Rick Friedman's Review of 'Intrepid - The Two Storms'

Check out this review of my novel 'Intrepid - The Two Storms', by Rick Friedman of Goodreads;

'As is often the case with debut writers, the reader is often hesitant when he/she reads the second book in a series. The old "Sophmore Jinx" is a common fear. I am happy to report that this is CERTAINLY NOT the case with The Two Storms (Intrepid #2), master writer Steve Stone's follow-up to his brilliant first sci-fi/thriller Intrepid.

'The Two Storms (Intrepid #2) is like reuniting with old friends, Colonel Lance Tucker and Gen. Jack Nelson are back, and a wonderful welcome to them! Combining two genres, thriller and sci-fi perfectly, is the sign of a superb writer, and Mr. Stone is most definitely that.

'All the excitement, thrills, plots and extremely well drawn characters from Intrepid #1 are - if possible - even more refined in this second book. I was taken from the very first page, and the action, twists and intrigue did not let up until I read the very last word.

'In creating a villain such as "The Chinaman", a ruthless yet far from stereotypical assassin, Mr Stone has once again shown that he has the ability to fine tune his villains as well as his heroes. It is very easy to make a "bad guy" bad, but to go far deeper into such a character as to make him so very complex is a testament to Mr. Stone's writing acumen. This is a villain the reader will not soon forget!

'The plot, which includes time-travel, with the goal of preventing an assassination - as well as all the sub-plots and myriad of twists and turns are so deftly handled that the many parts of this most unique of books come together to form a very satisfying whole. As this is the 2nd book in a (so far) projected four book series - the only negative thing I can say is that I will now have to wait to read the third instalment! This series is THAT GOOD!'

AN OFFICIAL JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB MUST READ
RICK FRIEDMAN
FOUNDER
THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB

The premise for the novel 'Intrepid - The Two Storms'.

I finished the novel 'Intrepid - The Two Storms' in 2011. It's a sequel to 'Intrepid' (completed 2010), and is the second in a series of four novels. It took nine months to write. Two weeks of research were required, beyond that undertaken for the first novel.

The basis of the story is time travel, but two-thirds of the action takes place on Earth, so the book should appeal to both science fiction and action adventure fans;

Post-Obama, US Air Force Colonel Lance Tucker prepares to take his crew on a flight to the International Space Station, aboard the new generation X-33 space shuttle Intrepid. The New Cold War of the era has abated, as a direct result of Intrepid's previous mission. The Russian Buran shuttle project, which was cancelled by Boris Yeltsin in 1993, has quietly resurfaced in recent years, and the first red orbiter is ready to go. Having proposed that Buran's inaugural flight should be a dual launch beside Intrepid, the Russian President sits beside the American President on the grandstand at Cape Canaveral, eagerly awaiting the simultaneous lift-off.

Notorious international assassin 'The Chinaman' strikes in the seconds before launch, gunning down both leaders, causing a geo-political storm. And as the shuttles ascend to the ISS, an underwater volcanic eruption causes local superheating of the Atlantic Ocean, transforming weakening Hurricane Ernie into the fiercest super-storm ever recorded. The hurricane tears an immense tranche of destruction, stretching from Miami to New Orleans, costing billions of dollars, and tens of thousands of lives.

During a video conference aboard the ISS, and mindful of Intrepid's previous mission, General Jack Nelson implores the Intrepid and Buran shuttles to use a large, installable fuel source attached to the space station, and travel back in time to change history. With hindsight, capturing and unmasking the assassin should prove simple, and the General also outlines an incredible plan to harmlessly destroy Hurricane Ernie at sea, using a secret large neutron bomb housed in a B-2 stealth bomber at Area 51. If one shuttle doesn't make it past the hazardous journey through time, the surviving crew can provide the advance warning needed....

Lance faces the following obstacles along the way;

The American and Russian crews - they don't believe the plans to change history can work....

Hurricane Ernie - if the voyage back in time is successful, Lance must fly the B-2 into the eye of the storm, and unleash the bomb....

The Chinaman - who is the assassin? How does he know Lance's restricted cell phone number, and every movement? A gripping game of cat and mouse ensues, as Lance attempts to unmask the killer. 'Whodunnit?' - the clues are there, but can you work it out....?

Leading Senator Darrell McKay - having escaped The Chinaman's bullet once, he's very helpful. But Lance's line of questioning on his sinister Head of Security Vivian Kort is met with a frosty reception. Has Lance seen Viv Kort, somewhere before....?

New Orleans street gang, the Pontchartrain Pirates - the most dangerous gang in the notorious Ninth Ward of New Orleans have assisted The Chinaman. Then the mother of Lance's youngest crew member is molested by a gang associate. Lance resolves to defeat the Pirates.....



And the trouble is, when you try to change the course of history, you may well make inadvertent changes, as well as the ones you intended. Just when it looks as though everything might turn out all right, Lance discovers that his actions and words have produced a terrifying conclusion, from which the only escape is the rapid solution of The Chinaman's seemingly impossible riddle - can you solve it....?

'Intrepid - The Two Storms' is available from http://steven-stone.blogspot.com/, Amazon, Smashwords, Goodreads and ebay. 83,118 words. For a review, see http://stevestonechat.blogspot.com/2011/06/martin-ince-review-of-novel-intrepid.html

Paperback - ISBN 9781461073277 £8.99=$14.49.
Electronic versions - iPhone, Blackberry, iPad, Kindle Reader, Kindle for PC, iPod Touch, Android £1.99=$3.21.
.pdf (with book covers) $1.99=£1.20. Wow! 

The novel can be read on a stand-alone basis, but reading 'Intrepid' first comes highly recommended. For more on 'Intrepid', top 100 Kindle bestseller in science fiction, military and war, see http://stevestonechat.blogspot.com/2011/06/premise-for-novel-intrepid.html