Helpful Score: 1
"Day Before Midnight" is a good, fsst-paced military/techno/nuclear/end-of-the-world thriller with lots of action and good character development.
It is a pretty straight forward plot with a few small suprises. The combat action is sometimes a little unrealistic and, as is the case with most books of this genre, luck plays a large part in the good guys winning.
Jack is a normal man caught up in abnormal circumstances simply because he is handy. Concern for his family forces him to make hard decisions and he does what he thinks he has to do. In the end he makes the hardest decision and saves the world from madmen attempting to start world war three.
Although a bit dated and jaded now, "Day before Midnight" is still a decdent read if you have nothing to do for a few hours.
It is a pretty straight forward plot with a few small suprises. The combat action is sometimes a little unrealistic and, as is the case with most books of this genre, luck plays a large part in the good guys winning.
Jack is a normal man caught up in abnormal circumstances simply because he is handy. Concern for his family forces him to make hard decisions and he does what he thinks he has to do. In the end he makes the hardest decision and saves the world from madmen attempting to start world war three.
Although a bit dated and jaded now, "Day before Midnight" is still a decdent read if you have nothing to do for a few hours.
Helpful Score: 1
Non stop action, a real page turner. An elite military force takes over America's newest nuclear missile silo and intends to start WW III. I thoughly enjoyed the story.
This is the scariest thriller I have ever read. Realistic, believable, suspenseful, with tons of non-intimidating technical detail and well-developed, interesting characters. I actually had to control when I read it for fear that it would bother my sleep!
A very tense, high-action read!
I picked this up at my doctor's office, one of those donation-sales tables. The premise intrigued me.
Even though it's a tad dated (1989, Soviets, etc), most of it still holds up, and it's a compelling thriller in any era. The characterizations could be a bit more fleshed out, but the action and details of events are exceptional. I found myself ever reluctant to put it down, and generally only stopped reading it when I absolutely had to, all the time counting the seconds until I could pick it up again.
And, ultimately, a satisfying conclusion to a wonderful plot.
Even though it's a tad dated (1989, Soviets, etc), most of it still holds up, and it's a compelling thriller in any era. The characterizations could be a bit more fleshed out, but the action and details of events are exceptional. I found myself ever reluctant to put it down, and generally only stopped reading it when I absolutely had to, all the time counting the seconds until I could pick it up again.
And, ultimately, a satisfying conclusion to a wonderful plot.
A big fat nailbiting doomsday scenario thrill ride.
Hunter is one of the best thriller writers in the business. Entertaining nuclear terrorism story.
Great suspense story by Stephen Hunter.
Publishers Weekly
Hunter ( The Spanish Gambit ) has written a smoothly believable race-against-time thriller with frightening plausibility. Unidentified military terrorists kidnap welder Jack Hummel from his Maryland home and direct him to cut through a block of titanium to reach a launch key in the South Mountain MX missile site. The president decides to send in the crack Delta assault team, but the man best suited to command them is Col. Dick Puller, who was discredited and disgraced in Iran in 1979. Puller, in turn, must work with the only man who knows the missile silo, its designer, Prof. Peter Thiokol. The leader of ``Aggressor-One'' is discovered to be Russian Military Intelligence chief Arkady Pashin: he is charismatic, reactionary and messianically determined to launch the single MX that will trigger a massive Soviet reply. Part of the fast-moving plot revolves around two abandoned coalmine tunnels, a stupid Russian spy and Thiokol's estranged wife, who unwittingly gave the Russians the plans for South Mountain.
Hunter ( The Spanish Gambit ) has written a smoothly believable race-against-time thriller with frightening plausibility. Unidentified military terrorists kidnap welder Jack Hummel from his Maryland home and direct him to cut through a block of titanium to reach a launch key in the South Mountain MX missile site. The president decides to send in the crack Delta assault team, but the man best suited to command them is Col. Dick Puller, who was discredited and disgraced in Iran in 1979. Puller, in turn, must work with the only man who knows the missile silo, its designer, Prof. Peter Thiokol. The leader of ``Aggressor-One'' is discovered to be Russian Military Intelligence chief Arkady Pashin: he is charismatic, reactionary and messianically determined to launch the single MX that will trigger a massive Soviet reply. Part of the fast-moving plot revolves around two abandoned coalmine tunnels, a stupid Russian spy and Thiokol's estranged wife, who unwittingly gave the Russians the plans for South Mountain.
A nuclear thriller from the same author as Point of Impact, The Spanish Gambit, The Second Saladin and The Master Sniper.
Not since FAIL-SAFE has anyone written a nuclear thriller as good as THE DAY BEFORE MIDNIGHT ..... a smoothly believable race against time frightenly plausibility.
Dated novel, but very good. Well written page turned.
Unidentified military terrorists kidnap welder Jack Hummel from his Maryland home and direct him to cut through a block of titanium to reach a launch key in the South Mountain MX missile site. The president decides to send in the crack Delta assault team, but the man best suited to command them is Col. Dick Puller, who was discredited and disgraced in Iran in 1979. Puller, in turn, must work with the only man who knows the missile silo, its designer, Prof. Peter Thiokol. The leader of "Aggressor-One" is discovered to be Russian Military Intelligence chief Arkady Pashin: he is charismatic, reactionary and messianically determined to launch the single MX that will trigger a massive Soviet reply. Part of the fast-moving plot revolves around two abandoned coalmine tunnels, a stupid Russian spy and Thiokol's estranged wife, who unwittingly gave the Russians the plans for South Mountain
From the Publisher
When a band of terrorists initiates a plot to gain control of the launch key to an MX missile, the computer whiz who designed the missile site's defenses tackles the challenge of thwarting them. But if he fails, the terrorists will launch an attack that could devastate the entire planet.
When a band of terrorists initiates a plot to gain control of the launch key to an MX missile, the computer whiz who designed the missile site's defenses tackles the challenge of thwarting them. But if he fails, the terrorists will launch an attack that could devastate the entire planet.
The countdown begins when welder Jack Hummel is abducted from his suburban Maryland home and whisked him to a missile site where uzi-armed terrorists want him to cut through a titanium block.
The countdown begins when welder Jack Hummel is abducted from his suburban Maryland home and whisked to the South Mountain MX missile site-a top-secret nuclear complex now taken over by paramilitary terrorists.
All that stands between the Uzi-armed commandos and the laucch button is a half-ton titanium block. They want Jack Hummel to cut through it-so they can unleash a devastatingly brilliant plot that threatens global disaster.
Now a Delta Force veteran and a think-tank defense wizard must get inside South Mountain-by defeating their own super-security systems and a darkly ingenious enemy leader...
...while Jack Hummel's torch burns closer and closer to the launch key...while the clock ticks closer to midnight-and Armageddon.
All that stands between the Uzi-armed commandos and the laucch button is a half-ton titanium block. They want Jack Hummel to cut through it-so they can unleash a devastatingly brilliant plot that threatens global disaster.
Now a Delta Force veteran and a think-tank defense wizard must get inside South Mountain-by defeating their own super-security systems and a darkly ingenious enemy leader...
...while Jack Hummel's torch burns closer and closer to the launch key...while the clock ticks closer to midnight-and Armageddon.
Excellent. Continues the saga.
This is not the sort of Stephen Hunter story that I have grown accustomed to. My first introduction to the author was through his persistent main character, Bob Lee Swagger of Marine sniper fame. (Viet Nam)
This story is very early Stephen Hunter from the years of the very real possibility of world wide nuclear destruction initiated by the USA and the USSR. The first three-quarters of the book was a very detailed buildup for the last quarter, which was a cascade of cliff-hangers. Although not as polished as his later works, it is none the less entertaining because of it's (mostly) technical accuracy.
All in all, a very entertaining and satisfying read.
This story is very early Stephen Hunter from the years of the very real possibility of world wide nuclear destruction initiated by the USA and the USSR. The first three-quarters of the book was a very detailed buildup for the last quarter, which was a cascade of cliff-hangers. Although not as polished as his later works, it is none the less entertaining because of it's (mostly) technical accuracy.
All in all, a very entertaining and satisfying read.
Spoiler in this.
Just a short review on this.
I have read several of Mr. Hunters books, enjoyed them to varying degrees. This one was good until the last 15 pages or so. When one of the heroes and main characters gets killed while a traitor lives, with her grief and that is all, I sort of loose interest. She was a traitor who gave up security plans to a nuclear weapons facility to another country and her only excuses are; they are our allies (They weren't), she was angry at him, lonely, and her husband shouldn't have left the plans laying around which made it so easy. Okay, I agree on the last part. Throughout the book she is nothing but arrogant, disdainful of anyone not a artist (and disdainful of many of them too), and self serving about whatever she wants. Yet she gets away with being the main reason over 200 solders, law enforcement and a mother die with just walking off to cry alone. At least have her swallow a bottle of sleeping pills and a glass of wine or something. Leaving her to cry just seems a lazy way to deal with her, specially when the good guy gets killed stopping the mess that his traitor wife created.
Okay, with that out of the way, I did enjoy the other 99% of the book. There were some twists I didn't see coming, and a good story line. Over all, a good book.
Just a short review on this.
I have read several of Mr. Hunters books, enjoyed them to varying degrees. This one was good until the last 15 pages or so. When one of the heroes and main characters gets killed while a traitor lives, with her grief and that is all, I sort of loose interest. She was a traitor who gave up security plans to a nuclear weapons facility to another country and her only excuses are; they are our allies (They weren't), she was angry at him, lonely, and her husband shouldn't have left the plans laying around which made it so easy. Okay, I agree on the last part. Throughout the book she is nothing but arrogant, disdainful of anyone not a artist (and disdainful of many of them too), and self serving about whatever she wants. Yet she gets away with being the main reason over 200 solders, law enforcement and a mother die with just walking off to cry alone. At least have her swallow a bottle of sleeping pills and a glass of wine or something. Leaving her to cry just seems a lazy way to deal with her, specially when the good guy gets killed stopping the mess that his traitor wife created.
Okay, with that out of the way, I did enjoy the other 99% of the book. There were some twists I didn't see coming, and a good story line. Over all, a good book.
