Reading : The Beijing Conspiracy by Adrian d'Hage
I've just finished Adrian d'Hage's second epic thriller, The Beijing Conspiracy which is a tumultuous follow-up to his debut novel, The Omega Scroll. The book illustrates a doomsday type scenario that sounds all too plausible given the real-life events that we have witnessed in recent years. It serves as a warning and a plea for clear-headed thinking with an emphasis placed on understanding from both sides.
Terrorist warnings are delivered to the White House with threats from al-Qaeda that attacks will be made unless certain demands are met. Naturally, with US elections approaching the President refuses to be seen as bowing to terrorist demands and ignores the warnings. What follows are massive attacks around the world, but these attacks are meant to act as precursors for a much more significant attack should the US continue to refuse to entertain their demands.
Bio-terrorism also raises its terrifying head in the form of the development of a deadly ebola-smallpox strain that is being developed by biochemists around the world. With no known antidote for the vicious virus, unleashing it on the world would have catastrophic results. And with the Beijing Olympics fast approaching, the perfect conditions would be in place for a monstrous bio-terrorist attack.
This is a hectic thriller that doesn't hold back on delivering solid action sequences, many with devastating results. The US and her allies are not spared from the onslaught and it looks very likely that the cost will be millions of lives around the world.
Underlying this, though, as I said earlier is the insistent plea for understanding and level-headedness. It holds a timely warning about religious fervour and the damage that it can cause...from both sides.
It's not often that you can take away a meaningful message from an action thriller of this proportion, but in the case of The Beijing Conspiracy, d'Hage delivers his message with perfect poise and most importantly, the logic of his argument makes a lot of sense.
1 comment:
Hey just read the book, the content and plot was first rate, but i have some issues with it.
The first few chapters i found annoying, with constant referrels and dire warnings with whats to come at the end of chapters, they werent necessary, let the reader get there with the story.
The next 300 odd pages were first class, the plot buildup, and first attack was done brilliantly, i was very excited about the book at this point, in fact i fully expected at the detail and rate the book was progressing it would need a sequel.
But then, it seems the book was hurried at the end, detail was lost and everything was finished off rather lamely, i have only just finished reading the book not 10mins ago, and i am very confused as to what happened at the end. It flips to a bunch of cell leaders being issued vials, then it flips back to them finding all the vials at a bear farm. It was odd, and rushed & a letdown.
But overall the book was enjoyable, one of the better plots i have read in this style of thriller.
Post a Comment