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John Taft #2
Tremor: A John Taft Novel
More than 100 years ago, inventor Nikola Tesla created a device for transferring electricity without wires. It was supposed to be his greatest triumph—but his invention spawned a nightmare. And the nightmare has returned…
When unusual surges of electricity are tracked emanating from the former Yugoslavia, Special Agent John Taft uncovers a conspiracy of terror led by a fanatical Serbian nationalist—and powered by a machine capable of causing apocalyptic earthquakes to strike on command.
As the terrorists fell cities at will with their earth-shattering weapon, Taft must fight a battle on dangerous ground, against an unstable foe whose greatest desire is to control the world—or destroy it.
When unusual surges of electricity are tracked emanating from the former Yugoslavia, Special Agent John Taft uncovers a conspiracy of terror led by a fanatical Serbian nationalist—and powered by a machine capable of causing apocalyptic earthquakes to strike on command.
As the terrorists fell cities at will with their earth-shattering weapon, Taft must fight a battle on dangerous ground, against an unstable foe whose greatest desire is to control the world—or destroy it.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 2, 2023
There's weird power spikes in Europe. John Taft is sent to find out what's going on. It all has to do with Tesla. Cussler-esque, but pretty good.
May 6, 2018
Yeah, great book. Easy read. Done in less than a week. Definitely recommend.
December 5, 2019
Tremor is the second book in the John Taft series by Craig Dirgo, a collaborator with one of my favourite authors, Clive Cussler.
It's fun about the similarities between Cussler and Dirgo's characters, Dirk Pitt and John Taft both have four letter names. Both have side kicks, though I think that Pitt's buddy, Al Giordino, is a better character than Lorenzo (Larry) Martinez.
The basic premise was interesting - that Tesla's invention from the early 1900s has been resurrected by a madman to try and attack the US with a directed wave of electricity. However, while I generally enjoyed how the story moved, it just didn't grab hold of me and keep me enthralled like the early Cussler novels did.
If I have one beef, it is that even in 2006, the ladykiller secret agent that scores with every woman he sets in his sights seems a bit too cliché. Hell, even James Bond had to work for it on occasion. It just seemed a bit dated.
But as far as time well wasted, it was a nice diversion on my daily commute and on the weekend in between other books. I enjoyed it, but not as much as other books in this genre. Overall, it is worth the time spent reading.
It's fun about the similarities between Cussler and Dirgo's characters, Dirk Pitt and John Taft both have four letter names. Both have side kicks, though I think that Pitt's buddy, Al Giordino, is a better character than Lorenzo (Larry) Martinez.
The basic premise was interesting - that Tesla's invention from the early 1900s has been resurrected by a madman to try and attack the US with a directed wave of electricity. However, while I generally enjoyed how the story moved, it just didn't grab hold of me and keep me enthralled like the early Cussler novels did.
If I have one beef, it is that even in 2006, the ladykiller secret agent that scores with every woman he sets in his sights seems a bit too cliché. Hell, even James Bond had to work for it on occasion. It just seemed a bit dated.
But as far as time well wasted, it was a nice diversion on my daily commute and on the weekend in between other books. I enjoyed it, but not as much as other books in this genre. Overall, it is worth the time spent reading.
August 19, 2017
Obviously Dirgo is a Cussler fan if not a protege. Though the names have been changed to protect the nefarious, Clive makes an appearance in this book...and it is a serious one, not just a chance encounter. Dirgo has made this book very exciting. His plots may seem far-fetched, but he sells them well. The characters are believable, dialogue is realistic and the action is well described and thrilling. All in all a very good read.
November 8, 2024
Picked this up because the author co wrote several books with Clive Cussler. Very disappointed with it. I'm willing to suspend disbelief with this type of book, but it was written very amateurishly. The word spies was used several times by characters who were in the CIA. Just weird. The main character received guns, tech, and any kind of support he needed from one man in Belgrade, like he was shopping in a supermarket. I got bored and couldn't finish it.
January 12, 2020
Quit after slogging through a third. While the premise was good, the writing was ok, the characters fairly well fleshed out, and the pace moved along fairly well, I gave up when the author stuck a Clive-Cussler-esque writer in as a valid character. It was way too cartoony for me. Wouldn't recommend this book.
December 25, 2021
A sure upgrade from the first Taft novel, the second installment in the series is well paced after a plodding prologue. This spy thriller is much more in line with Dirgo’s books in the Oregon Files Series and I hope the next two books in the series continue with the pace of adventure.
January 21, 2022
Was drawn to this book because of the Tesla connection, and although it is a decent adventure book, it was quite predictable at every turn, and the American gung-ho bravado was a bit over the top at times.
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January 27, 2022I didn't read it all
December 18, 2012
Even though Dirgo’s first book, “The Einstein Papers,” wasn’t that great, I knew Clive Cussler couldn’t be wrong about him, and in “Tremor” it showed. The writing is more practiced, the editing tighter (though the copyediting was nonexistent), and the characters more alive. Dirgo is still going with a conglomerate cast rather than focusing on a single protagonist, but his characters are distinct enough to tell them apart, so it works.
Special Agent John Taft of the secret National Intelligence Agency is sent to Serbia to investigate some surges on the European power grid. Upon his arrival in Belgrade, as he checks out the security at the Nikola Tesla museum, he also checks out its curator, Nadia Slavja, and gets invited to her apartment for a night of passion. While she sleeps, he copies her keys, but he makes a mistake that turns his advantageous one-night stand into something more. When Nadia became suspicious of his motives, she spoke to her brother, a Serbian agent, and Taft winds up coming clean to the brother and sister and involving them in his scheme to save the world.
When the NIA ties the European power surges to earthquake activity, and it looks as if it’s all made possible by a device invented by Nikola Tesla, a plan is devised to root out the perpetrator. The Americans make off with Tesla’s papers, leaving a set of decoys planted with locator chips so when they are stolen they can be followed to the bad guys’ lair.
Meanwhile, Taft’s partner, Larry Martinez, teams up with a thriller author who fills in a lot of blanks on the capabilities of the Tesla device, while the evil perpetrator, Galadin Ratzovik, plays the stock market and prods his captive scientist into finishing his work on the device to effect his grand finale. Mid-mission, Taft gets called back to the States to work more closely with his partner and the author while the military takes over the search for the perp in Serbia. With the clock ticking and the Netherlands releasing a Serbian war criminal to protect themselves from a demonstration of the Tesla device, Taft and his cronies finally figure out what Ratzovik’s plan really is, but will they get there in time to stop it?
This book began as a spy tale, following John Taft on his mission in Serbia, then deftly branched out into a full-blown, multiple-agency, across-the-globe mission with several teams following a multitude of leads, tightening their net as they go, until the conclusion explodes onto the pages. Going back to the multi-angle, intricate format of his “Oregon” Files novels, Dirgo delivers a page-turning adventure.
Special Agent John Taft of the secret National Intelligence Agency is sent to Serbia to investigate some surges on the European power grid. Upon his arrival in Belgrade, as he checks out the security at the Nikola Tesla museum, he also checks out its curator, Nadia Slavja, and gets invited to her apartment for a night of passion. While she sleeps, he copies her keys, but he makes a mistake that turns his advantageous one-night stand into something more. When Nadia became suspicious of his motives, she spoke to her brother, a Serbian agent, and Taft winds up coming clean to the brother and sister and involving them in his scheme to save the world.
When the NIA ties the European power surges to earthquake activity, and it looks as if it’s all made possible by a device invented by Nikola Tesla, a plan is devised to root out the perpetrator. The Americans make off with Tesla’s papers, leaving a set of decoys planted with locator chips so when they are stolen they can be followed to the bad guys’ lair.
Meanwhile, Taft’s partner, Larry Martinez, teams up with a thriller author who fills in a lot of blanks on the capabilities of the Tesla device, while the evil perpetrator, Galadin Ratzovik, plays the stock market and prods his captive scientist into finishing his work on the device to effect his grand finale. Mid-mission, Taft gets called back to the States to work more closely with his partner and the author while the military takes over the search for the perp in Serbia. With the clock ticking and the Netherlands releasing a Serbian war criminal to protect themselves from a demonstration of the Tesla device, Taft and his cronies finally figure out what Ratzovik’s plan really is, but will they get there in time to stop it?
This book began as a spy tale, following John Taft on his mission in Serbia, then deftly branched out into a full-blown, multiple-agency, across-the-globe mission with several teams following a multitude of leads, tightening their net as they go, until the conclusion explodes onto the pages. Going back to the multi-angle, intricate format of his “Oregon” Files novels, Dirgo delivers a page-turning adventure.
December 19, 2011
Dirgo has written on the Oregon Files with Clive Cussler, so he comes from a solid thriller/adventure background. This one involved some little known work of Tesla, and the effects it had. Cue our hero to come to the rescue, going over to Serbia to find out what is going on, and why there are surges to the European power grid. That's when he digs up the Tesla connection. Interspersed with Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian politics, the return of a dictator, and one man's obsessive need for money, and you have your standard Cussler like book. The main character wasn't well fleshed out, but the minor ones were somewhat better, and he put in a minor character that was Cussler in a thin disguise. Not a great book, but fun to read at the beach, etc.
February 23, 2012
After reading this solo effort by Craig Dirgo I can understand the drop in quality seen in some of the later Clive Cussler novels, especially those co-authored by Dirgo. This book was entirely sophomoric in the plot, research and overall tenor. If I am reading a book and come across an obvious flaw in a factual statement, I become overly aware of others as they may appear. I won't list them but, believe me, they are in abundance. I would not recommend this book. And it is a shame, as the back story of Tesla and his work could have been interesting, at the least. As it is, I don't feel comfortable with anything that appears in this book, given the sloppy research evident in the rest of the book.
October 21, 2008
You know when you are reading a book and you can almost imagine the events taking place in a movie? Well, this book was like that only the movie I was imagining the events taking place in was a cartoon. It wasn't terrible, but I probably won't pull another Dirgo book off the shelf to read anytime soon.
The best part about the book, by far, was the introduction. I really enjoyed the Tesla aspects of the book. The rest just didn't meet my expectations.
This book made me want to do more research on Tesla, however.
The best part about the book, by far, was the introduction. I really enjoyed the Tesla aspects of the book. The rest just didn't meet my expectations.
This book made me want to do more research on Tesla, however.
November 5, 2011
A good book gone bad by numerous and glaring misspellings. I don't mean a couple. I mean dozens. It really took away from the story. What the heck is wrong with this author? On top of that, his publisher couldn't catch them? Craig really should invest in a dictionary.
May 6, 2015
Kudos to Craig Dirgo for giving Clive Cussler a role in saving the nation!
May 12, 2015
Slow start but I warmed to the story. Reminiscent of Cussler's novels.
February 13, 2016
finished SOMETIME in 2007; dirgo has written with clive cussler
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews