Arc Light - Hardcover

Harry, Eric

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0340617551 ISBN 13: 9780340617557

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1994

Synopsis

In a scenario terrifyingly close to today's headlines, Harry's debut novel opens with a North Korean invasion of South Korea that leads, through a series of tragic errors and decisions, to a Russian nuclear attack on military bases in the US.

Like techno-thriller master Tom Clancy, Harry offers a sprawling narrative that focuses on a small army of soldiers, politicians, and their families, American and Russian. National Security Advisor Greg Lambert must keep and tell secrets that may lead to Armageddon; Reservist David Chandler must leave his pregnant wife in order to drive a tank; US President Walter Livingston, eager for peace, must endure the ignominy of impeachment; Russian General Yuri Razov must deal with the consequences of his initial decision to launch nuclear missiles. Ground, air, and submarine battles alternate with scenes of anarchy stateside as exhausted leaders are forced to make instant decisions that might snuff out humanity forever. With a masterful grasp of military strategy and geopolitics, Harry moves his characters through nightmares of blood and death; his intricately detailed scenes of nuclear devastation are particularly horrifying. Told through a series of rapid-fire climaxes, this novel, a political and military cautionary tale of considerable power and conviction, will keep readers riveted.
—Publishers Weekly

About this title

About the Author

Eric L. Harry is an American novelist and lawyer. A graduate of Vanderbilt University (with a BA, an MBA, and a JD), Harry is the author of four novels.

From Kirkus Reviews

Harry's first novel is all gloom and doom, an appropriate tone for his World War III scenario. When US President Livingston receives a tip that Russia will bomb China, he informs the Chinese, who then bomb Moscow, where General Zorin, a zealous patriot, has temporarily overthrown the government. Believing the attack to be a US initiative, Zorin launches a counterstrike against US military bases. In the tense moments before the missiles strike, Livingston gives in to military pressure and retaliates, fueling a war featuring biological, chemical, and possibly nuclear weapons. Zorin's coup is ended by the Russians, but his firing plan remains in effect: If provoked, nuclear submarines will fire upon 304 American cities. Livingston, whose decency and common sense have become political liabilities, is impeached and succeeded by his ``California Enviroweenie'' veep, who has become an opportunistic warmonger. Livingston's last supporter among the White House staff is Greg Lambert, the bright young national security advisor who may be able to negotiate with the few peace-seeking Russian statesmen. The bloody, conventional land battles feature David Chandler, the weekend reservist who leads an armored battalion in an invasion of Moscow in his first combat experience; and Marine Lance Corporal Terrence Monk, whose squadron faces an opposed landing on the eastern Russian shore. Descriptions of the physiological responses to nuclear and chemical warfare are jarring, but the secondary effects are surprising, too. After nuclear devastation in some US locations, the government contends with an economic depression caused by fearful workers who have fled the cities and sit glued to CNN and the Weather Channel. A grim tale which so successfully evokes the bleakness and terror of an impending world war that it could depress contemplative readers while titillating those just out for techno- thrills. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0340617551
• ISBN 13: 9780340617557
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416