His second novel,' Breakpoint' , is even better than The Scorpion's Gate, his debut fiction effort. Set in 2012, this futuristic technothriller pits a clandestine trio of U.S. government investigators against an elusive crew of cyberspace terrorists. As in his previous novel, Clarke peppers the action with realistic modules of cutting-edge expertise. An escapist read with real-world relevance. From the Publisher Against All Enemies warned about how we were conducting the war against terror. The Scorpion's Gate demonstrated what could happen. And now America's preeminent counterterrorism expert and #1 bestselling author shows us all . . .hat might come next. The global village-an intricately intertwined network of technology that binds together the world's economies, governments, and communication systems. So large, so vital-and so fragile. Now a sophisticated group is seeking to "disconnect the globe"-destroying computer grids, communications satellites, Internet cable centers, biotech firms. Hard to do? If only that were so. Quickly, a dedicated team of men and women assembles to try to track the group down, searching through right-wing militias and Russian organized crime, Jihadist terrorists and enemy nation-states. But the attacks are coming more swiftly now, and growing in destructiveness. Soon, they will reach the breakpoint- and then there may be nothing anybody can do. Reviewers everywhere praised the suspense and pace of The Scorpion's Gate, the vivid depictions of war, espionage, and bureaucracy, but most of all they hailed its authenticity. "Unlike most novelists, the man has been there and done that," said The New York Times Book Review. "Some of us," added The Washington Post, "have learned to listen when Richard A. Clarke has something to say." And we'd better hope they're listening now. Vanity Fair Yikes! Richard A. Clarke's nail-biter suspense novel (Putnam) irrefutably proves that there is nothing like being America's pre-eminent counterterrorism expert to goose up your book with real terror. The Washington Post - William Stevenson The skeptical reader will be seduced by the action. Clarke whizzes from aerial laser-gun dogfights between China and Taiwan to the Bahamas, where Susan tries to rescue the extra-chromosome children of wealthy clients at a baby clinic with a secret agenda. Drawing upon stacks of current scientific research, all carefully sourced, Clarke dangles the carrot of speculation about the enemy's identity until the very end. In a final author's note, he reviews current technologies that could be used for good or for ill. As he sees it, "sometimes you can tell more truth through fiction," which may lead the reader to the uneasy conclusion that the real enemy is us. Publishers Weekly In a techno-thriller as timely as today's exploding Internet, counterterrorism expert Clarke and veteran actor Dean team up for an exciting and truly frightening audio experience. There are no artful metaphors or other writer's flourishes in this story?just a major download of insider info, which obviously comes from the author's impressive sources. Set in 2012, Breakpointtells about a computer program called Living Software, designed to surge across the Internet, invent new software and clean up past mistakes on its own, without any human help. There's also a group called the Transhumanist Movement, where children with extraordinary new chromosomes are being grown. But somebody (the Russians? A business rival of the Movement's sponsor?) is blowing up Internet connections, destroying labs and killing scientists in an apparent attempt to derail the project. Dean guides listeners calmly and logically through this murky tangle, finally reaching an ending that will surprise and enlighten as well as scare their socks off. Published at Twenty Six dollars.  
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