Joshua's Hammer (McGarvey) - Softcover

Hagberg, David

4.16

345 ratings by Goodreads

9780812544398: Joshua's Hammer (McGarvey)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0812544390 ISBN 13: 9780812544398

Publisher: Tor Books, 2001

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

When a one-kiloton Russian nuclear demolition bomb the size of a suitcase ends up in the hands of multimillionaire Osama bin Laden, the entire world sits up and takes notice. And when the United States launches an attack on the terrorist's base of operation in Afghanistan, killing his daughter, retaliation against America is inevitable.

Now, Kirk McGarvey is in for the race of his life, and a race against time. McGarvey has to find out how the bomb will get to the United States, where it will be detonated, and when this, the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, will take place. But not only must McGarvey stop the bomb, he must protect his own daughter and the daughter of the president of the United States for a savage act of retaliation by a man gone mad.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

When Saudi zillionaire Osama bin Laden speaks, Allen Trumble, CIA chief of station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, listens. When bin Laden breaks the news that he's the proud owner of a Russian-made, suitcase-sized nuclear device and wonders if there might not be someone else higher up that he might speak to, the call goes out to Kirk McGarvey, deputy director of operations. A call also goes out to some very bad men who, upon the Trumble family's return to the States, slaughter the lot of them in, of all places, a Disney World parking lot.

The administration, never bin Laden boosters, thinks even less of him after the Disney World hit, but the man does have a bomb, so off McGarvey goes to Afghanistan for a face-to-face and a look-see. Once McGarvey's in situ--and after bin Laden surgically removes a homing device from his body--the president becomes convinced that McGarvey's been killed and orders a retaliatory strike. It misses bin Laden but hits and kills his beloved 19 year-old-daughter, Sarah.

This time, as they say, it's personal, and bin Laden knows just what to do with his bomb. Detonate the little bugger below the Golden Gate Bridge just as President Haynes's Down's syndrome-afflicted daughter is passing above. Tick, tick, tick, tick.

And so goes Joshua's Hammer, David Hagberg's umpteenth thriller and the eighth entry (after 1999's White House) in his popular Kirk McGarvey adventure series. The premise is less than original, but fans of Clancyesque techno-thrillers won't necessarily be disappointed. The book moves well despite Hagberg's off-the-rack prose and characterizations, and, if the reader can navigate the babble-strewn home stretch, delivers a none-too-surprising yet satisfying finish. --Michael Hudson

About the Author:

David Hagberg is a former Air Force cryptographer who has traveled extensively in Europe, the Arctic, and the Caribbean and has spoken at CIA functions. He has published more than twenty novels of suspense, including the bestselling High Flight, Assassin, and Joshua's Hammer. He makes his home in Vero Beach, Florida.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.