Apr 10, 2010 12:39 PM
1497 Views
This book was also published with a different title called The Fifth Horseman and I read it under that title.
And I looked and behold a pale horse and his name that sat on him was Death and hell followed with him. And power was given unto them....
Revelation, 6:8
Pages :486
The Fifth Horseman or Is New York Burning as it was called in later editions is a novel written by the writer duo Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre who had earlier written 'The city of Joy', which was based on Calcutta and its slums. The Fifth Horseman is a suspenseful novel based on a terrorist threat and its implications to a city that is bustling. The story line is supposed to be based on facts that were never revealed to the public because of its implications and apparently the author(s) have pieced together various incidents and information received from within the system and reconstructed this story.
The story begins with the President of the United states receiving a diplomatic letter from Al Qaddafi, the President of Libya stating that he possesses the ultimate weapon on earth ( enclosing scientific proofs ). The weapon had been ordered to be placed on New York Island, and, that he was causing it to explode in 63 hours from midnight of that night, if, the demand he has set forth were not met with.
Understandably though this causes a panic, in the beginning the Americans are not unduly worried presuming that Qaddafi had no capacity to put together anything close to what he claimed. But , when the blue print is examined by the experts, they find that it was not only genuine, but it was far more threatening than even what Qaddafi claimed as it turns out to be a blue print for a thermo nuclear device, a three megaton Hydrogen Bomb !!
So once they realize that the threat was real a search begins in earnest for the bomb which could be concealed in a cylinder roughly the size of an ordinary oil drum weighing barely a fifteen hundred pounds..
As Qaddafi puts forward more demands , The President of the United States realizes that the demands that have been put forth were just impossible to be even considered, since, it involved the participation of other nations and a lot of diplomatic wrangling, which, in turn could weaken the supremacy of the United States of America in the eyes of the other nations. So the only alternative left to them was to find the bomb which may be hidden anywhere within the city of New York before it explodes...
My views
Reading this book is like going on a roller coaster ride - you just can't put it down !
It is one of the most interesting books I have read with nail biting suspense, lots of twists and turns and heady details.
The author goes into details about the terrorists and how they get recruited to do the job. The blind belief of the Islamic terrorists drawn into the web by their misguided faith , who have been lured into carrying out the attack is very believable , when one considers the present day situation across the world. The authors have touched upon a very relevant subject with a lot of honesty in their observation. One can only pity the brilliant young minds getting corrupted by Religious mania.
This is one of the best thrillers I have read. The terrorists planning out their strategy to carry out the attack and the accounts of the CIA net trying to weed them out ( almost like searching for a needle in haystack) is extremely interesting. It almost seems real while you read it. I still wonder whether this really happened? The details about the leaders discussing the issue and the conversation between the Libyan leader and the American leader is not to be missed whether it is true or not.
As I said earlier it seems almost like it is happening as you read it
A great book indeed by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. I have earlier read The City of Joy and had developed a tremendous respect for the authors. They come up with very interesting, authentic details in their novels.They have come up with an equally good or even a better novel this time that is not to be missed by anyone. I give it 9 out of ten. People say that it deserves a six star and I completely agree with that...
A powerful novel not to be missed..
Summary: One of the best thrillers ever.
