Critical Mass

By Whitley Strieber

Book Overview

The searing new novel from bestselling author Strieber explores the unthinkable but very real possibility of terrorists launching a nuclear weapon.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765322536
• ISBN13: 9780765322531
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Forge Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 1.2" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

Thriller

This was a page turner thriller. Hope it doesn't happen but made for an interesting fast read.

A Very Memorable Book But I Doubt That The Memories It Evokes Are Ones You'll Be Wanting To Think Ab

Whitley Strieber's Critical Mass is a heart-pounding, "what if" thriller that will have you on edge-of the seat to find out what happens next. Critical Mass is a story that explores the unthinkable but very real possibility of a nuclear strike against the U.S. Its main characters are Jim Deutsch, a government agent and expert on nuclear weapons, and his Muslim wife, Nabila, as they strive to prevent a nuclear attack on a major U.S. city. In this effort, they delve deep into the world of nuclear terrorism and the so-called experts who work to prevent it. But the strength of Critical Mass is not in its characters nor in Streiber's prose. As a matter of fact, Streiber's character development and prose are just serviceable, which, in most books would be a problem for me, and usually result in me deducting stars from my overall rating. These factors, however, were mostly meaningless to me in Critical Mass, due to the book's ability to present a very powerful, compelling "what if" apocalyptic scenario of what the U.S. government would do if a terrorist organization announced that it had nuclear bombs hidden in every major Western city -- and that it would detonate these weapons unless the entire planet embrace its form of Muslim fundamentalism. The action in Critical Mass is non-stop and very exciting. Be forewarned that some of the activities that occur are quite gruesome and will have you often muttering "OMG" to yourself (as well as some other unmentionables). Streiber's excellent writing in describing the horror caused by these activities will likely stay in your memory long after finishing this book -- but I'm pretty sure you'll want to push these memories out of your head as soon as possible. Critical Mass is not a pleasurable read, but it is a very gripping and compelling one.

Much better than standard terrorist novels!

Critical Mass is much better than standard terrorist novels. So many of them stick to the same formula but this book has a few extra twists that just seem to make it much better. And the writing is first rate. I highly recommend it. I understand some of it is beyond belief but it is science fiction so it is fun. And I really do hope all the things brought up are FICTION. Or we are in a lot of trouble!! Great Fast Fun Read!!

gob-smacking!

This will be short. I haven't even finished the book yet, but am very impressed with the way in which it was written...which is rather hysterically. Kind of like that song by the Talking Heads, ¨Life During Wartime¨. The story itself grabs you immediately (you might even be driven to tears; I was) and rushes headlong into crisis after crisis, ¨no lovey dovey, I ain't got time for that now!¨ I want to know what happens, of course. Will the Muslim fundamentalist extremists nuke all of the west, or will the US wipe out all of the Muslim countries? It is just a story of course, though one too close to home to be comfortable. But what I really wanted to comment upon was the style of the writing itself, the pacing, the emotion, the sense of imminent disaster from which there is no respite. Whatever may be said of Strieber's beliefs or politics, he remains one hell of a good writer who has obviously researched deeply and thoroughly to be able to produce this very frightening tour de force. (oh, and by the way, I also learned a lot about the various Muslim sects and belief systems. always good to learn something new.)

Apocalyptic Terror

Whitley Streiber's new novel, "Critical Mass," is more than a thriller, more than a spy story, more than science fiction. It takes on the premise: what if terrorists DID nuke an American city and had devices in place to terminate Western civilization? What if America could counter extremists with an equally devastating weapon of reprisal? The hero, Jim Deutsch, is equal parts McGyver, Jack Ryan, Indiana Jones, and Bourne. Add in Jim's love, a Moslem woman, Nabila, who works for American security. A cast of characters from the Pope to the American president to a host of foreign extremists completes the page-turning tension. Streiber is at his best with the small details of horrifying death [the people] "tumbling toward the flame, in the dust, in the chaos," and "The wall exploded inward. . .burying the smoking chucks of . . .bodies in the fiery debris. So each soul started with a question, entered a moment of horror, then knew death." Moreover, he uses the clarity of the theme of people in power, those who could prevent catastrophe, those who do not act. And he warns that this time is coming, that nuclear proliferation is a threat to life as we know it. As he did in "Nature's End," Streiber presents the facts of environmental and human disaster, using the evidence that is already in front of us, but personalizing it with characters we care about. Although the narrator states, ". . .nuclear destruction remained something that was really beyond imagination, and its effects were far more terrible than its planners had anticipated," it is clear that Streiber is calling for action NOW to prevent disaster SOON. This is a terrifying, realistic, absorbing book