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: A definite page turner
Review: I've read so many books that I've become cynical that I'll find any that I can class as "terrific" anymore. However, this one is an exception. The premise is fascinating and the author has done an excellent job in making you care about the characters. The action is intense and I found myself even taking this book on my daily three mile walk because I couldn't bear to leave it behind. Definitely a first class thriller
Rating:
Summary: Only one man can save the world from a catastrophic weapon
Review: If the government, especially the military had advance warming that a world-wide catastrophe was on the verge of occurring, would they have tried to stop it? A former military officer, Scott McKay, owner of a small cargo airline, believed that international safety would take top priority over everything else. However, he learned differently when he discovered that he was flying with a thermonuclear device that, if detonated, would trigger the Medusa wave, an electromagnetic pulse that would destroy all computers.
The designer of the Medusa wave is long dead, but his instructions make it very clear that any attempt to destroy the device would result in its detonation. McKay implicitly believes those instructions and tries to warn the authorities, but the military decides to deactivate the device so they can recover this newly discovered weapon to add to their arsenal. McKay disobeys all civil and military authorities, and decides to take care of the problem, despite the real chance that he will lose his life in the process.
John J. Nance, author of the best selling PANDORA'S CLOCK, comes up with a new doomsday thriller. This novel is chilling with its implication that the military would roll the Armageddon dice if it means obtaining a new weapon of ultimate destruction. MEDUSA'S CHILD is a frightening melodrama that depicts a government out of control, driven not by evil beings, but individuals who use power to obtain what they want. This includes a willingness to venture outside the legal and moral principles that serve as the foundation of the country they lead.
Harriet Klausner
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: 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: Nance knows how to leave you without fingernails.
Review: Medusa's Child is one of the most suspenseful books I have read in a LONG time. The basic plot is a cargo 727 is carrying a live thermonuclear bomb that, in the process of killing millions, will destroy all of the world's computers, shutting down our society. They have to try to stop it in an airplane all in the middle of a tremendous hurricane. Everything that could go wrong does and Nance's ability to make an action scene is amazing. I read Pandora's Clock and liked it so I picked this one up. I thought there would be no way I would like MC better than PC. But I did. I recommend this book to everyone, fan of the genre or not.
Rating: 
Summary: Improbable but exciting
Review: Nance has done better work, both with characters and plot. This book stretched credibility and the characters seemed generic to this type of story. Still, it's a page turner. His BLACKOUT is much much better.
Rating:
Summary: A highly imaginative thriller!
Review: One could call this 'Speed on a plane' or 'Executive Decision 2'! But joking apart, this is one hell of a manic, fast-paced and utterly spectacular story which I can't wait to see the TV adaptation of! Imagine flying a 727 with a ticking nuclear bomb, a deadly electromagnetic pulse device which is wired into a woman's pacemaker. And when things are bad, it gets worse - she can't move more than 15 feet away or the device detonates . . . threatening to wipe out every computer chip in the USA. John J Nance shows his knowledge of aviation and once again explains all the feasibilities and technicalities in simple layman's terms; and watch out for a brief but awesome appearance by the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane at high altitude. As for the Air Force One holographic communications suite . . . sounds like he's been reading Clive Cussler! All in all, well done John J Nance once again. Why aren't his books available here in the UK . . . they'd be extremely popular!
Rating:
Summary: Well written, but exaggerated and not credible.
Review: The book is well written, and reads easily. The plot is simple: a live nuke is flying around the East coast aboard an old 727. As if that wasn't enough, add: the worst hurricane in the history of the US, a "Medusa Effect", and possibily EVERYTHING that could go wrong. You read the book until you say: "OK, now I don't buy this anymore". And I am not referring to the final landing of the 727 which is rather fun; but all the little details that have to go wrong. It's like Murphy's law squared, and you start thinking "give them a break, will you?". But actually, because the plot is so simple, it's the only thing John Nance could come up with to spice up the story.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fun Read, Until...
Review: This book begins as a great read. After bringing my mind past the improbable set of circumstances that brings our heros to the position that are in (it IS fiction, after all!), I found the story quite suspenseful. It was really a fun read, until...the author takes us past improbable to virtually impossible! I would have enjoyed the book much more if the author would not have hung one of our heros out on the wing of an airplane (way too "yeah, right" for me!), then landed the plane in the fashion described (way beyond "yeah, right"!). Skip this one; it is not Nance's best. There's too much else to read out there.
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