What do you think?
Rate this book
Krone #1
The Krone Experiment
Book Description for Publication Date: August 15, 2012:
This techno-thriller novel is set at the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union, yet reflects today's headlines. Damage to a Russian aircraft carrier leads to a breakdown in the detente with the United States. Star wars erupt as the two countries invoke space-based weapons in a deadly face off in orbit. Robert Issacs, Deputy Director of Scientific Intelligence for the CIA, and his top aide, Dr. Patricia Danielson, connect the carrier damage with a mysterious seismic signal. Thwarted by internal CIA politics, they put their careers at risk to engage in an unauthorized consultation with Jason, the secret group of physicists who consult for the government. Astrophysicist Alex Runyan advances a fantastic theory that triggers a race for the truth before the conflict with Russia can spin out of control. The quest leads to the New Mexico laboratory of Paul Krone. The true danger dwarfs that posed by the international crisis. Bonus links to historical background material are provided at the end of the book. The Krone saga continues in the sequel, Krone Ascending, also available for Kindle.
This techno-thriller novel is set at the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union, yet reflects today's headlines. Damage to a Russian aircraft carrier leads to a breakdown in the detente with the United States. Star wars erupt as the two countries invoke space-based weapons in a deadly face off in orbit. Robert Issacs, Deputy Director of Scientific Intelligence for the CIA, and his top aide, Dr. Patricia Danielson, connect the carrier damage with a mysterious seismic signal. Thwarted by internal CIA politics, they put their careers at risk to engage in an unauthorized consultation with Jason, the secret group of physicists who consult for the government. Astrophysicist Alex Runyan advances a fantastic theory that triggers a race for the truth before the conflict with Russia can spin out of control. The quest leads to the New Mexico laboratory of Paul Krone. The true danger dwarfs that posed by the international crisis. Bonus links to historical background material are provided at the end of the book. The Krone saga continues in the sequel, Krone Ascending, also available for Kindle.
367 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1986
16 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
J. Craig Wheeler
12 books13 followersI'm an emeritus professor of astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin.
https://jcraigwheeler.ag-sites.net/in...
http://www.as.utexas.edu/~wheel/
http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/resear...
https://x.com/ast309
https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-craig-w...
My non-fiction genre is "astro lit." http://www.lablit.com/
https://jcraigwheeler.ag-sites.net/in...
http://www.as.utexas.edu/~wheel/
http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/resear...
https://x.com/ast309
https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-craig-w...
My non-fiction genre is "astro lit." http://www.lablit.com/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 3, 2012
Left me wanting more with every page! Dated but still excellent.
October 8, 2012
Everyone compares it to Clancy and justifiably so. However the plot is original and well written.
August 28, 2013
In a word : brilliant!!
January 15, 2013
Fast paced and well written. I enjoyed the action very much, especially the shuttle section.
February 4, 2022
Read this book as a pair with the direct sequel Krone Ascending. The books work together as a pair the first laying out the world ending problem and its origin story. The second showing the impact and societal changes resulting from the world threatening situation. A solid team tackles the problem using worldwide resources the only possible way to address a world ending problem. Whilst the early involvement of three letter agencies is a bit suspect the flow of the story hangs together. The books have a bit of the feeling of a Tom Clancy thriller and a film has been made but not yet watched.
Overall a gripping yarn that will fill the empty space on your reading schedule.
Overall a gripping yarn that will fill the empty space on your reading schedule.
January 24, 2018
A Novel of Nuclear Persuasion/The US; China and Russia Are Involved
JCW has penned a very important piece of fiction that every leader in this country needs to read. A a is sensitive event happens underneath a Russian's Aircraft Carrier which happens to catch fire at that moment. The following events lead to a near full blown war. This is an excellent read for the genre.....ER
JCW has penned a very important piece of fiction that every leader in this country needs to read. A a is sensitive event happens underneath a Russian's Aircraft Carrier which happens to catch fire at that moment. The following events lead to a near full blown war. This is an excellent read for the genre.....ER
November 22, 2017
Really interesting story. very good storytelling .
January 26, 2012
Enjoyable book set in the cold war in the Tom Clancy mode. The Yankees and Soviets are at the brink of nuclear war and the hero of the book, a senior CIA officer, must try to work out what is really happening to save the world.
Details: I picked up this book as it was written by an acquaintance of my wife's. That probably meant that my expectations were probably lower than normal, but this book exceeded them.
It was fast-paced and well-researched. I like how this booked explore science theories (and I hate science), and fed them successfully into the plot without the science taking over. I loved the moment when the great idea was figured out - it really had me there.
The Takeaway: If you like Tom Clancy pick this up. It add a little more science than Clancy usually does. Fun!
Details: I picked up this book as it was written by an acquaintance of my wife's. That probably meant that my expectations were probably lower than normal, but this book exceeded them.
It was fast-paced and well-researched. I like how this booked explore science theories (and I hate science), and fed them successfully into the plot without the science taking over. I loved the moment when the great idea was figured out - it really had me there.
The Takeaway: If you like Tom Clancy pick this up. It add a little more science than Clancy usually does. Fun!
June 12, 2013
Quite an interesting piece - set to cold war times & star wars (SDI) back drop. Several interesting elements ... I found it a rather good mix of plot, characters, context and story telling. You can tell the author is probably not a seasoned writer the way a Tom Clancy or Michael Crichton would be, but the # and variety of characters, barely enough character development etc. makes it readable. But talking of black holes as weapons was a bit too comical to make it believable, not withstanding the heavy dose of scientific jargon in the story.
The ending was something I did not expect, but in retrospect, well thought of indeed.
Good read all in all and I liked it!
The ending was something I did not expect, but in retrospect, well thought of indeed.
Good read all in all and I liked it!
December 7, 2022
The Krone Experiment blew my mind!
J. Craig Wheeler wrote an incredible story set at the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union. Damage to a Russian aircraft carrier leads to a breakdown in the detente with the United States.
A science team, led by the Deputy Director of Scientific Intelligence for the CIA, and his top aide, try to find out what happened. An astrophysicist proposes a mind-blowing theory about a fabricated mini-black hole. Their search leads to the Krone's lab. Krone is a real genius, but not an evil one.
If you're into hard science-fiction with a serious whiff of military and politics, then this is an amazing read.
J. Craig Wheeler wrote an incredible story set at the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union. Damage to a Russian aircraft carrier leads to a breakdown in the detente with the United States.
A science team, led by the Deputy Director of Scientific Intelligence for the CIA, and his top aide, try to find out what happened. An astrophysicist proposes a mind-blowing theory about a fabricated mini-black hole. Their search leads to the Krone's lab. Krone is a real genius, but not an evil one.
If you're into hard science-fiction with a serious whiff of military and politics, then this is an amazing read.
November 4, 2016
A Soviet aircraft carrier is severely damaged at the start of this story, pushing the USSR and US toward a nuclear showdown. As the two governments push steadily toward the brink of mutually assured destruction, continued investigation by the CIA deputy director of scientific intelligence leads to discovery of a cause that could be even more destructive and more inevitable. Can preventing a nuclear holocaust still leave you hopeless? Entertaining thriller for my geek, science side.
December 26, 2013
Found this a very good book, but at times a bit too technical in what was going on. Also found it a little confusing at times when switching between characters. Very interesting olot and a great group of characters. This is one I would read again.
April 11, 2007
J. Craig Wheeler is my Astronomy prof. from UT Austin.
July 24, 2014
Excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
June 30, 2014
It's a very interesting premise. But suffers from lack of polish. There are some places where the transitions seem abrupt or the dialogue forced. I think it could have done with a good editor.
January 11, 2014
Very slow to get going. But interesting story overall.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews