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Simultaneous Meltdown
Lynette Sommer ends her carefully calculated PowerPoint presentation in the Hancock Tower with a pink slip shoved across her desk and a standing order to vacate the premises immediately. Richard Lancaster, III, races through The Pru with a tie stuffed down the front of his khakis and an overzealous security guard hot on his trail. At the Boston Public Library, Carl Razer finds himself in the midst of a manic encounter from a teenage book enthusiast who has let the glitter and glamor of Twilight destroy what is left of his brain cells. And then it gets progressively worse, as three homegrown terrorists—Matthew, Mark, and John—destroy three vital Boston landmarks—The Hancock Tower, the Pru, and the Boston Public Library—with the drop of a backpack and the flick of a switch…
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 17, 2018
1320 people want to read
About the author
Robert Downs
11 books437 followersRobert Downs aspired to be a writer before he realized how difficult the writing process was. Fortunately, he'd already fallen in love with the craft, otherwise his tales might never have seen print. Originally from West Virginia, he has lived in Virginia, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and now resides in California. When he’s not writing, Downs can be found reading, reviewing, traveling, or smiling. To find out more about his latest projects, or to reach out to him on the Internet, visit the author’s website: http://www.RobertDowns.net. The Bridal Chase is his seventh book and second novella.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 2, 2019
Simultaneous Meltdown by Robert Downs shows a sound and is an aspiring writer at work. Each character matures well, from Lynette to the three terrorists Matthew, Mark, and John.
“Lynette Sommer stood before a sea of familiar faces. Male faces. Each one had turned his attention directed toward her. She clicked through the PowerPoint slides, each one culminating, building on the one before it. Most of the eyes were glazed over or at least turned in the opposite direction. Hunched over bodies covered leather seats. A few yawns filled the crowd. No hands shot up to stop her, but not a soul seemed intrigued by what she had to say. Even her boss, sitting at the head of the table who had seemed to support her and told her she was a star pupil within the firm, seemed to have backed off.”
Richard Lancaster, III, races through The Pru with a tie stuffed down the front of his khakis and an overzealous security guard hot on his trail. At the Boston Public Library, Carl Razer finds himself in the midst of a manic encounter from a teenage book enthusiast who has let the glitter and glamor of Twilight destroy what is left of his brain cells. And then it gets progressively worse, as three homegrown terrorists—Matthew, Mark, and John—destroy three vital Boston landmarks—The Hancock Tower, the Pru, and the Boston Public Library—with the drop of a backpack and the flick of a switch…
Such a dramatic story. The unfolding was genius. Robert Downs ended was superb, the death of two terrorists and the capture of the third, which will ultimately end in his death.
“Lynette Sommer stood before a sea of familiar faces. Male faces. Each one had turned his attention directed toward her. She clicked through the PowerPoint slides, each one culminating, building on the one before it. Most of the eyes were glazed over or at least turned in the opposite direction. Hunched over bodies covered leather seats. A few yawns filled the crowd. No hands shot up to stop her, but not a soul seemed intrigued by what she had to say. Even her boss, sitting at the head of the table who had seemed to support her and told her she was a star pupil within the firm, seemed to have backed off.”
Richard Lancaster, III, races through The Pru with a tie stuffed down the front of his khakis and an overzealous security guard hot on his trail. At the Boston Public Library, Carl Razer finds himself in the midst of a manic encounter from a teenage book enthusiast who has let the glitter and glamor of Twilight destroy what is left of his brain cells. And then it gets progressively worse, as three homegrown terrorists—Matthew, Mark, and John—destroy three vital Boston landmarks—The Hancock Tower, the Pru, and the Boston Public Library—with the drop of a backpack and the flick of a switch…
Such a dramatic story. The unfolding was genius. Robert Downs ended was superb, the death of two terrorists and the capture of the third, which will ultimately end in his death.
March 12, 2019
WOW! Just... wow! Now that was a story that was exciting right from the get-go! Extremely well thought out and played. I never once was confused even with multiple characters and switching the main character with each chapter. Here we have the three "bad guys" Mathew, Mark, and John (I kept waiting for a Luke LOL). You get to see their planning, the carrying-out and aftermath of three bombings. Then then you are left with the survivors. The ones who maybe should have been dead too, but because of some strange fate (or a smoke break) they are alive! And of course the detectives.
I felt like I was watching through a window. Watching a very terrible thing play out. This story was creepy (in a good way), scary (in a good way) and definitely made you think (maybe not in a good way).
Fully action packed, great character development, very vivid details that put horrifying pictures in your head with a great and exciting story line. An over all excellent read. Loved it!
I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from RABT Book Tours - Thank You!!
I felt like I was watching through a window. Watching a very terrible thing play out. This story was creepy (in a good way), scary (in a good way) and definitely made you think (maybe not in a good way).
Fully action packed, great character development, very vivid details that put horrifying pictures in your head with a great and exciting story line. An over all excellent read. Loved it!
I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from RABT Book Tours - Thank You!!
January 7, 2019
A very intense read
This book was quite interesting. It follows three terrorists, three victims and the cops and other responding personnel. It’s told in such a way that the reader can imagine being there seeing it all unfold in front of you while at the same time not being able to imagine the true horror of what it would be like to witness a terrifying experience like this first hand… if that makes sense. I was completely engrossed in this book. It’s not a long read but you may need to step away from it occasionally to process what just happened. I couldn’t take it all in at once and had to break it up a little. The author definitely managed to get into the characters heads and truly showed the reader who they are.
This book was quite interesting. It follows three terrorists, three victims and the cops and other responding personnel. It’s told in such a way that the reader can imagine being there seeing it all unfold in front of you while at the same time not being able to imagine the true horror of what it would be like to witness a terrifying experience like this first hand… if that makes sense. I was completely engrossed in this book. It’s not a long read but you may need to step away from it occasionally to process what just happened. I couldn’t take it all in at once and had to break it up a little. The author definitely managed to get into the characters heads and truly showed the reader who they are.
January 10, 2019
Decent read. Story line was not bad, but a tad confusing to follow in a few places. Hope this author continues to write, and improve the quality of his writing as he goes. Not to suggest that his writing is bad - he shows real talent and can hopefully refine his skills with further experience.
December 28, 2018
A whirlwind of mayhem, random skipping around and a little discombobulated which made it hard to easily follow this story.
March 1, 2019
Simultaneous Meltdown gives us behind the scenes from several different characters and where they fit in with the story line. Simultaneous Meltdown tells the stories of three landmarks in Boston that are simultaneous blown up. One of the places hit is The Boston Public Library another is the Hancock Tower and last one is the Pru.
Lynette Summer worked at the Hancock Tower and had just received her dismissal papers and was walking out the door when the explosion occurred.
Carl Razer works at the Boston Public Library and was outside on a smoke break when the library went up in flames. Carl had just dealt with an obnoxious teenager who wanted to check out Twilight. Carl informs him that it was not available at the moment and could put his name on the waiting list if he liked. The guy not believing Carl later returns with a gun which causes Carl some stress and in the need for a cig the reason that he is outside and not inside when the bomb goes off.
Richard Lancaster, III is racing through the Pru with a security guard hot on his trail when the bomb explodes he just barley makes it out. Richard was at the Pru looking for a tie.
Simultaneous Meltdown is filled with excitement and action that will draw you in and keep you wanting more. It is a very intense and invigorating read racing through your mind like a film on slow motion when the bombings were in progress. I could see just one of the bombers as he was exiting the building just when the yellow flames comes out of the building looking as if they were surrounding him on all sides with pieces of the building, glass and wood looking as if it is flying at the guy mixed in with the big yellow flames and about to smack him in the back. I could see the guy as he jumped from one step to another and being in slow motion I see him in midair with the flames right behind him. The whole book played out like a movie in my head. I had no trouble picturing any of it with the descriptions the author was giving. They were so vivid.
I would recommend Simultaneous Meltdown to all fans of a great thriller laced with bombings and terrorism.
Lynette Summer worked at the Hancock Tower and had just received her dismissal papers and was walking out the door when the explosion occurred.
Carl Razer works at the Boston Public Library and was outside on a smoke break when the library went up in flames. Carl had just dealt with an obnoxious teenager who wanted to check out Twilight. Carl informs him that it was not available at the moment and could put his name on the waiting list if he liked. The guy not believing Carl later returns with a gun which causes Carl some stress and in the need for a cig the reason that he is outside and not inside when the bomb goes off.
Richard Lancaster, III is racing through the Pru with a security guard hot on his trail when the bomb explodes he just barley makes it out. Richard was at the Pru looking for a tie.
Simultaneous Meltdown is filled with excitement and action that will draw you in and keep you wanting more. It is a very intense and invigorating read racing through your mind like a film on slow motion when the bombings were in progress. I could see just one of the bombers as he was exiting the building just when the yellow flames comes out of the building looking as if they were surrounding him on all sides with pieces of the building, glass and wood looking as if it is flying at the guy mixed in with the big yellow flames and about to smack him in the back. I could see the guy as he jumped from one step to another and being in slow motion I see him in midair with the flames right behind him. The whole book played out like a movie in my head. I had no trouble picturing any of it with the descriptions the author was giving. They were so vivid.
I would recommend Simultaneous Meltdown to all fans of a great thriller laced with bombings and terrorism.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews