It's the second decade of the twenty-first century, and terrorism has escalated almost beyond control. The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem has been blown to bits by extremists, and, in retaliation, thousands have died in another major attack on the United States. The War on Terror has reached a deadly stalemate. Now the FBI has been dispatched to deal with a new menace. A plague targeted to ethnic groups—Jews or Muslims … or both—has the potential to wipe out entire populations. But the FBI itself is under political assault. There's a good chance agents William Griffin, Fouad Al-Husam, and Jane Rowland will be part of the last class at Quantico. As the young agents hunt a brilliant homegrown terrorist, they join forces with veteran bio-terror expert Rebecca Rose. But the plot they uncover—and the man they chase—prove to be far more complex than anyone expects.
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"The events in this book take place in the near future. Reading it, you can imagine a story like this unfolding within a couple of years from now. cutting edge scifi blended with the current reality of runaway borrowing by the entire USA. "
— Ron (4 out of 5 stars)
" Greg Bear is an excellent science fiction writer. This is a bit off his normal stuff but very interesting. if you want to see the possible future of terrorism, this is the book...scary. "
— Rick, 2/20/2014" I am a huge fan of Greg Bear's science fiction. But this "near future" fiction novel was not nearly as good as his hard core sci-fi novels. He included far too much unnecessary detail and divergent plot lines that really had no relevance. It was tough to get through this, but I made it halfway and then realized that I didn't want to waste any additional time on a book I was not enjoying. I love that his writing is geared toward those of us who love science, but this particular novel just didn't grip me like his sci-fi novels have. I wasn't invested in the plot or any of the characters and had to force myself to get as far as I did. "
— Tina, 2/8/2014" Griff, an FBI agent goes into a terrorists barn that might be filled with deadly explosives in order to search for the explosive and other clues. He had the option to go in the barn alone or with someone and he chose to go alone to avoid his sone gettign hurt. "
— Mike, 1/23/2014" While there's plenty of science from this sometimes sci-fi writer, this is a geo-political thriller from the Tom Clancy school, though much more concisely, and dare I say, better, written. The plot and characters were really good, and I will definitely look at more of his books in this vein. I was a tiny bit frustrated by the ending, but overall, a good page-turner. "
— Lisa, 1/16/2014" Fast paced, written simple and easy to read and follow. The characters are not well described. But overall fun to read, the story of this book will age with years. "
— Umlaut, 1/14/2014" Not a bad detective story "
— Alftheo, 1/13/2014" It would have been comforting if I could have put this in the category of science fiction. Makes me a bit concerned with what science is capable of doing when in the wrong hands! "
— Mary, 12/25/2013" Somehow, the fact that this thriller takes place in a near-future world made the terrorist angle a lot less compelling for me. The book was well-written and the characters mostly believable and yet the whole thing felt removed and, hence, not very exciting or engaging. "
— Marisa, 12/10/2013" Not bad for a thriller. Tight ending, the heroes survived and the world was saved. "
— Fran, 12/10/2013" pretty mindless, but still a page turner. For a Bear book, there wasnt much to the plot and doesnt require much thought by the reader. I listened to it and at times it was tough to keep track of the characters. "
— Lindsey, 12/2/2013" Generally, I find Greg Bear's work to be entertaining, but not much more. I found more substance in this novel than anything else I've read by him. "
— Mike, 11/26/2013" meh... not one of his best "
— Griffin, 10/30/2013" Enjoyable junk read that killed a few hours and slightly enhanced my paranoia. "
— Chris, 10/26/2013" I found this, slow, with far too much detail, too many initials plus explanation, too many people, all of which slowed down what could have been a very good tense thriller. "
— Margaret, 9/27/2013" so slow..took me forever to read. had to force myself to finish the book. "
— Melissa, 9/20/2013" I read this book on vacation. It's a mindless read, in that you don't have to think a whole bunch. I was not overly impressed with the writing or the plot. "
— Mark, 8/22/2013" It was good. I would rate it higher but it got a little hard to keep track near the end. But still very good, and resolved the confusion at the very end. "
— James, 6/30/2013" I normally like Greg Bear. This one was just a little too depressing. "
— Topher, 7/5/2012" This book was FANTASTIC. What if Homeland Security was 1/2 of our military, what if we never left Iraq, written by a master of science fiction. Solid. "
— Ben, 9/25/2011" Disappointing. Has a good beginning, loses its way in the middle and has an unsatisfactory end! Maybe Greg Bear should leave this sort of thing to less distinguished writers! "
— Steve, 6/8/2011" Maybe worth 2.5. Interesting near future dystopia book. "
— Mary, 9/11/2010" First time I read this author. Didn't really like the book. Too hard to follow. I think the good guys won out in the end, but not quite sure. "
— Kathy, 6/19/2010" i prefer bear's far future and alien worlds to his near-future stuff. "
— Liz, 5/14/2010" Frightening vision of the future, that you could imagine happening. It has everything, science, <br/>technology, chips installed in everyone in government and a women President. The bad <br/>guys are big business who want to destroy America and run the country themselves. "
— Cynthia, 2/14/2010" A fairly ordinary sci-fi/adventure book set in the near future, with all the requisite bad-guys-trying-to-rule-the-world cliches. It was a slow book day at the ol' library when I picked this one up, thinking it was a Dan Brown kinda thing. It wasn't. "
— David, 2/9/2010" Believable body sensor/security systems—extension of Big Brother. "
— Laurie, 12/11/2009" A PTSD Treatment program named Mariposa has unsuspected side effects. Near future drama includes terrorism and near bankruptcy of the United States. "
— Carol, 10/26/2009Greg Bear is an American author of more than forty books spanning the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. His science fiction works have covered themes of galactic conflict, artificial universes, consciousness and cultural practice, and accelerated evolution. His fiction has garnered five Nebula Awards, two Hugo Awards, the Monty Award, and the Heinlein Award. He has also been an illustrator of science fiction works in both hardcover and paperback. He has written articles on film for the Los Angeles Times and book reviews for the San Diego Union. He is a founding member of the Association of Science Fiction Artists and of the San Diego Comic-Con. and has served as president and vice president of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He has also served as a consultant for NASA, the US Army, the State Department, and other organizations on such matters as crime and criminal justice, virology and evolution, and bio security.
Jeff Woodman is an actor and narrator. He is a winner of the prestigious Audie Award and a six-time finalist. He has received twenty Earphones Awards and was named the 2008 Best Voice in Fiction & Classics, as well as one of the Fifty Greatest Voices of the Century by AudioFile magazine. As an actor, he originated the title role in Tennessee Williams’ The Notebook of Trigorin and won the S. F. Critics’ Circle Award for his performance in An Ideal Husband. In addition to numerous theater credits on and off Broadway, his television work includes Sex and the City, Law & Order, and Cosby.