Dark End of the Spectrum

Dark End of The Spectrum

When planes start dropping out of the sky and when people and their electronic equipment - computers and cellular phones - are baked and fried from a deadly energy pulse, the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, and the President of the United States discover they are helpless against their own technology, which has been commandeered by a group of terrorists and turned against them. Without any plausible way for the government to prevent the terrorists from destroying the lives of millions of people on the East Coast - unless the government meets their demands - Dan Riker, a family man and an IT Security Expert, finds himself in the middle of a technological war that will remind the reader of the many patriotic exploits of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. If you like Jack Ryan, you'll love Dan Riker.
Policastro's second novel, Dark End of the Spectrum, is a blockbuster of a story, with nonstop action that will keep you turning the pages. You will be swept away not only by the nonstop action that is typical of such authors as Tom Clancy, James Rollins, and Harlan Coben, you'll be captivated by Dan Riker's wife, Amelia, and his daughter, Kaileigh, who are abducted and held hostage by the terrorists to prevent Riker from helping the government. You will be reminded of one of the more classical and memorable lines of Bogart when he says to Bergman at the end of Casablanca: "The problem of three little people don't mount to a hill of beans in this crazy world." And this is significant because Bogart expresses the same sentiments Riker feels throughout the story, especially when he is forced to choose between saving the lives of millions of unsuspecting people or saving the lives of his beloved wife and daughter. Since reading Dark End of the Spectrum, I've often asked myself how would I respond if I woke up one morning and found myself facing a similar, undesirable situation or predicament as Dan Riker.
Creating fascinating prose, a wrenching human drama, and nonstop action is not an easy feat for any writer to accomplish, but Policastro succeeds superbly. He manages to explicate in layman terms the intricate workings behind modern technology, including PDAs, ultra wide band frequencies, heat seeking projectiles, direct energy weapons, direct energy pulses, global positioning systems, eye scans, computer chips with artificial intelligence, cellular phone technology, and the Internet. You will be more than a little fascinated by the workings of the neural bracelet that Riker and Takara wear on their wrists to communicate without the help of words their inner thoughts, emotions, and desires to one another over distance.
Dan Riker will find his way out of several interesting and deadly situations. For instance, Policastro will have him trapped in a buried school bus with Jake Stone, a former CIA agent and IT expert who will help Riker escape from the terrorists. Riker is also sent on a 150-mile trek across North Carolina to Wilmington in search of his wife and daughter, and falls into another trap. Your heart will be racing and pumping adrenaline as Riker narrowly escapes heat seeking projectiles, and cellular phones that are used by the terrorists to deliver deadly energy pulses.
Policastro portrays Riker as a well-rounded American male, whose life may be described as normal, serene, and unchallenging. However, all of this changes when his family is abducted and he becomes obsessed with the idea of revenge and doing whatever it takes to get his w

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This has got to be the worst book I have ever read!

I thought it was going to be about a terrorist attack aimed at our vast informations systems networks, but it is filled with GLARING INCONSISTENCIES and some of the worst sentence structure I have seen since high school. Too many unimportant minor details, but not enough background...934 pages, read at your own risk of insanity. Just too many good authors out there to waste your time with this!

This good really happen today

I loved this technoligical thriller. It is a recent book and in today's real world of terrorism, it could happen. I haven't ever read a book that was so real and scary. Every one should read this before voting day. It's not political, however, we need to protect America, which means voting for those that will protct America.

good premise, poorly written

While this book has a good plot, the editor should be fired! The poor grammar is very distracting and the book does not flow well. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

grammar and punctuations errors were distracting and confused the content. ending was just wrong and disappointing.

The grammar and punctuation errors were distracting. The ending was disappointing and not justified. Not a book I would pay full-price for.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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