Medusa's Child

Rating:
Summary: Best Nance book I've read
Review: I'm not the biggest Nance fan, so I was surprised when I enjoyed "Medusa's Child". Medusa is a bomb designed and built by a truly mad scientist. Powered by a 20 megaton nuclear warhead, Medusa uses EMP to knock out virtually every microchip within a huge range of fire, and corrupt any data written near the time of the blast. The former defense researcher/would be destroyer-of-worlds even programs the machine to heap abuse on his poor wife. Completing his mysterious device before dying, he manages to cajole his poor former wife into delivering it (the unfortunate ex not knowing of its purpose) to the Pentagon. Strapped into a 727 freighter flown by a former fighter driver named Scott Mackay, the device arms too quickly (flown over the Pentagon, Medusa's GPS sensors can't distinguish between being in the cellar of the Pentagon, from being 20,000 feet above it) triggering a computer which (having been programmed by a certifiably evil genius) details exactly what it will do. Among other things, the computer also warns about a special safeguards meant to insure that his hated wife accompany the machine to its final debut (one of the device's sensors is keyed to her pacemaker). Mackay now battles a freak hurricane and his own dwindling fuel supply to deep-six the bomb over the mid-Atlantic, setting off the sort of crisis response that insures that we'll see plenty of fighter jets, generals and powerful politicians in settings where they will be surrounded by high-tech. But, at its heart "Medusa" excels because it's a very character driven book - the occupants of Mackay's stricken 727 form relationships that transcend what would otherwise be a straight-to-cable movie like "Pandora's Clock" or the one made of "Glass Cockpit". I've only read "Final Approach" and "Phoenix Rising" - this is the most human of the three.

Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced story!!!
Review: John J. Nance knows how to keep a reader in suspense. This book goes up there with Pandora's Clock as enjoyable novels.

The story is about a mad scientist who creates a bomb in order to get even with government and torture his wife. This bomb is one-of-a-kind in that it can knock out all electronics and destroy the economy. That's one problem, but there's another. It is also a thermonuclear device that is being transported by a 727. On top of that the crew is flying in probably the worst hurricane storms in the country. Those are the major problems, but as known by Nance, he adds more complications for the 727 crew to handle and it will be their decision that decides the outcomes.

Medusa's Child is a page turner with on-going twists and turns. You don't know what will happen next. Unfortunately, the book loses a star from me to become the best because the ending seems so implausible, you are asking yourself, is that possible?

Anyhow, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book just because it is a exciting read and a great alternative to movies!!...

Rating:
Summary: Medusa's Child- by John J. Nance
Review: This book by Nance ranks right up there with Pandora's Clock. When I was in a bookstore a few years ago, I bought Pandora's Clock and Medusa's Child together, and read them in that order. Never had I read back-to-back books that were so thrilling and suspenseful. Medusa's Child has a plot that may be a little farfetched, but if you can get that out of your mind, then this book's supercharged plot will easily grip you, keeping you turning the pages until the last page. If you havent' read this book yet, read it now.