clarke was a U.S. government employee for 30 years, 1973–2003. He worked for the State Department during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush appointed him to chair the Counter-terrorism Security Group and to a seat on the United States National Security Council. President Bill Clinton retained Clarke and in 1998 promoted him to be the National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism, the chief counter-terrorism adviser on the National Security Council. Under President George W. Bush, Clarke initially continued in the same position, but the position was no longer given cabinet-level access. He later became the Special Advisor to the President on cybersecurity, before leaving the Bush Administration in 2003.
Clarke came to widespread public attention for his role as counter-terrorism czar in the Clinton and Bush Administrations in March 2004, when he appeared on the 60 Minutes television news magazine, released his memoir about his service in government, Against All Enemies, and testified before the 9/11 Commission. In all three instances, Clarke was sharply critical of the Bush Administration's attitude toward counter-terrorism before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and of the decision to go to war with Iraq. Following Clarke's strong criticisms of the Bush Administration, Bush administration officials and other Republicans attempted to discredit him or rebut his criticisms, making Clarke a controversial figure.
Richard Alan Clarke was a U.S. government employee for 30 years, 1973–2003. He worked for the State Department during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush appointed him to chair the Counter-terrorism Security Group and to a seat on the United States National Security Council. President Bill Clinton retained Clarke and in 1998 promoted him to be the National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism, the chief counter-terrorism adviser on the National Security Council. Under President George W. Bush, Clarke initially continued in the same position, but the position was no longer given cabinet-level access. He later became the Special Advisor to the President on cybersecurity, before leaving the Bush Administration in 2003.
Clarke came to widespread public attention for his role as counter-terrorism czar in the Clinton and Bush Administrations in March 2004, when he appeared on the 60 Minutes television news magazine, released his memoir about his service in government, Against All Enemies, and testified before the 9/11 Commission. In all three instances, Clarke was sharply critical of the Bush Administration's attitude toward counter-terrorism before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and of the decision to go to war with Iraq. Following Clarke's strong criticisms of the Bush Administration, Bush administration officials and other Republicans attempted to discredit him or rebut his criticisms, making Clarke a controversial figure.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
May 31, 2015
Richard A. Clarke took to heart the old maxim, “Write what you know.” An advisor to three consecutive U.S. presidents, Clarke has penned several nonfiction books about intelligence operations, security policy and terrorism. Bottom line: when Clarke writes about these subjects, he knows whereof he speaks.
In his new global thriller Pinnacle Event, a secret nuclear test in the Indian Ocean alerts the American government that shadowy forces have purchased five nuclear weapons built in apartheid-era South Africa. With the 2016 elections just a couple weeks away, the President plucks out of retirement former intel operative Ray Bowman (who sensibly chucked this job at the end of Sting of the Drone, Clarke’s previous novel) to track down the nukes before they cause The End of the World As We Know It.
As you might expect, Clarke knows which intelligence agencies do what where, what their capabilities are, and how well they play with others. He’s aware of how spooky people (on all sides of the Spy-vs.-Spy game) can move around the world without having to shed their shoes for TSA. He knows intimately the history of South Africa’s nuclear weapons program and how the public story doesn’t align with real events. In that the story takes us to six of the seven continents, the author gets a lot of opportunity to show off this knowledge. Much of what happens feels just about like it could really happen… if it hasn’t already. This is the good stuff.
The bad? Clarke seems to have forgotten that in writing fiction, plot is only the start.
There are characters in this story, but precious few people. Their dialog is speechy, often stiff and largely interchangeable. They rarely display complex feelings or are significantly affected by anything happening around them. Aside from a couple stabs at giving them non-work lives, they’re largely free of anything that isn’t focused on the job.
This sensory deprivation extends to other areas. While we visit a large number of potentially interesting settings, their descriptions are spare to the point of starvation; don’t expect that you’ll know what any of these places look, sound or smell like by the end of the story. What action there is comes off as reportage rather than immersion. Clarke has set up a couple hellacious built-in ticking clocks and several scenes that ought to be nail-biters, but the remote and dispassionate writing sucks out all the tension.
I’d hoped that the author would use his insider knowledge to give us fresh, realistic portrayals of the people and organizations who would really be involved in this sort of situation. Instead we get common thriller tropes. Bowman is the Indispensable Man: he’s supposedly the only American in the world qualified to do this job (even though he doesn’t do anything all that remarkable). The other major characters are equally types: the noble African pursuer of justice, the driven computer jockey, the doughty Mossad agent, the dastardly Russian oligarch.
The international cabal behind the world-threatening plot isn’t exactly SPECTRE, and it at least has an interesting reason for doing what it’s doing. But it, too, becomes another trope: the Gang That Can’t Shoot Straight. This massively resourced conspiracy with literally global reach can kill its enemies anywhere and everywhere, but can’t polish off Our Hero or his minions even with multiple tries.
Bowman and his crew zero in on the baddies not because of their impressive analytical abilities or brilliant leaps of logic, but because of another trope: the God Machine, in this case Minerva, a massive computer system that can grab every iota of data on the planet and piece it together on demand. It’s extremely convenient to have Minerva continually spit out precise, verified intelligence about anything you can think of at just the right time, and tell Our Heroes exactly where to go next. This tends to rob those ticking clocks of their dramatic potential. Of course the good guys will stop the timer at 0:07 – they have Minerva.
In his defense, Clarke is hardly the first thriller writer to serve up an interesting plot stocked with flat characters, stagy dialog and herds of clichés. If you don’t mind this, you’ll like Pinnacle Event. The most engaging part for me was the short Author’s Note that lays out the real-world underpinnings of the story. It made me wish Clarke had instead written a nonfiction exposé about South Africa, Israel, and rogue nukes – a real-life spy thriller, full of real people and real tension.
In his new global thriller Pinnacle Event, a secret nuclear test in the Indian Ocean alerts the American government that shadowy forces have purchased five nuclear weapons built in apartheid-era South Africa. With the 2016 elections just a couple weeks away, the President plucks out of retirement former intel operative Ray Bowman (who sensibly chucked this job at the end of Sting of the Drone, Clarke’s previous novel) to track down the nukes before they cause The End of the World As We Know It.
As you might expect, Clarke knows which intelligence agencies do what where, what their capabilities are, and how well they play with others. He’s aware of how spooky people (on all sides of the Spy-vs.-Spy game) can move around the world without having to shed their shoes for TSA. He knows intimately the history of South Africa’s nuclear weapons program and how the public story doesn’t align with real events. In that the story takes us to six of the seven continents, the author gets a lot of opportunity to show off this knowledge. Much of what happens feels just about like it could really happen… if it hasn’t already. This is the good stuff.
The bad? Clarke seems to have forgotten that in writing fiction, plot is only the start.
There are characters in this story, but precious few people. Their dialog is speechy, often stiff and largely interchangeable. They rarely display complex feelings or are significantly affected by anything happening around them. Aside from a couple stabs at giving them non-work lives, they’re largely free of anything that isn’t focused on the job.
This sensory deprivation extends to other areas. While we visit a large number of potentially interesting settings, their descriptions are spare to the point of starvation; don’t expect that you’ll know what any of these places look, sound or smell like by the end of the story. What action there is comes off as reportage rather than immersion. Clarke has set up a couple hellacious built-in ticking clocks and several scenes that ought to be nail-biters, but the remote and dispassionate writing sucks out all the tension.
I’d hoped that the author would use his insider knowledge to give us fresh, realistic portrayals of the people and organizations who would really be involved in this sort of situation. Instead we get common thriller tropes. Bowman is the Indispensable Man: he’s supposedly the only American in the world qualified to do this job (even though he doesn’t do anything all that remarkable). The other major characters are equally types: the noble African pursuer of justice, the driven computer jockey, the doughty Mossad agent, the dastardly Russian oligarch.
The international cabal behind the world-threatening plot isn’t exactly SPECTRE, and it at least has an interesting reason for doing what it’s doing. But it, too, becomes another trope: the Gang That Can’t Shoot Straight. This massively resourced conspiracy with literally global reach can kill its enemies anywhere and everywhere, but can’t polish off Our Hero or his minions even with multiple tries.
Bowman and his crew zero in on the baddies not because of their impressive analytical abilities or brilliant leaps of logic, but because of another trope: the God Machine, in this case Minerva, a massive computer system that can grab every iota of data on the planet and piece it together on demand. It’s extremely convenient to have Minerva continually spit out precise, verified intelligence about anything you can think of at just the right time, and tell Our Heroes exactly where to go next. This tends to rob those ticking clocks of their dramatic potential. Of course the good guys will stop the timer at 0:07 – they have Minerva.
In his defense, Clarke is hardly the first thriller writer to serve up an interesting plot stocked with flat characters, stagy dialog and herds of clichés. If you don’t mind this, you’ll like Pinnacle Event. The most engaging part for me was the short Author’s Note that lays out the real-world underpinnings of the story. It made me wish Clarke had instead written a nonfiction exposé about South Africa, Israel, and rogue nukes – a real-life spy thriller, full of real people and real tension.
June 25, 2015
The world is a crazy place and when the treat of nukes is alive and under eminent use, it can make for a thrilling story. While the last book I read from this author, Sting of the Drone, had me on the edge of my seat a few times, this one failed a bit for me.
This book had everything I was looking for in a great thriller, but it seemed like it was the same conversation over and over. The character development was okay, but there ended up being so many people to keep track of as the ex-spy traveled around the world in search of clues that it became repetitive to me.
The reader, Jonathan Davis, did an excellent job on the many different voices and languages but even at times he seemed a bit monotone as he was working through a scene. The author just did not include enough background or development to keep things really interesting. As the ending was unraveling, there was so much happening at the last second, literally, this book could have really exploded, but I was left quite neutral about the whole thing. One dimensional and flat are the words that are coming to me.
While I have enjoyed other books by this author, this one just did not ring my bell. It has potential to be excellent, but I missed the spark and edginess that this book needed to be labeled a thriller or suspense novel.
I liked the plot and storyline, it just needs more....
This book had everything I was looking for in a great thriller, but it seemed like it was the same conversation over and over. The character development was okay, but there ended up being so many people to keep track of as the ex-spy traveled around the world in search of clues that it became repetitive to me.
The reader, Jonathan Davis, did an excellent job on the many different voices and languages but even at times he seemed a bit monotone as he was working through a scene. The author just did not include enough background or development to keep things really interesting. As the ending was unraveling, there was so much happening at the last second, literally, this book could have really exploded, but I was left quite neutral about the whole thing. One dimensional and flat are the words that are coming to me.
While I have enjoyed other books by this author, this one just did not ring my bell. It has potential to be excellent, but I missed the spark and edginess that this book needed to be labeled a thriller or suspense novel.
I liked the plot and storyline, it just needs more....
January 5, 2016
I received an ARC through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. I admit I was excited to be able to read this book. It should have been thrilling and full of excitement. Instead, it took me ages to slog through it. The fact side of things clearly has been researched and is well understood by Clarke. I felt he had a complete grasp of how things work and what each position is responsible for. The writing is ok; it's free of grammatical issues and is easy enough to read and understand. The plot, while containing a couple bits that were a touch over the top, was intriguing and should have been exciting to read. Where this book falls apart is the execution of the characters. For me they felt more like cardboard cutouts and lacked any true fleshing out. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to connect with the characters or to care anything about them. When there is no connection there is very little enjoyment in the read. This in my opinion, which may or may not mirror your own.
July 4, 2015
The mid-50's, middle manager with "wash-board abs", living as a bartender in Jamaica with TWO! young, beautiful women is the ONLY "spy" that can save the U.S. from an impending nuclear attack? Even I can't swallow that suspension of disbelief sandwich. Quit after 46 pages.
June 8, 2015
This decent story is sabotaged by its less than stellar ending. It would probably be better to say, what ending? For character development, 5 of 10 stars.
May 7, 2023
This books has all the great aspects of a good action suspense novel that definitely kept me enthralled in the story. There were a few small tangent storylines which were hard to grasp since I didn’t read this book in one sitting that even after a days time, started to not make sense for how small of details there were. It didn’t help with introducing new characters just about every chapter as well.
January 2, 2018
A great piece of political fiction Clarke does a wonderful job of making it sound like this kind of thing could happen. This was one of those books I found very hard to put down until I finished it.
October 21, 2018
Glad it was so international. Good idea. To simple follow through. To simple characters. Glad the villains didn't just wanted to start a war. The villains should have been more difficult to oppose though. An OK read.
August 27, 2018
Not the author's fault, but one of the new characters shared the exact name and nickname as an ex and it was super distracting and really killed my enjoyment of the book. The actual storyline was great though.
November 12, 2018
So I didn't actually finish reading the book and I am still giving it a 5 star rating. The book is well written and a thriller. I made the mistake of reading the back of the book and that's what stopped me. I don't want to believe that the book could actually happen. It doesn't work in my life.
March 30, 2018
UNC++
Good story, no wasted words.
Good story, no wasted words.
December 3, 2019
Fascinating. Some language. Confusing characters.
April 17, 2020
Thrilling.
November 23, 2020
Totally engrossing. I could not out it down. It was only when I finished that I realized it was THAT Richard Clarke.
July 15, 2025
A bit complicated with characters who played various ecpxpert tokes to save the work. Great narrator but overall the book was a little over the top for me.
June 25, 2015
*Goodreads First Reads advanced copy*
Quite simply, in a genre full of heavy hitters, I found Pinnacle Event to be nothing special. Although nothing about the story really annoyed me, it also really didn't garner my attention. I developed no connection with any of the characters. I did not care when some of them died and I really didn't rejoice or hate that others lived.
The other problem with the story, in my viewpoint, dealt with two facts. First, I found it really bland for the first 2/3rds of the book. Then it started to pick up in intensity making the story slightly better. Secondly, I found that it felt as if the author was doing more of a telling than a showing of what happened. I found it very difficult to envision what was going on. I think part of this had to do with a lack of description on the action sequences. This seemed to be very evident at the end when I could tell some events seemed to be written to try to increase the suspense and the danger level. However, with the way it was written it failed to succeed. It was a big area where perhaps background expansion would have increased the showing rather than telling.
*** what follows contains spoilers*
There was no explanation why one bomb blew up while the other ones did not. If it was a timer, why weren't they all set to go off at once? If it was as a result of one of them being disarmed, why didn't all the others get detonated?
Overall the book was, grammatically speaking, well written. This is one of those books where I am sure that many fans of the suspense genre will greatly enjoy it, but to me it was just another story.
Quite simply, in a genre full of heavy hitters, I found Pinnacle Event to be nothing special. Although nothing about the story really annoyed me, it also really didn't garner my attention. I developed no connection with any of the characters. I did not care when some of them died and I really didn't rejoice or hate that others lived.
The other problem with the story, in my viewpoint, dealt with two facts. First, I found it really bland for the first 2/3rds of the book. Then it started to pick up in intensity making the story slightly better. Secondly, I found that it felt as if the author was doing more of a telling than a showing of what happened. I found it very difficult to envision what was going on. I think part of this had to do with a lack of description on the action sequences. This seemed to be very evident at the end when I could tell some events seemed to be written to try to increase the suspense and the danger level. However, with the way it was written it failed to succeed. It was a big area where perhaps background expansion would have increased the showing rather than telling.
*** what follows contains spoilers*
There was no explanation why one bomb blew up while the other ones did not. If it was a timer, why weren't they all set to go off at once? If it was as a result of one of them being disarmed, why didn't all the others get detonated?
Overall the book was, grammatically speaking, well written. This is one of those books where I am sure that many fans of the suspense genre will greatly enjoy it, but to me it was just another story.
June 7, 2015
A fairly good book, well researched and planned, the one reason i can't give 5 stars is that it lacks "drive". Over long periods the book doesn't really grip me, I did like the twist of the book nonetheless.
As for the story, 5 South Africans are being assassinated around the world at almost the same time after having received the small sum of 500 million USD. There is also a atomic explosion ("pinnacle event") in the Indian Ocean bringing US intelligence, here specifically the PEG (political evaluation group) into the fray. As a special addition to the threat level the 2016 presidential campaign is winding down and is getting ready for election day.
Ray Bowman on of the characters of sting of the drone Sting of the Drone: A Novel is being reactivated to deal with nukes. This task will take him literally around the world.
Not Richard A. Clarke's best book but still an interesting read, if you have never read anything from him before I highly recommend his earlier books The Scorpion's GateBreakpoint. Those are really brilliant. The one thing making Clarke different from almost all other thriller authors is his long career in national security, it gives him a unique perspective on some issues.
As for the story, 5 South Africans are being assassinated around the world at almost the same time after having received the small sum of 500 million USD. There is also a atomic explosion ("pinnacle event") in the Indian Ocean bringing US intelligence, here specifically the PEG (political evaluation group) into the fray. As a special addition to the threat level the 2016 presidential campaign is winding down and is getting ready for election day.
Ray Bowman on of the characters of sting of the drone Sting of the Drone: A Novel is being reactivated to deal with nukes. This task will take him literally around the world.
Not Richard A. Clarke's best book but still an interesting read, if you have never read anything from him before I highly recommend his earlier books The Scorpion's GateBreakpoint. Those are really brilliant. The one thing making Clarke different from almost all other thriller authors is his long career in national security, it gives him a unique perspective on some issues.
April 4, 2015
I have been a fan of Tom Clancy's novels since "The Hunt for Red October" and "Red Storm Rising" were published in the mid 1980s. I love the new genre he developed, the techno-thriller. Alas, Tom Clancy's novels came to an end a while back (though others continue to write in his name) and I was left without a go-to author. I have of course read many books by many authors as I continue to search for go-to authors in the action/adventure genre. While I have come across several good ones, I remain on the hunt for a great one. Too many are too formulaic, too predictable, have characters that are too cliche', but I think RA Clarke is onto something...
I don't want to give anything away, and without doing so I can tell you that I am greatly impressed by Clarke's story line development and storytelling abilities. His book is heavily plot-driven, and IMO that's OK. The story starts right off, multiple story lines develop simultaneously, and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting.
The global geo-political-even scientific components of this story are simultaneously gripping and engaging. What I will tell you is that nuclear arms are involved, but how, why, and where will probably greatly surprise you...it did me!
Clarke is able to develop a tale without gratuitous situations, swearing, etc., and I like that. After reading "Pinnacle Event" I now want to track down Clarke's other novels.
5 stars - a real keeper that's joining my library.
I don't want to give anything away, and without doing so I can tell you that I am greatly impressed by Clarke's story line development and storytelling abilities. His book is heavily plot-driven, and IMO that's OK. The story starts right off, multiple story lines develop simultaneously, and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting.
The global geo-political-even scientific components of this story are simultaneously gripping and engaging. What I will tell you is that nuclear arms are involved, but how, why, and where will probably greatly surprise you...it did me!
Clarke is able to develop a tale without gratuitous situations, swearing, etc., and I like that. After reading "Pinnacle Event" I now want to track down Clarke's other novels.
5 stars - a real keeper that's joining my library.
June 16, 2015
A Pinnacle Event is a nuclear event so I knew just by the title and the image on front that this was going to be an explosive book, pun fully intended!
It did take me a while to get into it. There were several chapters that jumped between different characters involving the murders of five different people on five separate continents so it was hard to follow. Once it all started to come together I got more into it but this definitely isn't an "easy read" or "easy listen" as the case is with an audio book.
As is typical of books involving the government and politics, it can get a bit wordy and deep and I found myself having to re-listen to certain sections just to get the gist of it. I consider myself an intelligent person but this book was not an easy one. I think it definitely would be better as a movie with the images to guide me! However, that being said, I was glad I was listening to the audio version instead of just reading it on paper. That always ads a level of excitement and intrigue to it.
Ray Bowman is American Intelligence and an intriguing character who is brought in to save the world! Who sold the stolen nukes and for what purpose? Whenever nukes are involved, potential world wars and millions of lives are at stake and he's the man to figure it out!
The suspense increased as the book went on and I found it easier to get into and understand. Pinnacle Event would be great for those that really like these types of books.
It did take me a while to get into it. There were several chapters that jumped between different characters involving the murders of five different people on five separate continents so it was hard to follow. Once it all started to come together I got more into it but this definitely isn't an "easy read" or "easy listen" as the case is with an audio book.
As is typical of books involving the government and politics, it can get a bit wordy and deep and I found myself having to re-listen to certain sections just to get the gist of it. I consider myself an intelligent person but this book was not an easy one. I think it definitely would be better as a movie with the images to guide me! However, that being said, I was glad I was listening to the audio version instead of just reading it on paper. That always ads a level of excitement and intrigue to it.
Ray Bowman is American Intelligence and an intriguing character who is brought in to save the world! Who sold the stolen nukes and for what purpose? Whenever nukes are involved, potential world wars and millions of lives are at stake and he's the man to figure it out!
The suspense increased as the book went on and I found it easier to get into and understand. Pinnacle Event would be great for those that really like these types of books.
June 29, 2015
Author Richard A. Clarke puts his 30 years of experience with the U.S Government to the test in this fictionalized novel that could foretell a deadly eventuality for the modern world.
On the setting of the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections the world is shocked by five simultaneous murders that may all lead to a single cyber terrorist threat surrounding five nuclear weapons that have been mysteriously purchased. American intelligence expert Ray Bowman is called on to immediately investigate. The fear is that the five nukes are intended to wipe out major metropolitan areas around the U.S. and derail the upcoming election. As Bowman digs deeper he not only learns the supposed identity of the bombs buyer but also the intended target --- something far worse than anyone could have imagined.
PINNACLE EVENT is high octane thriller writing in the style of Tom Clancy and does not disappoint.
On the setting of the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections the world is shocked by five simultaneous murders that may all lead to a single cyber terrorist threat surrounding five nuclear weapons that have been mysteriously purchased. American intelligence expert Ray Bowman is called on to immediately investigate. The fear is that the five nukes are intended to wipe out major metropolitan areas around the U.S. and derail the upcoming election. As Bowman digs deeper he not only learns the supposed identity of the bombs buyer but also the intended target --- something far worse than anyone could have imagined.
PINNACLE EVENT is high octane thriller writing in the style of Tom Clancy and does not disappoint.
August 14, 2015
While they were in power the South African apartheid made some
nuclear weapons, later they said that they were destroyed but in
fact were secretly stored by a white South African exile group. Now
they have been fixed up and sold but to whom? American Intelligence
expert Ray Bowman is brought in to find out. With the help of a black
female South African Intelligence officer he races around the world
to discover who bought the bombs and what they plan to do with them.
Washington fears that they are intended for American cities to explode
right before a presidential election. What Bowman discovers is that the
people who control the bombs intend to do something so devastating it
makes nuking a few U.S. cities look like child's play. Not a bad story
but not a whole lot of excitement. I gave it a 3 1/2.
nuclear weapons, later they said that they were destroyed but in
fact were secretly stored by a white South African exile group. Now
they have been fixed up and sold but to whom? American Intelligence
expert Ray Bowman is brought in to find out. With the help of a black
female South African Intelligence officer he races around the world
to discover who bought the bombs and what they plan to do with them.
Washington fears that they are intended for American cities to explode
right before a presidential election. What Bowman discovers is that the
people who control the bombs intend to do something so devastating it
makes nuking a few U.S. cities look like child's play. Not a bad story
but not a whole lot of excitement. I gave it a 3 1/2.
May 26, 2016
I always read Richard Clarke's books because he was the only member of the GWBush administration to actually apologize publicly for failing to do the job of preventing 9/11. He knows his way around Washington, and was involved in at least three administrations at high levels. He has written a couple of other thrillers, and this is a pretty good one, in my opinion. I didn't guess what the bad guys were doing, and had to wait for the reveal. I like Richard Clarke, too, because his heroes are mostly mature men who do not "fall in love" with a new woman in each book. Clarke doesn't go into details about the bodies or the health/exercise regimens of the hero and the heroine, as many really average writers will do so their readers can imagine how great they are together in bed. Anyway, if you like a spy story now and then, I think this one is a 3.5.
July 12, 2015
Clarke writes action novels which feel real when discussing government actions, plots, and our adversaries. His many years at the highest level of government and security clearances provides verisimilitude. Whether talking about plots to use old South African nuclear bombs as in this book or as in other books, cyber warfare, drone strikes, or American interactions with Middle Eastern countries, the depth of detail is excellent.
Don't read his books for the human element. His books will have character development and people with personal lives, but this is not his strength. His characters move the story along, but no more.
Don't read his books for the human element. His books will have character development and people with personal lives, but this is not his strength. His characters move the story along, but no more.
April 11, 2016
A serviceable page-turning thriller about loose South African nukes. Manages to take place across 24 time zones with amazingly cooperative foreign intelligence services. Characters are one dimensional. At least there was no love story sparked by all the rushing about amidst assassinations.
One plus note: some of the scenes take place in Mayotte, a part of France in the Indian Ocean so this was a 'first' for me in my long history of thriller reading.
The author, of course, is well-versed in matters of national security and has taken up novel writing to spread the message of danger now that he is no longer in government.
One plus note: some of the scenes take place in Mayotte, a part of France in the Indian Ocean so this was a 'first' for me in my long history of thriller reading.
The author, of course, is well-versed in matters of national security and has taken up novel writing to spread the message of danger now that he is no longer in government.
August 6, 2015
I won this book for free from the Goodreads book give away contest. I liked this book but after the great opening, I had a difficult time "getting into" it. That was probably the most disappointing part to me; an exciting, in your face opening sequence, then, just a story. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but the story left me wanting more "action." I didn't feel any real connection to the characters and the build up to the books climax was "ho-hum." That's it.
July 25, 2015
Pinnacle Event endorses Richard Clarke's vast knowledge of all things military. This book has an inordinate amount of acronyms, so many as to be distracting. The plot was predictable, the constant motion created by zooming from one continent to another, exhausting. I wanted to like this book because I thoroughly enjoyed "Sting of the drone", but the writing and grammar ( where are the editors?) was mediocre at best. Here's hoping his next book will be a bit more intriguing.
November 10, 2015
When 6 nuclear weapons go missing, weapons that were not supposed to exist, there is terror afoot. South African ex pats are the genesis of this tale, and world destruction is its aim. The fear generated in multiple nations brings together their security forces to discover the plot and find the bombs before death and destruction strikes. Very well written; intricately planned. Amazing ride!! 5+ stars
August 28, 2016
An **excellent** book, with a very scary, real-world possibility of a premise reinforcement of the fact that global warming is real (we can see its effects every day) and that those in power and those with money to burn can and do respond to that reality in terrifying ways -- and get away with it!!
If you read NOTHING else of this book -- read the Author's Note at the end!! (But if you DO read the book -- save the Author's Note for last!!) :-)
If you read NOTHING else of this book -- read the Author's Note at the end!! (But if you DO read the book -- save the Author's Note for last!!) :-)
June 4, 2015
This was a very good book with a topic that could very well happen this day and age. The plot had a good pace to it, and flowed very well. It was almost scary in how true to life it could actually be!
I won an advanced reader copy through goodreads :)
I won an advanced reader copy through goodreads :)
September 15, 2015
I read Richard A. Clark's Sting of the Drone and was excited to see that he had written a second book featuring his characters Dugout and Ray Bowman. This book is a fast-paced international thriller that didn't disappoint. In Pentagon jargon, a Pinnacle Event is a nuclear event.
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