Breakpoint

From Barnes & Noble

Yes, that Richard A. Clarke: the former counterterrorism chief who wrote Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror. 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.

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.

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.
— The Washington Post

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. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 9). (Jan.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Veteran counterterrorism official Clarke, author of Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror and the novel The Scorpion's Gate, proves once again that authenticity, insider information and top-secret access artfully applied trumps fancy writing with this cutting-edge, nail-biter techno-thriller set in 2012. Clarke's intriguing plot centers on the development of Living Software, a massive computer program designed to travel throughout the Internet correcting computer errors and creating software without any help or oversight from human beings. Volunteers would be connected to this program in a project aimed at reverse engineering the human brain. Added to this fascinating mix is the Transhumanist movement, whose labs grow designer children with extra chromosomes. Mysterious entities who would deny this progress are blowing up government Internet connections, killing scientists and destroying the labs participating in this research. Savvy readers will ignore the evidence that points to the obvious suspect, but still be surprised at the identity of the perpetrator when all is revealed. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Controversial former national security advisor Clarke has written an intriguing but flawed second novel (after The Scorpion's Gate) with a very timely premise that focuses on the vulnerability of the global computer networks on which we all depend for our information, our security, and, in many cases, our livelihoods. When attacks on our computer systems threaten the security of the United States, massive efforts are launched to find the enemy. Is it a foreign power? Terrorists? Or people opposed to the perceived godlessness of computer technology? Sadly, an exciting plot idea descends into a morass of computer tech-speak and mumbo-jumbo that bogs down the story and results in a confusing and overly complex tale. Moreover, the major characters are poorly developed. The result is a thriller that isn't very thrilling. For larger collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/06.]-Robert Conroy, Warren, MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Former presidential adviser and terrorist specialist Clarke (The Scorpion's Gate, 2005, etc.) offers a lights-and-sirens futuristic techno-fantasy. Massive simultaneous beachhead and underwater explosions on Sunday, March 8, years in the future, cripple American telecommunications systems (including satellites), effectively reducing the overseas armed forces' ability to carry potential wartime missions. The Pentagon and Homeland Security take up the alarm, dispatching two seemingly mismatched professionals to get to the bottom of this obvious terrorist strike. Jimmy Foley, an NYPD detective newly arrived in Washington, on loan to the Intelligence Analysis Center, and Susan Connor, head of IAC's Special Projects unit, are assigned to investigate what the government believes is China's retaliation for America's support of Taiwan's independence. The duo's mission is to find out who organized the bombings of key technological systems and what they plan to strike next. The novel's intricate narrative introduces a dizzying array of programs designed to trace international telecommunications, culminating in the supposedly flawless uber-program Living Software, which would put all hackers out of business. Foley and Connor infiltrate pods of Harvard academics and Silicon Valley computer evangelists, entering a brave new world of genomics and reverse-engineering of the brain that "runs a risk of blurring what it means to be human," Susan observes. All of this points to a creepy movement called Transhumanism, which advocates the improvement of humanity through genetic engineering. (It's a real movement that holds regular meetings, states the Author's Note.) Clarke has certainly done his homework,tossing off asides on the organic evolution of technological trends from robotics and nanotechnology. Some may be confounded by this international cyber-maze, which reads more like a textbook than a novel.