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Erin Neal has been living a secluded life in the Arizona desert since the death of his girlfriend and he isn’t happy when an oil company executive comes calling. A number of important Saudi wells have stopped producing and Erin is the world’s foremost expert in resolving just these kinds of complications. As far as he’s concerned, though, he’s left that world behind. Not his problem. Homeland Security sees things differently. Erin quickly finds himself stuck in the Saudi desert, studying a new bacteria with a voracious appetite for oil and an uncanny talent for destroying drilling equipment. But worst of all is its ability to spread. It soon becomes clear that if this contagion isn’t stopped, it will infiltrate the world’s petroleum reserves, cutting the industrial world off from the energy that provides the heat, food, and transportation necessary for survival. Erin realizes that there’s something eerily familiar about this bacteria. And that it couldn’t possibly have evolved on its own.
Masterful thriller writer Mills returns to his series hero, former FBI agent Mark Beamon (last seen in 2002's Sphere of Influence), with a pulse-pounding apocalyptic scenario that is terrifying in its plausibility. Maverick environmentalist Erin Neal has become a pariah after his provocative book angered both conservationists and conservatives, and a recluse after the death of his ex-lover, eco-terrorist Jenna Kalin. His solitude is interrupted when Beamon, now the head of energy security for the U.S. government, tracks him down to stop a disaster: the destruction of the world's major oilfields by bioengineered bacteria remarkably similar to ones Neal himself considered designing. The bioweapons have already infected the major Saudi sources of oil, and the impact on the U.S. economy makes the identification of the terrorists and a plan to stem the spread of their microorganisms the national priority. While such plots are a dime a dozen, Mills's meticulous research, pacing and carefully developed characters make this variation particularly convincing. (Nov.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Informationoddspirit
Posted October 12, 2009
Darkness definitely falls on this book. The plot drags in several places. The basic premise of the book is interesting, but the author does not hold the reader's attention.
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Posted December 1, 2008
I have read 2 of Kyle Mills' books. Fade and The Second Horseman. Both excellent reads. They grab you from the begining and you don't want to put them down. Unfortunatly, I didn't want to keep picking this one up. I thought it would get better but sadly it did not. I am still a fan and will continue to read his books. Maybe from the library instead of purchasing though.
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Posted September 9, 2008
This was the first Kyle Mills book for me. The character development was quick and brief but the action started right away. Given what is happening in the world now, with the oil crisis, the idea of such a disasterous bacteria was completely unnerving for me. It has haunted me for days. The book was an exciting quick read. I highly recommended this book.
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Posted July 10, 2008
Environmentalist Erin Neal seems to have done the impossible his latest book left him with irate enemies from both extremes of the environmental vs. economy issue. However, how angry becomes apparent when someone kills his former lover eco-terrorist Jenna Kalin Erin assumes his book was partially the cause so he becomes a hermit wanting nothing to do with the world at lodge.------------- Mark Beamon heads the Homeland Security Department energy security section. He and his team know first hand of a calamitous conspiracy to use bacteria to destroy the major oilfields the bio-terrorists have already caused substantial damage in Saudi Arabia. He needs bioengineering help so turns to the American expert reclusive Erin who had conceptually thought of creating something similar. The world economy is at stake with Mark and a reluctant Erin trying to prevent pandemic biblical destruction.------------ This action-packed relevant thriller works because Kyle Mills insures the bioweapon employed by the terrorists seems feasible to develop. The story line is fast-paced in spite of an over abundance of subplots (some feeling like cul de sacs) early on used to fully develop Erin and Mark so readers understand where their loyalties lie before they hook up and to insure the bioweapon and its results in Saudi Arabia appear reasonably possible. The tale soon converges into a stop the terrorists¿ thriller. The key to the return of the former FBI operative (see SPHERE OF INFLUENCE) is the realism that this could happen.--------- Harriet Klausner
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Posted December 1, 2007
Always a fan of Kyle Mills and the depth of his plot lines, however the amount of subplots was confusing and unbelievable. How did an intelligent woman like Jenna become so involved in 'the dark side' that she faked her death and what did she hope to gain? I became so tired of the different scenarios involving Erin, whom I liked, that I didn't finish the book. Perhaps when I have a week of nothing to do but read, I'll take the time to delve into the subplots, because Mills is one of my favorite authors.
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Posted November 28, 2007
I expected more from Kyle Mills. This plot became so tedious that I caught myself skipping parts so I could finish it. Reading it was like analyzing a text book, and I had enough of that in college. Wasted my money on this one.
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Posted October 8, 2007
Mills is perhaps my favorite thriller writer, and DARKNESS FALLS provides his fans with another great book. This might be his fastest-paced book yet, and I finished it in less than a week. Mark Beamon's last appearance (Mills will be hard-pressed to use him again after this) delivers what we've come to expect: global crisis with a realistic, sarcastic sense of humor. Mills also provides a rather frightening and realistic scenario for how dangerously dependent the United States is on oil and the catastrophe that would follow if that supply were suddenly cut off.
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Posted January 4, 2011
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Posted October 14, 2008
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Posted March 19, 2011
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Posted March 3, 2011
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Overview
Erin Neal has been living a secluded life in the Arizona desert since the death of his girlfriend and he isn’t happy when an oil company executive comes calling. A number of important Saudi wells have stopped producing and Erin is the world’s foremost expert in resolving just these kinds of complications. As far as he’s concerned, though, he’s left that world behind. Not his problem. Homeland Security sees things differently. Erin quickly finds himself stuck in the Saudi desert, studying a new bacteria with a voracious appetite for oil and an uncanny talent for destroying drilling equipment. But worst of all is its ability to spread. It soon becomes clear that if this contagion isn’t ...