The Third Instinct: A Dan Clifford Novel

by Kent Lester

Overview

A high-octane thriller that sets Dan Clifford against ancient secret societies vying for power in the modern world; in the vein of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series.

In The Third Instinct, author Kent Lester brings his signature blend of cutting-edge science, history, and pulse-pounding action to the next Dan Clifford adventure.

A shadowy group of bio-hackers called the Firemen threaten to worsen the Covid pandemic by releasing an even more lethal version of the pathogen. But what drives the Firemen and how do their motivations relate to the wealth of the Roman Empire and to the third basic human instinct?

The answers may lie with prediction scientist Dan Clifford. Unemployed and struggling with two years of pandemic isolation, he is rebuilding both his career and personal life. His plans to propose to his adrenaline-junkie girlfriend, Rachel Sullivan, are interrupted by the FBI. Dan must connect a maze of clues from the shadowy underworld of Savannah's hacker community, to the ancient powerbrokers of Rome and in doing so, uncover a hidden agenda of big Pharma and a two-thousand-year-old battle for control of public opinion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765382245
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/06/2022
Series:	Dan Clifford , #2
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

KENT LESTER is an entrepreneur who has started several successful businesses. He has always had a strong interest in science, technology, and oceanography, which is reflected in the scientific accuracy of The Seventh Sun, his first novel. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is hard at work on the next Dan Clifford thriller.

Editorial Reviews

10/10/2022

Lester’s fun sequel to 2017’s The Seventh Sun finds computer genius Dan Clifford with a new startup company that specializes “in the art of predicting the seemingly unpredictable, like future burglary targets in midtown Atlanta or likely embezzlement opportunities in state government.” Dan’s superior hacking skills lead the FBI to ask for his help after a daring and seemingly impossible theft. An “organism posing a danger far worse than any coronavirus,” which Dan and his biologist girlfriend, Rachel Sullivan, discovered and contained in the previous book, was stolen from GenTropics Pharmaceuticals in Savannah, Ga., despite being stored in a supposedly impregnable room. The FBI suspects hackers calling themselves the Firemen are behind the crime, and, knowing the risk the organism poses to human life, Dan agrees to try to infiltrate the group. Meanwhile, Rachel gets some devastating news that changes her relationship with Dan. Lester isn’t as good as authors such as Daniel Suarez or Chris Holm in integrating plausible future science into his plot, but he never lets his foot off the gas en route to the dramatic climax. Those who prefer plot to characterization will be entertained. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly