Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Project Cyclops

By: Thomas Hoover

“A high-tech launch site, a missing nuke, and Arab terrorists with nothing to lose . . .”
In the sun-dappled waters of the Aegean, ex-agent Michael Vance pilots the Odyssey II, a handmade replica of the sailcraft of the ancient hero Ulysses. Out of nowhere, a Russian Hind gunship with Arab terrorists at the helm fires upon the tiny ship below. The terrorist's destination is a tiny Aegean island where a U.S. aerospace corporation carefully guards the Cyclops 20-megawatt laser launch facility. But the company security force is no match for the firepower of the Arab invasion and the launch site is quickly overrun. With helpless horror, the executives can only watch as renegade technicians convert the launch vehicle into a ballistic missile that can deliver their stolen thermonuclear warhead to any city in the U.S.
Left for dead amid the smoking ruins of Odyssey II, Michael Vance washes up on the occupied island – and becomes America’s only hope.

Another of my Kindle free finds on Amazon.com (it's still free as of the last time I checked (today)), Project Cyclops is a suspense novel unlike any I have read before.  Though it was written in 1992 and is somewhat dated in technology as a result, Hoover weaves a very convincing tale. A terrorist has gained control of a nuclear device and a vehicle that is capable of placing it anywhere he chooses. One lone, barefoot man stands in his way. This lone sailor becomes the world's only hope.

The writing in Project Cyclops is solid. The story is believable and the characters are likable. The plot is hardly new, but Hoover's take on it is decidedly original - at least, it is to me.  As this is a mainstream novel, I was expecting the usual unnecessary sex scene, however I was delighted to see that Hoover didn't try and sneak one in. Instead, he left the integrity of the story and the characters intact. Aside from some over-zealous profanity (from the good guys as well as the bad guys), this was quite a well balanced story.

Project Cyclops continues to restore my hope that you can, indeed, find quality books for free from the Amazon Kindle store. This is one of those books that I intend to keep in the library and read from time to time. I highly recommend Project Cyclops to anyone who enjoys a good diversion.

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