The Zarrabian Incident

by C.A. James

I was unable to put it down ... Full of twists and turns made in Tom Clancy style.-- Amazon reviews$0.99 On Sale!What's the difference between a soldier and a terrorist? Sent from Iran to wreak vengeance on America, Zarrabian is here to show what a real soldier can do. Only this time it's personal.Zarrabian’s attack on the Golden Gate Bridge quickly deepens into a mystery as FBI agent McCaig realizes he knows Zarrabian, a respected Colonel in the Iranian Army who once saved McCaig’s life. As McCaig digs deeper, he and famed television reporter Christine Garret find themselves thrown together and on the run as the case unravels into layers of conspiracy, deception, and treason. As they race to stop more terrorist attacks, Zarrabian forces them to face the blurry lines between terrorism, war, patriotism, and treason.Who is the terrorist … and who is the hero?C.A. James hit this one out of the park ... I highly recommend this novel.-- GoodReads reviewA story Vince Flynn or Robert Ludlum might have terrific debut for this natural action-adventure novelist. -- Amazon review[This] is going to be picked up by Hollywood very soon.-- Amazon reviewThis isn't your average terrorist-kills-a-bunch-of-people book. It keeps you guessing and re-guessing from the beginning all the way through to the end.-- Amazon reviewI was unable to put it down ... so many twists and turns that keep you guessing, you constantly want to find out what could possibly happen next. It is story-telling at its best. -- GoodReads reviewNever a dull moment ... twists/turns and a great set of unique characters-- Amazon review

Genres: Thriller

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 3, 2015

About the author

Before embarking on a college career, C.A. James spent four years as a sailing instructor, boat builder, machinist, and carpenter, and had several deep-sea sailing adventures. These taught him the value of craftsmanship, the satisfaction that comes from quality work, and what it means to have real responsibilities. He also figured out that laboring in the hot sun can make college quite attractive.

Born and raised in California, James graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in electrical engineering, and some years later earned his master's degree in Computer Science from Stanford University, specializing in computational linguistics and artificial intelligence. It was while at Stanford studying artificial intelligence that James got his first inspiration to write a book.

In 2010, James' first book, The Religion Virus: Why We Believe in God was initially published by O-Books of London. James became a prolific blogger and wrote over five hundred articles about religion, morality, politics and related topics.

The Zarrabian Incident is James' first work of fiction.

In addition to his writing, James is an accomplished amateur guitarist, a tolerable clarinet player, a deep-sea sailor, and father of three. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking and bicycling the beautiful beaches and mountains Northern California.

Reviews

[Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Zarrabian Incident”, a literary fiction debut by C.A. James, brings an adventurous and thrilling story, full of twists and turns made in Tom Clancy style that gives reader a hint nice future is ahead of this writer.

I will not disclose the story details in order not to spoil the fun of own discovery, but reader can be sure the surprises await you behind every corner.

And though there are several known self-published characteristics that can be found throughout the novel, I must say I’m pleasantly surprised with the level of quality this author provided – from the beginning to the last page his novel manages to keep reader’s attention, delivering tons of thrill and suspense that will satisfy genre lovers.

Probably the novel’s biggest strength is skillful way in which author managed to combine different motives that in the end resulted with work sufficiently authentic yet still with enough fiction to be an interesting page turner.

Therefore all those reader who seek novels full of action, adventure and uncertainty what comes next will found James’s novel an engaging and exciting read – a title certainly worth consideration.

I was given a copy of this book by the author for the purpose of unbiased review, while all the presented information is based on my impressions.

[Alan T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free pre-release e-book through a friend of a friend, but there was no coercion to write a good review (I never met or communicated with the author).

I was very surprised by this one, it's a page turner. I would have expected something like this from an established author (Tom Clancy, Lee Child, and maybe James Patterson come to mind), but this is C.A. James' first novel. I expect we'll see a lot more from this guy.

This isn't your average terrorist-kills-a-bunch-of-people book. It keeps you guessing and re-guessing from the beginning all the way through to the end. And it hits far too close to home; I keep wondering how much of this might really be going on. I particularly liked that the so-called terrorist feels like a real person with real feelings, motives and inner conflicts, not the typical two-dimensional caricature you usually see in this genre. I recently read "The Lion's Game" by Nelson DeMille, and this book's Zarrabian character is definitely better than DeMille's "Lion" character.

I love a good adventure/thriller, and this is one.

[Jim Whitefield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected to take much longer to finish this book, as when I started it we were in the middle of moving house and preparing for the holiday season, in addition to working hard on my own next book. However, once started, I was unable to put it down and found myself continuing to read at every given opportunity, putting all else aside. I finished reading today, on Christmas Eve, just in time to start cooking. (And that would have waited)! This book is quite a ride; it grabs you from the start and leaves you wanting more at every page turn. C.A James certainly got something (well, everything really), right in this work; and a first novel of such quality leaves me eagerly anticipating his next book. I don’t do spoilers, so I will say nothing of the story other than it is brilliantly written, superbly researched and it eloquently describes each situation with enough detail to satisfy but not enough to overdo things. James cleverly intertwines various action scenes, keeps a fast pace, and never loses (or even remotely bores) the reader. There are so many twists and turns that keep you guessing, you constantly want to find out what could possibly happen next. It is story-telling at its best. This is a must read for lovers of the genre (mystery, thriller, suspense, terrorism and conspiracy – combined). It has all the ingredients for a marvellous film script. Five star stuff! (Jim Whitefield ~ Author).

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, and I really enjoyed reading it, overall.
Positives: The book was a lot of fun and very fast-paced. The characters were interesting, and actually a bit diverse for this kind of book.
Negatives: The book was intended to make you think about what a terrorist is and why they do what they do, but the situation was so outlandish that it didn't do what it was intended. Instead, it left you thinking that this situation was outside the norm, and not what makes up a normal terrorist.
Would I read more by the author? Maybe. The writing was good, and I could see the author developing his work to have more social impact.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. I would put it in the scope of James Bond, though.

I received this book from the Goodreads Giveaway.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is wonderful first novel. C.A. James hit this one out of the park. It was well thought out and the plot was involved with twists to keep you interested. I highly recommend this novel.

[Cherie Melbourne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Zarrabian Incident

Wow, what a page turner with a100 mph pace that I couldn't leave. I was a little sad at the end that Zarrabian never got to meet his son, he didn't deserve that ending.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to read everything that C.A. James writes.

[David Lichtenheim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't hold my interest

Found myself drifting from the story on numerous occasions. Story was just ok. Not sure if I would recommend reading

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colonel Ahmad Zarrabian (USC Berkeley, engineering) watched in delight as the golden gate bridge (SF, CA) split in to pieces along with vehicles & PPL & sank into the water.

Christine Garrett (TV reporter), aboard her yacht Watergate & Kerry (avid yacht sailor) her friend were racing below the bridge when it happened.
FBI Special Agent Omar Bashir, FBI Special Agent smith (SF), FBI Special Agent nakamura, FBI Special Agent Rheinholdt, FBI Special Agent lee, FBI Special Agent Garcia, FBI Special Agent Atkins, FBI Special Agent musa, FBI Special Agent gupta, the CIA, NSA, & SFP/D, were all doing their own investigations on the terrorist bombing incident.
FBI agent Thomas T.J. McCaig (retired Captain, USMC, Special Operations) & Christine Garrett team up & meet with Colonel Ahmad Zarrabian. Why?
Fast-forward parts of Boston Harbor had been blown to smithereens.
Once again President Oliver Whitman, Senator Dean Platte (senate arms service committee, Jack’s Uncle), V.P. Helena Marshall Burns, Senator Noland (majority leader), Congressman Pearce, Chief of staff Jack Patterson (retired major general, Texas A&M, BS PS, MS history, CEO Patterson-Smith Energy Group), & Erica Blackwell NS Advisor, meet again.

Who is playing whom?
Will everyone involved figure out who the terrorists are?
Will they be brought to justice?
What about T.J. & Christine?

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written adventure book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great adventure movie, or mini TV series. 1 book you must read to the very end. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free Goodreads; 1st. Printing; Author; Autographed; paperback book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Jorge · Rating 4 out of 5]

If anything, CA James manages to wite an entertaining story, non-stop action that is actually quite good quality. If you stop and think about the chance s of something like this ever happening, it gets real scary. This reminds me of Naomi Klein,s The shock doctrine. It is a good example to explain her conspiration theories.

[Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as a Goodreads giveaway. If you like conspiracy theory books you will enjoy this book. I thought the story was very well written and pulled you along.