The Capricorn Quadrant

by Charles Ryan

Overview

A computer virus has infiltrated the most lethal weapon in the global arsenal-a Soviet stealth aircraft with the power to ignite nuclear holocaust. Now it has jettisoned its human pilots and lies on the surface of the Pacific with all its system intact, programmed for catastrophe. This relentlessly daring and proactive high-tech global thriller delivers pulse-raising suspense from its opening sentence to its gripping climax. A true master of adventure." - Clive Cussler

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612321691
Publisher:	Speaking Volumes, LLC
Publication date:	11/29/2011
Pages:	382
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

Charles Ryan served in the United States Air Force, as a senior section airman and munitions system specialist in the armament of the 199th Fighter Squadron based at Hickman AFB, Honolulu. He attended the Universities of Hawaii and Washington, and has worked at numerous occupations, including judo instructor, commercial pilot, and salvage diver. He's written for newspapers and magazines in Honolulu and San Francisco as well as being the author of ten novels. Ryan currently lives in northern California.

Editorial Reviews

Ryan's latest techno-thriller is based on a variant of the doomsday-machine scenario. The Saber, a Soviet spy plane carrying top-secret gadgets (including a computerized fusion weapon capable of automatically triggering nuclear devices) crashes in the South Pacific. The French are conducting super-collider experiments within the weapon's range, and the proximity could lead to nuclear winter without nuclear war. While Cas Bonner, hero of Ryan's The Pan jang Incident , and his lover, KGB undercover agent Kiri Valjean, seek to destroy Saber, the Russian government is torn by the conflict between progressives and hard-liners, and the U.S. administration reflexively suspects Soviet intentions. Fast pace, crisp dialogue and the exotic setting sustain the novel despite its contrived plot and one-dimensional characters far too reminiscent of Ian Fleming's. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

When Saber, a Soviet stealth bomber equipped with a diabolically intelligent computer, crashes on a test flight, the countdown to nuclear catastrophe begins. From deep on the ocean floor, its malign influence causes natural disasters. Marine biologist Cas Bonner and his gorgeous girlfriend Kiri (who may not be what she appears to be) are drawn into the desperate search. Soon there are air and sea battles, political infighting, and a heady array of the latest technological superstars, from super-colliders to Star Wars. So quickly in fact does the plot spin that the reader doesn't discover until the end that the characters are paper dolls. This is hardly a defect, however, since the hardware is the star. The climactic showdown is cosmically preposterous. An enjoyable treat for James Bond/Ian Fleming fans.-- Elsa Pendleton, Computer Sciences Corp., Ridgecrest, Cal.

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