Black Cipher - Hardcover

Harrison, Payne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 051758753X ISBN 13: 9780517587539

Publisher: Crown, 1994

Synopsis

Black Cipher signals the dawn of the cryptothriller.

Payne Harrison, the author of the best-selling Storming Intrepid and Thunder of Erebus, spins his narrative magic vet again -- this time exploring the fascinating but clandestine world of codebreaking and signals intelligence.

Secluded in the quiet Gloucestershire township of Cheltenham is the hypersecret codebreaking and signals intelligence enclave of the British spy machine. Known as Government Communications Headquarters, it is home to a small army of eavesdroppers, linguists, and codebreakers who secretly probe the airwaves for the defense of the realm.

Within this high-tech fortress is a man of great mystery, urbanity, and elan, whose powers in the field of cryptanalysis are nothing short of legendary. His name is Faisal Shaikh, and when an unusual encrypted message crosses his desk, it is like a siren's song to his codebreaking skills. Calling upon all of his knowledge and intuition, Faisal finally unlocks its secrets, and thereby casts himself as a man who knows too much in the eyes of a powerful, mysterious clique at the highest levels of the British government.

To find the key to the possibly unbreakable Black Cipher messages, Faisal Shaikh embarks upon a global quest -- from Japan to Australia, from Fort Meade to Belfast. His only hope is to tear away the veil that conceals a menacing, invisible government lurking within the halls of Westminster before his time -- and his luck -- run out.

About this title

About the Author

Payne Harrison is a former newspaper reporter and business consultant. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University. He and his wife live in Dallas, where he is working on his next novel.

From Kirkus Reviews

A nerdy, conspiracy-addled romp through the intelligence agencies of East and West. Code-breaking is the thinking man's rush--at least, that's what Harrison (Thunder of Erebus, 1991, etc.) would have his readers believe. And cryptographer Faisal Shaikh, a Briton of Pakistani extraction, is the slickest cipher-junkie in England's Government Communications Headquarters, a secluded compound dedicated to monitoring and deciphering the endless buzz of clandestine messages emanating from the world's espionage organizations, military machines, and political offices. Elegant, smooth, and fearsomely cerebral, Shaikh leads a monastic, albeit well-appointed, existence, comfortably chipping away at any government's attempt to keep a secret--until an uncrackable ``Black Cipher'' comes under his scrutiny. With assistance from various spook buddies, Shaikh unknots the code and traces the series of transmissions from its source inside the former Soviet Union, through Tehran and the IRA, right back to England. After a Saudi prince is murdered as part one of the Black Cipher plot, Shaikh's corrupt superiors run him off the trail and out of a job, but the intrepid code wizard assembles his own freelance team to stay on the chase. While he saves England, Shaikh also manages to make a killing in the stock market, clean house at a gaming club, and get engaged. The codemaster's appetite for justice is as substantial as his deciphering talent, but even his formidable intellect and network of secret-agent-man connections can't prevent him from becoming a fugitive by the novel's end, racing against the clock to thwart a coup at No. 10 Downing Street. Shaikh is an alluring character (sequel alert), but not nearly alluring enough to keep the air in this one. Littered with postCold War paranoia, tipsy with Tory sympathies, and stuffed with enough acronyms to keep Alexander Haig happy forever. Even a late-plot zinger can't dispel the feeling that we've seen it all before. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Crown
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 051758753X
• ISBN 13: 9780517587539
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 337