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Cooch #3
Pulse
What about Iran Pulse, a national security thriller, by Robert Cook Pulse describes the complex process of preventing Iran from deploying nuclear weapons that are likely to destroy Israel, destabilize the Middle East and threaten world peace. Pulse opens in Morocco, passes to Washington at the White House and then Camp David, passes again through Morocco and ends in Tehran. The interwoven back story is about how to bring the transformational lessons of the Enlightenment to the Middle East, with inexpensive, technology-enabled, mass education as the catalyst. Pulse is a -thriller for the thoughtful reader. The lessons and arguments for and against the morality of war in a societal context are from some of history's great minds. The protagonist, Alejandro Muhammad Cuchulain (Cooch), is a former US Marine who served on the CIA Special Operations team for eight years. He is a purveyor of violence and of Islamic philosophy gained from studies at the College of Oriental Studies at Oxford. He is also a successful Middle Eastern businessman. Cooch is the leader of a team of five. Cooch's best friend is preppie, former Navy Seal and Rhodes Scholar, Brooks F. T. Elliot IV, a student of the Enlightenment. Dr. Caitlin O'Connor, is a CalTech trained computational physicist with an enormous ego and larger intellect who has developed a software product that crunches huge amounts of Big Data to infer conclusions from it, to the delight of both the National Security Agency and every-day students across societies. Jerome Masterson is Alex's long time CIA Special Ops partner; he is a student of institutional violence and it s application. Mac MacMillan is on the staff of the White House National Security Advisor and is an enabler. They ebb and flow around Cooch. Iran plans to deploy soon a nuclear weapon to deliver Zionist-occupied Palestine back to its historic owners and enslave current residents. Israel abhors that idea, and plans to attack Iran without US permission. The President seeks desperately to find a way to contain nuclear proliferation without again putting US troops in ground combat in the Middle East. His chief of staff and the Secretary of State are skeptical of proposals, and articulate in their opposition. The US decides to instigate a civil war in Iran with few US boots on the ground. The full military hegemonic might of the US will be employed to support the chosen side of the Iranian conflict. Cooch travels to Iran to facilitate identifying and convincing a group of Iranians to lead the insurrection against Iran's radical Shiite leadership. His reputation as the leading Islamic scholar on the violent Sunni/Shiite schism allows him entry into Tehran. The US attack on Iran opens with a display of military might and prowess designed to free the Straits of Hormuz for the flow of the world's oil. Iran's Russian backed navy and its huge fleet of small, armed boats and minelayers threaten both the US fleet and the world's oil supply. New weapons cause US casualties and threaten the offensive. Farther north, Iran's uranium enrichment sites at Fordo and Natanz are destroyed. In the first few minutes of the US attack, Iran's telecommunications infrastructure is destroyed with a new electromagnetic pulse weapon that fries silicon and copper wires and thus brings the internet and every electric powered device in range to a halt, destroyed forever. The radical Shiite leadership in the holy city of Qom is incinerated with their internet, television and radio center. Inshallah.
- GenresThriller
360 pages, Paperback
First published November 17, 2014
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601 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 3, 2022
If it weren’t for the pacing issues and the one-dimensional characters, Pulse could be a blockbuster political/techno-thriller, putting Robert Cook’s name up there alongside Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, and Dale Brown.
Unfortunately, the characters are so perfect that they’re propelled far beyond the bounds of credibility and into the region of ridiculous. Yes, it’s a nice change of pace from the psychologically damaged techno-thriller hero, haunted by his past, but characters need some soft spots and weaknesses the make them human. It doesn’t help that their dialogue is just as perfect. It’s like listening to a scripted documentary where every sentence is smart, direct, and precisely worded, but there’s no emotion or humanity to make the conversations seem natural.
As for the pacing I mentioned earlier, I’m certainly no stranger to these novels taking their time in getting to the ‘big’ event, but you need a few small events along the way to build the tension. When war does finally come to the world in the last 100 or so pages, it’s certainly a high point of the novel, extremely well-written and wonderfully detailed, but almost too little, too late. Having said all that, this is the third book in a series (beginning with Cooch), so there may be some character building I’ve missed, just as there may be some crucial details in the opening chapters where I missed the relevance to previous storylines. If either were the case, it might alleviate those issues for readers who are already familiar with the series.
The technology is extremely cutting-edge (more than enough to excite any techno-geek), and the level of detail would be perfect – Cook does a fantastic job of educating us without falling into the trap of trying to impress us with how much he knows – were it not repeated so many times. As for the overall military strategy, that’s often where these thrillers lose me, but here it comes across as both innovative and realistic. Politically, some aspects that nagged at me, but not so much that they negated anything that was happening within the wider conflict. It is, however, a refreshing twist to have a man named Alejandro Mohammed Cuchulain as the hero of such a very American thriller, subverting the stereotypical villainization of Arab/Islamic culture.
As a screenplay, Pulse would work extremely well, since those areas where I found it to be lacking would be far less obvious on the big screen. Regardless, I enjoyed the book immensely, despite its flaws - I just wish Cook had saved me so many exasperated sighs and so much eye-rolling along the way.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Unfortunately, the characters are so perfect that they’re propelled far beyond the bounds of credibility and into the region of ridiculous. Yes, it’s a nice change of pace from the psychologically damaged techno-thriller hero, haunted by his past, but characters need some soft spots and weaknesses the make them human. It doesn’t help that their dialogue is just as perfect. It’s like listening to a scripted documentary where every sentence is smart, direct, and precisely worded, but there’s no emotion or humanity to make the conversations seem natural.
As for the pacing I mentioned earlier, I’m certainly no stranger to these novels taking their time in getting to the ‘big’ event, but you need a few small events along the way to build the tension. When war does finally come to the world in the last 100 or so pages, it’s certainly a high point of the novel, extremely well-written and wonderfully detailed, but almost too little, too late. Having said all that, this is the third book in a series (beginning with Cooch), so there may be some character building I’ve missed, just as there may be some crucial details in the opening chapters where I missed the relevance to previous storylines. If either were the case, it might alleviate those issues for readers who are already familiar with the series.
The technology is extremely cutting-edge (more than enough to excite any techno-geek), and the level of detail would be perfect – Cook does a fantastic job of educating us without falling into the trap of trying to impress us with how much he knows – were it not repeated so many times. As for the overall military strategy, that’s often where these thrillers lose me, but here it comes across as both innovative and realistic. Politically, some aspects that nagged at me, but not so much that they negated anything that was happening within the wider conflict. It is, however, a refreshing twist to have a man named Alejandro Mohammed Cuchulain as the hero of such a very American thriller, subverting the stereotypical villainization of Arab/Islamic culture.
As a screenplay, Pulse would work extremely well, since those areas where I found it to be lacking would be far less obvious on the big screen. Regardless, I enjoyed the book immensely, despite its flaws - I just wish Cook had saved me so many exasperated sighs and so much eye-rolling along the way.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
September 4, 2018
Didn't really enjoy, too much covered by such a short story. If only war was that easy. Hopefully it was fiction and not how my colonial cousins across the pond actually conduct affairs.
Quite a few grammatical errors, could have done with better proofing.
Quite a few grammatical errors, could have done with better proofing.
December 18, 2019
A book principally using a US attack on Iranian nuclear capability to demonstrate electronic warfare, and also rebalancing Sunni and Shi’te power in the Middle east. A futuristic vision at the moment.
May 20, 2015
I was a bit concerned about my objectivity in reading this novel as I live in a Muslim country that is moving away from personal liberties but the author’s biography impressed the daylights out of me. I just had to read what he could write! Cook has writing talent as mostly evidenced by the final third of the novel. The battle scenes were well-written and action-packed. This is definitely the area in which Cook’s talents are best used. Cook was also able to describe various locations with a detail that made the reader feel like they were in the room with the protagonists.
I expected a novel reminiscent of Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum and in many ways it was. There was a vast amount of detail and information making it obvious that Cook had done a ton of research for this novel. Unfortunately, the information portrayed in Pulse was presented like information dumps instead of integrated into the story. This made the book feel at times like a textbook instead of a novel. Much of the information was also repeated which made me roll my eyes and tempted me to quit reading. These information dumps were often disguised as conversations making the conversations completely unrealistic and appear to be lectures instead of intellectual discussions.
In general I expect this type of novel to be somewhat unrealistic as it just wouldn’t be exciting if it were completely realistic, would it? With regard to the actual battle, which finally took place at the two-thirds mark in the book, it was exciting and moved quickly (even if the battle wasn’t told in chronological order for some strange reason). The other aspects of this novel, however, were difficult to swallow as they were beyond realistic. For example, an ethical debate on Voltaire while enjoying a glass of wine didn’t feel genuine. The sex scenes were clinical and devoid of any passion.
I also had issues with some of the ‘facts’ presented by Cook. In many Islamic countries, it isn’t unusual to see Muslims drinking alcohol in public (I live in one). There also seemed to be some confusion about the Arab World and Muslim World, which are definitely not the same thing. In fact the last Caliph of Islam was an Ottoman (who were most definitely not Arabs). Until Cooch reaches Iran, the fact that Iranians are Persians was conveniently forgotten (or at least not made obvious for the reader). Although the book is fictional, I was a bit put out by Cook’s assertion that Jordan was amongst those Arab countries trying to destroy Israel and the Jews.
I expected a novel reminiscent of Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum and in many ways it was. There was a vast amount of detail and information making it obvious that Cook had done a ton of research for this novel. Unfortunately, the information portrayed in Pulse was presented like information dumps instead of integrated into the story. This made the book feel at times like a textbook instead of a novel. Much of the information was also repeated which made me roll my eyes and tempted me to quit reading. These information dumps were often disguised as conversations making the conversations completely unrealistic and appear to be lectures instead of intellectual discussions.
In general I expect this type of novel to be somewhat unrealistic as it just wouldn’t be exciting if it were completely realistic, would it? With regard to the actual battle, which finally took place at the two-thirds mark in the book, it was exciting and moved quickly (even if the battle wasn’t told in chronological order for some strange reason). The other aspects of this novel, however, were difficult to swallow as they were beyond realistic. For example, an ethical debate on Voltaire while enjoying a glass of wine didn’t feel genuine. The sex scenes were clinical and devoid of any passion.
I also had issues with some of the ‘facts’ presented by Cook. In many Islamic countries, it isn’t unusual to see Muslims drinking alcohol in public (I live in one). There also seemed to be some confusion about the Arab World and Muslim World, which are definitely not the same thing. In fact the last Caliph of Islam was an Ottoman (who were most definitely not Arabs). Until Cooch reaches Iran, the fact that Iranians are Persians was conveniently forgotten (or at least not made obvious for the reader). Although the book is fictional, I was a bit put out by Cook’s assertion that Jordan was amongst those Arab countries trying to destroy Israel and the Jews.
June 12, 2015
Pulse, by Robert Cook pits Cooch, an Arab-American, and the rest of his team against the nation, or at least the leaders, of Iran in a scenario in which Iran has a nuclear warhead, but primed mostly as a EMP weapon to be used against Israel.
If you are willing to put up with the long setup, the war scenes at the end are well written and feel like a realistic playout of the forces involved. It was especially interesting to see weapons talked about recently in Scientific American appearing on the scene in the book.
Aside from that I struggled with the characterization. Everybody Cooch assembled was the best at whatever they did. Not one person in his circle was anything less than exceptional. Unfortunately it also made them unbelievable. They could set up the overthrow of a sovereign nation without breaking a sweat. Strengths are okay in their place, but it is weaknesses that make a character (or group of characters) interesting.
Alongside of that issue, the dialogue was unremittingly dense and intelligent, but it also said only what was on the surface. There weren’t any murky bits to create misunderstanding. Everyone (even the liberal types) said just what they thought, then just accepted the other person’s view and left it at that. It is the subtexts and murky sections that make dialogue evocative.
Not that Pulse is a bad book. If you like modern warfare books you will enjoy this one completely.
If you are willing to put up with the long setup, the war scenes at the end are well written and feel like a realistic playout of the forces involved. It was especially interesting to see weapons talked about recently in Scientific American appearing on the scene in the book.
Aside from that I struggled with the characterization. Everybody Cooch assembled was the best at whatever they did. Not one person in his circle was anything less than exceptional. Unfortunately it also made them unbelievable. They could set up the overthrow of a sovereign nation without breaking a sweat. Strengths are okay in their place, but it is weaknesses that make a character (or group of characters) interesting.
Alongside of that issue, the dialogue was unremittingly dense and intelligent, but it also said only what was on the surface. There weren’t any murky bits to create misunderstanding. Everyone (even the liberal types) said just what they thought, then just accepted the other person’s view and left it at that. It is the subtexts and murky sections that make dialogue evocative.
Not that Pulse is a bad book. If you like modern warfare books you will enjoy this one completely.
December 18, 2015
Robert Cook brings to life aspects of the military that civilians could only imagine beyond their wildest dreams. Pulse is the third in the Cooch series. Although I have not read the previous two books, I can't wait to order them to dig deeper into the series. I thoroughly enjoyed Cooch's character and absolutely loved his "personal avatar". I would love to see his inner voice, Dain, have future encounters in the Cooch series. There was something about Dain, that I feel most military personnel may also carry with them in their minds. The attention to detail in the book and the story line flowed nicely which made the book fast paced. As a female, I personally enjoyed reading the detail of the weaponry and the general detail of current religious war that continues daily. I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys a fast paced military adventure. I look forward to reading the previous books in the series and also can't wait for further continuation of Cooch's adventures. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Happy Reading!
I personally would like to thank Mr. Robert Cook for his service in the US Army, a Vietnam veteran. Thank you for your service and sacrifice for us to remain the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. I salute you, Sir. God Bless!
I personally would like to thank Mr. Robert Cook for his service in the US Army, a Vietnam veteran. Thank you for your service and sacrifice for us to remain the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. I salute you, Sir. God Bless!
December 19, 2015
Published in 2014, Pulse by Robert Cook could very well be ripped from today’s headlines. Iran has plans to attack Israel, the Israelis are aware of it and just might preemptively strike back. It’s up to Alejandro Mohammed Cuchulan, Cooch, an American with feet in both American and Middle Eastern culture, to stop it before things spiral out of control and global conflict erupts of the like that would make World War II look like a poorly staged episode of WWE.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. It started a bit slow, and I was almost disappointed, but then it picked up, and like a snowball rolling down a hill, it continued to grow—the tension went from low to hyper and stayed up until I felt breathless.
Cook takes the reader on a wild ride from Morocco to DC to Teheran, as the hero, Cooch, cooks up a wild plan to keep the peace. I don’t want to spoil it for readers, but it involves the legalization of a certain plant substance that is current illegal, using the proceeds from legal sales to improve the economy and increase education of the masses—a plan that encounters serious objections from the more militant members of the Iranian government
You have to stay on your toes as you read Pulse. The clues to the eventual outcome are all there, but hidden so skillfully, if you blink you’ll miss them.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. It started a bit slow, and I was almost disappointed, but then it picked up, and like a snowball rolling down a hill, it continued to grow—the tension went from low to hyper and stayed up until I felt breathless.
Cook takes the reader on a wild ride from Morocco to DC to Teheran, as the hero, Cooch, cooks up a wild plan to keep the peace. I don’t want to spoil it for readers, but it involves the legalization of a certain plant substance that is current illegal, using the proceeds from legal sales to improve the economy and increase education of the masses—a plan that encounters serious objections from the more militant members of the Iranian government
You have to stay on your toes as you read Pulse. The clues to the eventual outcome are all there, but hidden so skillfully, if you blink you’ll miss them.
August 8, 2015
Published in 2014, Pulse by Robert Cook could very well be ripped from today’s headlines. Iran has plans to attack Israel, the Israelis are aware of it and just might preemptively strike back. It’s up to Alejandro Mohammed Cuchulan, Cooch, an American with feet in both American and Middle Eastern culture, to stop it before things spiral out of control and global conflict erupts of the like that would make World War II look like a poorly staged episode of WWE.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. It started a bit slow, and I was almost disappointed, but then it picked up, and like a snowball rolling down a hill, it continued to grow—the tension went from low to hyper and stayed up until I felt breathless.
Cook takes the reader on a wild ride from Morocco to DC to Teheran, as the hero, Cooch, cooks up a wild plan to keep the peace. I don’t want to spoil it for readers, but it involves the legalization of a certain plant substance that is current illegal, using the proceeds from legal sales to improve the economy and increase education of the masses—a plan that encounters serious objections from the more militant members of the Iranian government
You have to stay on your toes as you read Pulse. The clues to the eventual outcome are all there, but hidden so skillfully, if you blink you’ll miss them.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. It started a bit slow, and I was almost disappointed, but then it picked up, and like a snowball rolling down a hill, it continued to grow—the tension went from low to hyper and stayed up until I felt breathless.
Cook takes the reader on a wild ride from Morocco to DC to Teheran, as the hero, Cooch, cooks up a wild plan to keep the peace. I don’t want to spoil it for readers, but it involves the legalization of a certain plant substance that is current illegal, using the proceeds from legal sales to improve the economy and increase education of the masses—a plan that encounters serious objections from the more militant members of the Iranian government
You have to stay on your toes as you read Pulse. The clues to the eventual outcome are all there, but hidden so skillfully, if you blink you’ll miss them.
May 28, 2016
If it weren't for the Middle East being shoved to the background of the news cycle because of the ongoing election coverage, this story could have been pulled from the headlines. Those that pay attention know that Iran wants to wipe Israel off the map, and the easiest way for them to do that is with a nuke. We know they've been enriching uranium, and anyone with a functioning brain knows they don't need all of what they're producing for power plants.
At least here in Pulse, the government is willing to do something about it. Bring in Cooch, Brooks and the rest of the smartest, tech savvy team the President could get. While they claim to be a group of warriors, there's not much fighting in their roles here; at least not in the physical sense. Sure, there's some verbal fighting, but that you'd expect when Washington weenies get involved with anything.
Decent character development, but sometimes you can forget who does what in the B list.
At least here in Pulse, the government is willing to do something about it. Bring in Cooch, Brooks and the rest of the smartest, tech savvy team the President could get. While they claim to be a group of warriors, there's not much fighting in their roles here; at least not in the physical sense. Sure, there's some verbal fighting, but that you'd expect when Washington weenies get involved with anything.
Decent character development, but sometimes you can forget who does what in the B list.
March 22, 2015
Reading this, you can tell that there has been a lot of carefully constructed research in order to write this book. The descriptions of weapons, military references etc are outstanding, and are complimented with a good story line and strong characters. I like that Cooch is not just an "All American" soldier / agent, which occurs in most books I've read in this genre, and provides a more unbiased view, yet still maintains great action. I found the sex a little unnecessary (also a little cheesy?) to the plot, however this is the first in the series that I have read so perhaps the relevance lies in the other books.
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway so I would like to thank both the website and the author for the opportunity to read this. All in all a recommended and enjoyable read.
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway so I would like to thank both the website and the author for the opportunity to read this. All in all a recommended and enjoyable read.
March 21, 2015
In Pulse, Alex Cuchulain is clever, highly trained ex CIA commando who now runs a successful corporation in Morocco, where he combines intelligent strategy and ruthlessness to help the country’s population thrive. The people he works with are equally intelligent and capable, and through ties to the US intelligence community, they are soon privy to information showing that Iran is planning a nuclear attack on Israel. Alex and his friends and coworkers push for actions outside of outright war to disrupt Iran’s deadly intentions.
I really liked how much the author built up Alex and his friends. Everyone is written to be intelligent, even if their agendas or plans vary greatly. This book has a wealth of strong characters, and that coupled with a high stakes premise made Pulse a really enjoyable read.
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked how much the author built up Alex and his friends. Everyone is written to be intelligent, even if their agendas or plans vary greatly. This book has a wealth of strong characters, and that coupled with a high stakes premise made Pulse a really enjoyable read.
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
March 12, 2015
This is the first book I have read by Robert Cook and I enjoyed it enough that I will be reading the other two. This was great story telling along the lines of Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum two of my favorite authors. The National security, weapons and technology was completely believable along with a good balance of Middle East religion and politics. I liked the strong female characters however they seemed a bit one sided. I thought the emphasis on education was fantastic. The first part of the book was a bit of a struggle, not sure if that was because I had not read the first two books, but then the writing style changed a bit and it was nonstop action, I could not put it down.
“I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.”
“I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.”
March 20, 2015
An awesome national security thriller, I had a hard time putting this book down. There was so much going on in the book you lose yourself and your surroundings and I found myself just completely enthralled in the book. The author Robert Cook's writing was unbelieveable. The way that Cook described the Middle East made it feel like you were right there surrounded by the food and people. The characters were well developed and the plot was insanely believable. Being that "Pulse" is the third book of the series, I can only imagine how engaging the first two Cooch books are. Anyone that loves engaging, believable, and exciting national security thrillers will love this book.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
February 19, 2015
Pulse is one of those books that is difficult to put down. The intertwining of action; high tech, and politics is the hook. I like the advanced techno weapon and military tactics. The authors research into the state of nuclear and digital warfare is exciting. He also works from personal knowledge of the weaponry. I would highly recommend this book to all who are interested in high tech war stories.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
May 11, 2015
Another good book in the "Cooch" series. It has a great cast of characters -- how often do you see a Moroccan/American soldier/former CIA operative/businessman/Islamic scholar as a main character. A great read for those who like stories dealing with national security, military issues, or global politics, but also interesting ideas for those interested in transforming education.
This book is very topical, addressing the Iranian nuke threat and conflict about Sunni and Shiite.
This book is very topical, addressing the Iranian nuke threat and conflict about Sunni and Shiite.
April 14, 2015
From small time action to country sized war, Cooch prevails.
What can I say but wow, audacious plans becoming reality. Cooch is still the main character but there are multiple storylines continuous evolving to wonderfully wrapped conclusion. This is the third book of the series and must be read in order for greater knowledge and satisfaction. Can't wait for next book.
What can I say but wow, audacious plans becoming reality. Cooch is still the main character but there are multiple storylines continuous evolving to wonderfully wrapped conclusion. This is the third book of the series and must be read in order for greater knowledge and satisfaction. Can't wait for next book.
July 8, 2015
Exciting as always
Love this series! Never thought I'd like this type of novel. Lots of military action, and some of it is beyond me as I don't have any military background. Some violence, but interesting ideas about government, politics. Little bit of sex. Cooch is back, working the powers that be to his advantage, and ultimately, the world in this series.
Love this series! Never thought I'd like this type of novel. Lots of military action, and some of it is beyond me as I don't have any military background. Some violence, but interesting ideas about government, politics. Little bit of sex. Cooch is back, working the powers that be to his advantage, and ultimately, the world in this series.
April 5, 2016
Another fast-paced book by Robert Cook!
I have really enjoyed Cooch and this book greatly added to that enjoyment! This book would have received five stars had the editing been better. I found many typos in the Kindle version of this book.
I have really enjoyed Cooch and this book greatly added to that enjoyment! This book would have received five stars had the editing been better. I found many typos in the Kindle version of this book.
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July 5, 2015
Review of Pulse
Very interesting premise. A bit too much detail in the technical arena. Could be more character development. Things fell into place a little too easily.
Very interesting premise. A bit too much detail in the technical arena. Could be more character development. Things fell into place a little too easily.
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