Blow the House Down: A Novel
by Robert Baer
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Former CIA operative Robert Baer pushes fiction to the absolute limit in this riveting and unnervingly plausible alternative history of 9/11. Veteran CIA officer Max Waller has long been obsessed with the abduction and murder of his Agency mentor. Though years of digging yield the name of a suspect--an Iranian math genius turned terrorist--the trail seems too cold to justify further effort. Then Max turns up a photograph of the man standing alongside Osama bin Laden and a mysterious show more westerner whose face has been cut out, feeding Max's suspicion. When the first official to whom Max shows the photo winds up dead, the out-of-favor agent suddenly finds himself the target of dark forces within the intelligence community who are desperate to muzzle him. Eluding a global surveillance net, Max--in the summer of 2001--begins tracking the spore of a complex conspiracy, meeting clandestinely with suicide bombers and Arab royalty and ultimately realizing the Iranian he'd sought for a decades-old crime is actually at the nexus of a terrifying plot. Showing off dazzling tradecraft and an array of richly textured backdrops, and filled with real names and events, Blow the House Down deftly balances fact and possibility to become the first great thriller to spring from the war on terrorism. Also available as a Random House AudioBook and an eBook show lessTags
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A very good read. The past and current events blended into the story kept me feeling as if I was there when it happened. The names and places struck familiar chords and compelled you to turn the page.
Former CIA operative Richard Bayer's first novel is the story of what could have happened behind the scenes of 9/11 and what might have happened if officials listened to Max Waller.
Max is a long time CIA operative who is given an easy job in Langley at the end of his career. He's bothered by a photo he sees with Osama bin Laden and a person in Western clothing with their head carefully cut out of the photo.
He shows the phot to a friend to see what he might know. Max's friend takes the photo with him and soon after is dead. Then, people begin following Max.
When Max evades his followers, he's brought in for questioning. Officials want to know why his prints are on the photo. WIth that and other trumped up charges, he's placed on show more administrative leave.
He continues to investigate, calling on old associates but officials look at him as a man who's time has past.
There are puzzles and complications as Max goes on. However, Max never seems likable and seemed too self centered. The action comes in waves and then slows down as facts and documents are presented. This lessened the suspense of the novel.
With the level of espionage, I think that fans of John le Carre would enjoy this book and I look forward to another book by the author who has demonstrated that he has the knowledge that could make a good story. show less
Max is a long time CIA operative who is given an easy job in Langley at the end of his career. He's bothered by a photo he sees with Osama bin Laden and a person in Western clothing with their head carefully cut out of the photo.
He shows the phot to a friend to see what he might know. Max's friend takes the photo with him and soon after is dead. Then, people begin following Max.
When Max evades his followers, he's brought in for questioning. Officials want to know why his prints are on the photo. WIth that and other trumped up charges, he's placed on show more administrative leave.
He continues to investigate, calling on old associates but officials look at him as a man who's time has past.
There are puzzles and complications as Max goes on. However, Max never seems likable and seemed too self centered. The action comes in waves and then slows down as facts and documents are presented. This lessened the suspense of the novel.
With the level of espionage, I think that fans of John le Carre would enjoy this book and I look forward to another book by the author who has demonstrated that he has the knowledge that could make a good story. show less
Thought provoking "fictionalized truth" in light of what we know about Islamic extremists in our post-9/11 world, especially Iran.
A novel with a lot of facts. Fun read and of course very scary.
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13 Works 2,755 Members
Robert Baer was born in Los Angeles, California on July 1, 1952. He graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and in 1976, decided to join the CIA's Directorate of Operations. He worked for the CIA for 20 years as a case officer assigned to the Middle East. He has written several books including Sleeping with the Devil: show more How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude, The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower, and The Company We Keep: A Husband-and-Wife True-Life Spy Story. His book See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism was the basis for the acclaimed film Syriana. He writes regularly for Time.com and has contributed to Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Dedication
- I have really enjoyed this book. It seems to be written in a very short and abrupt language, not flowing like Baldacci or Archer. I intend to purchase a copy for my library and re-read it at a later date plus the other titl... (show all)e that was used in the making of the film Syriana.
Special thanks to Terry Anderson's Den of Lions ; Lawrence Martin Jenco's Bound to Forgive; the 9/11 Commission Report; Murray Weiss's biography of John O'Neill, The Man Who Warned America,; Many Rivers Films, who arranged fo... (show all)r me to get in to Israel's high-security prision; and my editor at Crown, Rick Horgan, who patiently kept this book on track.
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