Deception Point

The fates of NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), and the Senate become intertwined when a meteorite that appears to have extraterrestrial life buried within it is discovered under the Arctic ice shelf. Rachel Sexton, an NRO agent sent by NASA to the Arctic, becomes embroiled in a plot to kill her and the scientists working on the site to ensure the secrecy of the discovery. Richard Poe's narration follows the plot twists as the ruthless Senator Sexton campaigns against NASA and his daughter in a dark cloud of intrigue in Washington. Chapters are short, the plot complex, and Poe's voice the guiding light. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

September 10, 2001
Struggling to rebound from a series of embarrassing blunders that have jeopardized its political life at the start of this lively thriller, NASA makes an astounding discovery: there is a meteor embedded deep within the arctic ice. And it isn't just any meteor. Inside the huge rock, which crashed to earth in 1716, are fossils of giant insects—proof of extraterrestrial life. Yet, given NASA's slipping reputation, the question arises: Is the meteor real or a fake? That uncertainty dogs NASA and its supporters in Brown's latest page-flipper, a finely polished amalgam of action and intrigue. Trying to determine the truth are intelligence agent Rachel Sexton and popular oceanographer Michael Tolland, both among the first to suspect something is amiss when the meteor is pulled from the ice. Their doubts quickly make them the targets of a mysterious death squad controlled by someone or something that doesn't want the public to hear the meteor may be a fraud. Together, Sexton and Tolland scramble across arctic glaciers, take refuge on ice floes, are rescued by a nuclear submarine, then find themselves trapped aboard a small research vessel off the coast of New Jersey. All the while, the nation's capital is buzzing as to whether NASA has engaged in deception. Or is NASA just a dupe for aerospace companies that have long wanted a bigger share of space contracts? Brown (Angels & Demons) moves into new territory with his latest. It's an excellent thriller—a big yet believable story unfolding at breakneck pace, with convincing settings and just the right blend of likable and hateful characters. He's also done his research, folding in sophisticated scientific and military details that make his plot far more fulfilling than the norm.

Now that Brown has hit it big with THE DA VINCI CODE, some of his older works are coming out in audio. This one is about NASA, a "find" beneath the Arctic ice, a slimy senator who wants to be president, and his daughter, who works for the current president. Character development has been sacrificed for scientific detail, at least in the shortened version, but Boyd Gaines does his best to give everyone a voice, delivering the expository details with the authority of a news anchor. Listen for the plot and the "Cryptalk" and ignore lines like "Then it happened." J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine