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New York Times-Bestselling Author: A suddenly uninhabited Finnish village sparks a mystery--and foreshadows an epic threat . . . An international agreement to slow the arms race is in the works, but not everyone is happy about it. The KGB and MI6, with CIA support, begin to take action as suspicions about a mutiny within the Red Army swirl. Under Kenneth Aubrey's direction, Snow Falcon will be a high-risk mission to investigate strange developments on the frozen Finnish border, while show more Russian intelligence officers embark on the dangerous task of identifying plotters within the military. And if they don't succeed, the consequences could be dire for multiple nations . . . "Complex, brisk . . . Solid." --Kirkus Reviews "When it comes to keeping the story moving and stoking up the excitement, Mr. Thomas knows his business." --The New York Times show lessTags
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Member Reviews
A classic 80s espionage thriller. A small sect of the Red Army is planning a coup d'état and a simultaneous invasion of Scandinavia. The KGB and SIS/CIA are both working to stop it, plot ensues.
Unfortunately, it takes 150 or so pages of the 440 for the story to get moving. The middle is a nail biting page turner then it just, well, fizzles out. Rumbles along for a bit then ends. The character of Alexei Vorontsyev seemed unresolved at the end.
It was alright but the cover boasted of an "Electrifying International Megathriller" and I wasn't all that electrified to be honest.
Unfortunately, it takes 150 or so pages of the 440 for the story to get moving. The middle is a nail biting page turner then it just, well, fizzles out. Rumbles along for a bit then ends. The character of Alexei Vorontsyev seemed unresolved at the end.
It was alright but the cover boasted of an "Electrifying International Megathriller" and I wasn't all that electrified to be honest.
Een samenzwering van Russische haviken met als doel een staatsgreep (zorgvuldig gepland op het ogenblik dat het derde SALT-verdrag in Helsinki zal worden ondertekend) trekt de aandacht van Engelse en Amerikaanse geheime diensten. De verwarring is enorm en het aantal doden navenant, doch een meer gezagsgetrouwe sleutelfiguur onder de Russische duiven voorkomt op het laatste moment een omwenteling. Het eerste deel van dit overigens goed geschreven spionage- en aktieverhaal houdt de aandacht niet voldoende vast door de brokkelige gedetailleerdheid en een overmaat aan personen; voor de volhardende lezer (dat zullen wel voornamelijk mannen zijn) is de tweede helft daarentegen meeslepend genoeg. Vrij kleine letter en weinig binnenmarge. Zie show more ook a.i. 79-47-040. - Petronella J.C. Elema show less
Mar 28, 2007Dutch
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Author Information
32+ Works 4,060 Members
Craig Thomas was born in Cardiff, England in 1942, and was educated at Cardiff High School and University College, Cardiff. After completing his MA on Thomas Hardy, he went into teaching. Throughout his eleven years teaching English, Thomas longed to go into writing. At first he began to write only occasionally, producing a number of scripts for show more radio and TV, all of which were rejected. Eventually, after pleading with a script editor for some advice, he was told he could write, but not for radio. The script editor told him to attempt to write a novel. Thomas just happened to have an idea for a thriller which he has wanted to try as a radio serial. Instead, he turned it into a novel after eighteen months. The manuscript became Rat Trap, Thomas' first published novel. But it was Thomas' second novel, Firefox, which made him a best-seller both in England and the U.S., and enabled him to become a professional novelist. An American paperback house paid a significant sum for the book, and Clint Eastwood turned it into a movie. It was the first techno-thriller and the first action story to be set mainly in the Soviet Union. Thomas left teaching in 1977, having already completed his third novel, Wolfsbane. However, it was with his fourth novel, Snow Falcon, that Thomas claims he found his own voice. Thomas' subsequent books, including The Bears Tears, Winter Hawk, All the Grey Cats, The Last Raven and A Hooded Crow, all spring from his interest in "speculations" on geopolitical tensions and conflicts. His fourteen best-selling novels have consistently attracted praise and he is generally credited with creating the genre of the 'techno-thriller' with his novel Firefox. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1979
- People/Characters
- Kenneth Aubrey; Alan Waterford; Allan Folley; Alexei Vorontsyev; Yuri Andropov; Charles Buckholz (show all 7); Alex Davenhill
- Important places
- Moscow, Russia
- First words
- At the border between the Federal Republic and the DDR west of Eisenach, the E63 ceases to be an autobahn, and becomes merely a main road for the sixty or more kilometres through the Kaufunger-Meissner Wald to Kassel.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It was five forty-six on the 24th.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 223
- Popularity
- 145,471
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.07)
- Languages
- 5 — Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 23
- ASINs
- 9
