Singularity (The Archon Sequence) - Hardcover

DeSmedt, Bill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0974573442 ISBN 13: 9780974573441

Publisher: Per Aspera Pr, 2004

Synopsis

Jonathan Knox's knack for intuiting hidden relationships among seemingly isolated events serves his Fortune-500 clients well, but when federal agent Marianna Bonaventure blackmails him into helping her, Knox's talent is put to the ultimate test. Bonaventure is investigating a Russian industrialist suspected of trading in WMD research, but together they uncover something far more chilling: an attempt to capture a microscopic black hole and harness its awesome power to transform the world -- or end it!

About this title

About the Author

Bill DeSmedt has worked as a computer programmer, a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and a Soviet area expert. He lives in Milford, Pennsylvania.

From the Inside Flap

June 30th, 1908 In the remote Tunguska region of Siberia, the most violent cosmic collision in recorded history flattened ancient forests over an area half the size of Rhode Island. Yet after a hundred years of international scientific research the cause of this impact remains a mystery.

A MAVERICK ASTROPHYSICIST

Jack Adler thinks he s fingered the culprit: a submicroscopic black hole, smaller than an atom, heavier than a mountain, older than the stars. What s more, that fantastic object is still down there, deep inside the Earth, burrowing through the mantle in an ever-decaying orbit that will end only when it has devoured the entire planet.

A ROOKIE SECRET AGENT

Marianna Bonaventure is tracking three missing scientists suspected of involvement in weapons of mass destruction research. The trail leads to Rusalka, the luxurious floating corporate headquarters of billionaire Russian industrialist Arkady Grishin. Determined to prove herself, Marianna creates an elaborate ruse in order to infiltrate the megayacht a dangerous gambit that requires the coerced cooperation of a rather special civilian . . .

AN UNCANNY CONSULTANT

Jonathan Knox is one of the country s most sought-after analysts; his knack for intuiting hidden relationships among seemingly disparate events serves his Fortune-50 clients well. But when Marianna compels the reluctant Knox to join her undercover mission, he must grapple with puzzles of a whole different order of magnitude.

Against violent and cunning opposition, the three of them unearth a scheme to capture the submicroscopic black hole that caused the Tunguska Event and use its awesome power to transform the world or end it altogether.

Bill DeSmedt s debut is a tour-de-force of breakneck plotting, complex characters, and cutting-edge science. From the trackless wastes of Siberia to the rooftops of Manhattan to the stygian depths of the North Atlantic, Singularity weaves a richly detailed and intelligent tale, meticulously researched and elegantly told.

Reviews

Publisher Per Aspera Press took a gamble—their debut is DeSmedt’s first novel—and it paid off. In this scientific technothriller, DeSmedt fictionalizes the possible implications of the bizarre explosion in Tunguska, Siberia. It didn’t result from a small meteorite, his protagonists speculate, but rather from a tiny black hole crashing into Earth. It’s a convincing, if farfetched, interpretation, made more realistic by DeSmedt’s believable "what if" scenario. The scientifically accurate dialogue, unpredictable plot twists, and characters (Bonaventure is a real, breathing woman with emotions) give the book surprising depth. The verdict: move over Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke for the new author in town.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

DeSmedt's debut SF thriller, a brisk Michael Crichton clone, vividly depicts the Tunguska event that leveled a big patch of Siberia in 1908, then shifts to the near-future, where warrior woman Marianna Bonaventure is working for CROM (Critical Resources Oversight Mandate), the U.S. Department of Energy's branch for dealing with loose WMD talent. Meanwhile, in Siberia, scientist Jack Adler discovers that Tunguska was actually hit by a microscopic black hole, not a meteorite. Marianna and an intuitive analyst, Jonathan Knox, are assigned to infiltrate the gigantic yacht Rusalka, owned by the Russian billionaire Arkady Grishin, who is on the trail of something odd. It turns out that Grishin is not who he seems and his motives for finding the Tunguska object are a great deal more sinister than anyone had supposed. The book bounces along, from well-developed scenes to lesser ones and back again, with a good deal of deft if not particularly original characterization. The sexual chemistry between Marianna and Jonathan adds spice. Exotic hardware, lifestyles of the rich and notorious, double- and triple-crosses and a slightly rushed and facile conclusion all make a respectable if not outstanding first effort.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Per Aspera Pr
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0974573442
• ISBN 13: 9780974573441
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 502