Medusa's Child: Amazon.ca: John J. Nance: Books

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If you miss the great airborne adventures of writers like the late Ernest K. Gann, John Nance might help take up some of the slack. His Pandora's Clock--it became a TV movie--featured a nasty virus rampant at 35,000 feet. His latest has the widow of a world-class scientist trying to deliver to the Pentagon an invention that could shut down computers everywhere, thus ending civilization (and online bookselling) as we know it. Lots of hairy, if somewhat implausible, action--sure to be exploited in another TV movie. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

YA?From the intriguing jacket cover to the final page, suspense abounds in this thrilling novel. When Scott McKay, captain of his private cargo plane, takes on two passengers and their cargo crates, he and his crew discover that they are in for the flight of their lives. While over Washington, DC, a strange noise comes from deep inside the crate owned by Vivian Henry. It is the voice of her husband, a nuclear scientist who was believed dead. The people onboard are informed that the shipment that they are carrying is a fully armed Medusa device, a thermonuclear bomb that will not only kill millions of people, but can also destroy every computer chip on the continent, blasting the country back into the Stone Age. It is set to go off within hours. Panic erupts in the world of nuclear scientists who used to work for Dr. Henry, for they realize that this threat is a real possibility. Fear spreads through the White House and the general public, as a group of rogue military officers conspire to secure the bomb at any cost. Captain McKay and his crew soon discover that they are being deceived, and that everyone's life is in danger. Mistrust, deceit, and spine-chilling action flow from every page of this story.?Anita Short, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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First Sentence
Vivian, it's your ex-husband." Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced story!!!, Dec 17 2002

By

F. Seara (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Medusa's Child (Mass Market Paperback)

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!!...

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4.0 out of 5 stars Best Nance book I've read, Sep 2 2002

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Rottenberg's rotten book review (nyc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medusa's Child (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Medusa's Child- by John J. Nance, Jan 27 2001

By

Jeff Pudelski (Brooklyn, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medusa's Child (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars MEDUSA'S CHILD - A thrilling nuclear countdown
A former disgruntled U.S. nuclear scientist wills his ex-wife the unthinkable, a thermonuclear bomb. Read more

Published on Nov 29 2000 by Dean Redfern

5.0 out of 5 stars Improbable...sure--FUN & ENTERTAINING? You BET!!
I was drawn to this book entirely because of how much I enjoyed 'Pandora's Clock'. I was a bit skeptical as to whether or not I would enjoy it as much, but I assure you, for MY... Read more

Published on Nov 27 2000 by Jeff Edwards