Half World: A Novel

Scott O'Connor

ISBN 10: 1482966301 ISBN 13: 9781482966305

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, 2014

Synopsis

[Read by Bronson Pinchot]

Called ''one to watch'' (Los Angeles Times) and hailed for his ability ''to make something beautiful of unspeakable matters'' (New York Times), O'Connor will stir your emotions with Half World, a mesmerizing novel about reality and the basic incorruptible value of human relationships. -- Inspired by real CIA operations, this is the riveting novel of a fraying CIA analyst who conducts secret mind-control experiments and the young agent who, years later, uncovers the appalling legacy of the program and the people destroyed by it. -- From its official sanction in 1953 to its shutdown in 1973, the CIA clandestinely conducted methods of mind control on unwitting American and Canadian citizens. This covert and illegal operation, Project MKULTRA, eventually made national headlines upon the declassification of thousands of documents in 2001. -- Intrigued by the people empowered to enact such abuses and the legacy of such an operation, Scott O'Connor weaves the nuanced and compelling story of Henry March, a CIA agent forced to spearhead a series of insidious mind-control experiments in San Francisco. With each passing day, Henry's existence becomes a nightmare, his identity withering as he works over the hapless men lured into his facility. Struggling between his duty to his country and his responsibility to his wife and children, Henry finally reaches a breaking point, leaving both his project and mind fractured. Amid the wreckage, he disappears, becoming the deepest Ultra mystery. -- Two decades later, Dickie Ashby, a young CIA agent, is sent to Los Angeles to infiltrate a group of bank-robbing radicals who claim to have been abused in a government brainwashing operation years earlier. The members of the group know they need to find Henry March and that the only bridge to Henry is his daughter, Hannah, who lives in the city. Dickie suddenly finds himself dragged into the stunning legacy of the experiments, torn between doing his job, helping the victims of Henry's program, and protecting Hannah.

About this title

About the Author

Scott O'Connor lives in Los Angeles. His 2004 novella Among Wolves was praised by the Los Angeles Times Book Review for its ''crisp, take-no-prisoners style,'' and they hailed the author as ''one to watch.''

Review

"O'Connor writes with vivid descriptive detail and acute psychological insight, as well as flashes of searing, wry humor and occasional moments that simply break your heart." (The Boston Globe)

"O’Connor writes with grace and force." (Publishers Weekly)

"Gripping...The perfect book for our present moment." (The Daily Beast)

"O’Connor’s spare prose amplifies the horror of his story. It also compels the reader to inhabit his characters’ lives. Half World is a stunningly grim and emotionally harrowing read and an astute and evocative portrayal of government paranoia during the Cold War and Vietnam War eras." (Booklist (Starred Review))

"Fascinating...O'Connor is a gifted stylist, and he vividly captures the rabbit hole that swallows agents, their families, and their victims alike." (Library Journal)

"An invigorating historical thriller... Intimately gripping... O'Connor writes with fire." (Kirkus Reviews)

"O'Connor shows the beauty, the complex blend of dirty truth and high ideals that reveal the human in all of us with an intimacy, elegiac gravitas and deep respect. A strong voice." (Chris Abani author of The Virgin of Flames and GraceLand)

"Half World is all in. A taut and suspenseful narrative. Well-wrought flawed characters. Prose that is pitch perfect. The truth is, Scott O’Connor is a beautiful, sage-like, and terrifying writer." (Andrew Krivak National Book Award finalist and author of The Sojourn)

"Scott O'Connor's Half World is like being granted clearance to classified files about a bizarre and fascinating moment in our nation's history--this is literary suspense of the highest order, and with every page I was intrigued a bit more, horrified a bit more, until I felt I, too, had been brainwashed and found it impossible to stop reading this beautifully written and utterly compelling novel. Now I must read it again. Now I must..." (Alan Heathcock award-winning author of Volt)

About this edition

• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1482966301
• ISBN 13: 9781482966305
• Binding: Audio CD
• Number of pages: 1