Best-selling author of techno-thrillers whose 1977 blockbuster was made into a film
Craig Thomas, who has died from pneumonia aged 68, was at the forefront of the spy/adventure genre known as the techno-thriller, novels in which technology – usually cutting-edge military hardware extrapolated from current technological advances – is central to the plot. Thomas's 1977 novel Firefox featured the fictional MiG-31, an aircraft so advanced that it would immediately give the Russians the upper hand.
At the time, the Russians had the MiG-25 Foxbat, the fastest reconnaissance bomber and interceptor in the air, with a top speed of Mach 2.8. Thomas's Firefox could achieve speeds of Mach 5, had stealth technology which made it invisible to radar and a guided missile system controlled by the pilot by thought alone. Realising the implications to security in the west, his British spymaster Kenneth Aubrey suggests an audacious plan to steal one of the two prototype aircraft.
Firefox...
Craig Thomas, who has died from pneumonia aged 68, was at the forefront of the spy/adventure genre known as the techno-thriller, novels in which technology – usually cutting-edge military hardware extrapolated from current technological advances – is central to the plot. Thomas's 1977 novel Firefox featured the fictional MiG-31, an aircraft so advanced that it would immediately give the Russians the upper hand.
At the time, the Russians had the MiG-25 Foxbat, the fastest reconnaissance bomber and interceptor in the air, with a top speed of Mach 2.8. Thomas's Firefox could achieve speeds of Mach 5, had stealth technology which made it invisible to radar and a guided missile system controlled by the pilot by thought alone. Realising the implications to security in the west, his British spymaster Kenneth Aubrey suggests an audacious plan to steal one of the two prototype aircraft.
Firefox...
- 4/13/2011
- by Steve Holland
- The Guardian - Film News
Sometimes 28Dla gets to the party a little late and such is the case with author Michael Joseph Schuhler's Plague Apocalypse Pre Wrath. This title released earlier this month (March 10) and this novella is a prequel to Schuhler's earlier novel, Plague Apocalypse. Plague Apocalypse has been reviewed here: Plague Apocalypse on 28Dla. Pre Wrath is a short novella of ninety-two pages, which deals with a Satanic rising of the dead. This latest read is being made available in Kindle and signed paperback formats. More details on this title are below.
The synopsis for Plague Apocalypse Pre Wrath:
"Just before Hell unleashed fury onto the world, a team of Us Navy Seals are deployed to an unknown island off the coast of Somalia identified as a safe haven for pirates. The team soon discovers that something there is very wrong. The island is crawling with the living dead and the team...
The synopsis for Plague Apocalypse Pre Wrath:
"Just before Hell unleashed fury onto the world, a team of Us Navy Seals are deployed to an unknown island off the coast of Somalia identified as a safe haven for pirates. The team soon discovers that something there is very wrong. The island is crawling with the living dead and the team...
- 3/20/2011
- by Remove28DaysLaterAnalysisThis@gmail.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
A premise that so easily could have been cliched and annoying turned out to be anything but in what became a surprisingly emotional episode of Bones last night.
Trapped in an cage, and with a lovably annoying push from Sweets, Booth and Brennan were forced to confront their complicated feelings for each other head-on.
David Boreanaz directed "The Blackout and the Blizzard" and deserves praise for delivering such an entertaining, multi-layered episode - one of the season's best.
The blizzard crippling D.C. would've been better suited to a January or February episode, as we're now on the cusp of spring, but any Northeasterner could surely relate.
Also relatable, if you're a guy? Booth's desire to grab that row of old stadium seats. How cool are those things (even if Veterans Stadium is in Philly and they're in D.C.)?
We'll give Philly-bred Boreanaz a pass on that last point,...
Trapped in an cage, and with a lovably annoying push from Sweets, Booth and Brennan were forced to confront their complicated feelings for each other head-on.
David Boreanaz directed "The Blackout and the Blizzard" and deserves praise for delivering such an entertaining, multi-layered episode - one of the season's best.
The blizzard crippling D.C. would've been better suited to a January or February episode, as we're now on the cusp of spring, but any Northeasterner could surely relate.
Also relatable, if you're a guy? Booth's desire to grab that row of old stadium seats. How cool are those things (even if Veterans Stadium is in Philly and they're in D.C.)?
We'll give Philly-bred Boreanaz a pass on that last point,...
- 3/18/2011
- by steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi)
- TVfanatic
John Dugdale discerns some palpable hits among the duds
Last year's showbiz autobiographies brought the genre into disrepute: the public sensibly shunned insipid efforts from TV stars they were assumed to adore; booksellers complained sales too often failed to match the hype because the market had been flooded with mediocrity; and the high dud-to-hit ratio forced chastened publishers to reassess the merits of flinging money annually at a handful of B-listers in the hope that one will produce a book that matches the million-selling success of Peter Kay's The Sound of Laughter.
Expectations (and no doubt advances) are accordingly lower for the class of 2010, who have come up with a variety of responses to the perennial problem: how do you write about fame and other celebrities?
Pre-fame only. Problem solved: you don't. A popular tactic, since it worked for Kay, which is this year best represented by Paul O'Grady.
Last year's showbiz autobiographies brought the genre into disrepute: the public sensibly shunned insipid efforts from TV stars they were assumed to adore; booksellers complained sales too often failed to match the hype because the market had been flooded with mediocrity; and the high dud-to-hit ratio forced chastened publishers to reassess the merits of flinging money annually at a handful of B-listers in the hope that one will produce a book that matches the million-selling success of Peter Kay's The Sound of Laughter.
Expectations (and no doubt advances) are accordingly lower for the class of 2010, who have come up with a variety of responses to the perennial problem: how do you write about fame and other celebrities?
Pre-fame only. Problem solved: you don't. A popular tactic, since it worked for Kay, which is this year best represented by Paul O'Grady.
- 12/11/2010
- by John Dugdale
- The Guardian - Film News
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