A game of titans: A novel

by Gary Alan Ruse

A cold war era technothriller featuring a modern American nuclear powered airship, larger than previous dirigibles, armed with high-tech laser weapons, missiles and VTOL jet fighters, in a race against the clock and a Russian aircraft carrier to reach a downed aircraft on a remote South Pacific atoll. Action, adventure, political intrigue and romance abound in this exciting suspense novel. * Stranded on the remote coral atoll of Tongareva, a defecting scientist hovers at deathÕs door. His frail body, the repository of secrets to a breakthrough in rocket propulsion, is soon to become the target of a deadly race between two of the most terrifying weapons systems ever devised. * Thousands of miles away in mid-Pacific, Rear Admiral Nikolay Bakhirev, commander of the Soviet super-carrier Kiev, has diverted his ship toward the atoll. At the same time the American nuclear airship Grand Eagle, a top-secret modern military successor to the dirigible, larger and more sophisticated than any in the past, carrying an elite team of scientists and military men, VTOL fighters and state of the art laser weaponry, leaves its secret underground hangar on its maiden flightÑto Tongareva. As the two juggernauts feint and probe, edging ever nearer to all-out combat on a scale Jules Verne never could have imagined, the hours tick away for the people on Tongareva, caught in their own bitter struggle for possession of the scientist and his vital secrets. * An unforgettable cold war technological thriller by the author of the chilling Houndstooth, praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as Òone of those books that takes todayÕs technology and carries it one giant leap forward.... Michael Crichton writes books like these.Ó

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

I love reading and writing! Have been a professional writer of science fiction, mysteries and "techno-thrillers" since the 70's, and served as an Army reporter in Vietnam. I have five previous novels published, "Houndstooth" and "A Game of Titans" in hardcovers by Prentice-Hall with foreign editions in Great Britain and Japan, and "The Gods of Cerus Major" in hardcover by Doubleday, and original paperbacks "Morlac: The Quest of the Green Magician" and "Death Hunt on a Dying Planet" by Signet/New American Library. Also a number of stories published in magazines and anthologies, and more than 900 newspaper articles in Community Newspapers. Now have a number of eBook editions out on Amazon and other eBook sites, and a number of film projects being shown to producers by my Hollywood agent.

Reviews

[James Lowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its fine. This is my exact definition of being whelmed by a story
It doesn't really have much in the way of themes or focus. After the prologue it starts off with a character who is in less then a third of the book, which was a weird move and all the parts with said character feel like padding. There's also a mystery bit where they're not sure who the trader is, which doesn't get enough focus to be that interesting till near the very end.
I have a few other issues, like the Soviet's having a formidable surface fleet which knowing russia's history when it comes to naval warfare got a snort out of me. Though the real issue for me is that I learned about it through a channel that talks about stories involving airships. Which this has one. But at same time it really didn't need to be an airship. The Grand Eagle could have been anything really. It could have been a hydrofoil, or a ekranoplan or any other experimental air/water craft.

[denise hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

A !omg lost treasure Found

Early In my Military career I came across this book In the base library. Talk about talk about good— — — —I must have been annoyed The librarian Because I checked it out 3 times to reread it twice. I cannot tell you how delighted I was to finally find this book In kindle Format. In truth I have been looking for this book For at least15-20 years I intended to savor This book again And will add to this review Thank you for an outstanding story Best regards Bill Hodges