Every few pages, I had to check the title page to make sure I wasn't reading a Wilbur Smith novel. It starts in South Africa with a dashing, well educated Englishman, then ends on the high seas with the fate of the world at stake. Sound familiar? If you like Wilbur Smith and older Tom Clancy novels, you'll enjoy this book.

Robert Etheridge Townsend, a young writer, recounts his twelve amatory encounters on his path to a conventional life style. Within his tales, he left an account of the behaviors of members of a relict leisure class in which ancestry, snobbery and pride of place were kept alive by infusions of wealth acquired through marriages of convenience.

This excellent thriller was written in 1984 and set in an imagined future(say the 1990s had the Soviet Union not disbanded and the Gulf War not broken out), but is still well worth a read! Neil O'Hara is an astronaut living on the edge. He is blamed for killing a shuttle crew member in space, the widow tries to seduce him, his marriage is on the rocks and his debt problem is getting worse. Then he is offered a job by one Colonel Heinlein of the Israeli Defence Force to resurrect a satellite project. But what are Heinlein's real motives? Meanwhile, the Middle East erupts in war as the PLO and Israel duke it out with high-tech fighters over the Mediterranean. Faced with the possibility of all-out nuclear war, who can save the Middle East, and unltmately the world? What is the NASA shuttle DOMINATOR really carrying in its payload? Can O'Hara save the day? Before you think you can guess the ending, think again! Not quite what you expect! Overall, great thriller writing with some interesting visions of the future for its time.

This book was just great! The realism factor simply kept me intrigued. The story begins when transatlantic cables are inexplicably cut. Russian and American relations reach freezing point when an ocean liner and a soviet submarine go down in a sea like honey. Two scientists soon identify a far greater enemy... which threatens to shake the whole of Manhattan!

In this book, ths possibility of how nature can punich those who under-estimate her is vividly shown.

this book is very interesting and full of great litrature it is the first part of a trilogy it is extemely interesting so it will keep you interested so you will want to read the next one (like harry potter).

if this book is not available in your local library I suggest you try to get your hands on it,it is rather long but you will not be able to put it down.

James Follett is a British author who has been in print since 1976, writing both sci-fi/futuristic technothrillers and World War 2 dramas such as THOSE IN PERIL and U-700. He also penned THE TIPTOE BOYS, one of the first SAS novels. This book, TROJAN, is just superb. It's an exciting thriller set around the world of nanotechnology and biological computer chip possibilities. Beverly Laine is the heroine of this story, who invents the KRONOS nanochip which revolutionises technology. But when nasty accidents occur when the chips become infected, she launches her own investigations and discovers that billionnaire media tycoon Marshall Tate may be responsible. However, his chain of computerised casinos begins to catch a computer virus and people suddenly win massive amounts unexpectedly! But this is not all . . . what is the significance of a space probe to MArs to retrieve Martian soil samples? What exactly is the nature of the Trojan virus? The plot will keep you guessing! Follett also brings his previous work at the BBC into the plot when he flashes the story back to the 1960s and Marshall Tate's first hand at filmmaking and Beverly's schooldays and a past romance - this part of the plot also charts baddie Marshall Tate's rise to fame well. This was written around 1992, but set in the early 21st century - and Follett has a habit of predicting things as best he can. Digital satellite TV, nanotechnology, the Internet, virtual reality, mobile phones and their increasingly widespread use and even digital speed cameras to catch dangerous drivers are featured, one wonders whether in years to come Follett will be looked upon as another George Orwell. Anyway, don't miss this exciting and very prophetic and original novel. If you like this one also check out DOMINATOR and SABRE by the same author.

From the start to the end, the writer made good use of all the dialogues, either to insert witty remarks or provide lengthy explanation within a few short carefully written sentences.

The premise was with the French arms embargo after the Six Day War, the fledging state of Israel found itself in danger of unable to match her enemies weaponry.

In came Daniel Klein, ace pilot who was invalidated due to war injury. Hatching a bold plan, he and his girlfriend sought to obtain the blueprints for the Mirage, the aircraft which the Israeli Air Force depend on. The only fly in the ointment was an arms dealer who was hoping to supply subsonic jets to the Israeli.

The writer gave extensive background not only to the characters, but also to the development of the air defence of Israel, showing in a logical manner why the Mirage was priceless to Israel.

The only kink in the entire story was the involvement of CIA agents at a critical point, without proper explanation for their presence or stance.

This is the best book by James Follett that I have read -- by far. It's almost as good as a Frederick Forsyth book. It takes place in the late 1960s. France stopped selling Israel the Mirage fighter, and Israel desperately needed parts. You can't make parts without plans, so they decided they needed to get plans. This is that story.

This book happens to be the next book I read after Dominator. To then find out that it is based on true facts and really happened just blew me away. The fact that someone could do such a thing and that it succeeded is amazing.

This book caused me to do some research of my own about the events in the book. The other thing I like about the book is that the author appears to have had some fun with writing This book I got the impression that he had very little trouble getting This down on paper, as the text just seems to flow.

This book also goes on to prove that Switzerland is not always as boring as it seems.

Do I think it would make a good film? yes I do, but would it be allowed to be made, would the USA film industry put up the money? is another matter as getting the funds could be fun.

This review is based on the BBC Radio Serial. (Late 70's/early 80's?) I have recently acquired the book, and I am still searching for the sequel "Earthsearch 2" which was also broadcast as a radio serial by the BBC.

The story is quite amazing, and difficult to summarize without spoiling it, so I will try just to give some impressions. Much of it takes place on board a gigantic (miles long) spacecraft, which is equipped as a "generation ship" and has crew hibernation facilities. There is an equivalent to "HAL 9000" (very different in personality though) in the form of two computers known as the "Angels". The most amazing thing about this story is the fact that if you follow certain clues, and you have astronomical knowledge, you can figure out where and what things are, and indeed the date (to a millennium or so).

If you can find Earthsearch 2, it is just as exciting as the first book!

This is the first of James' books I read - I am now an avid fan. He writes his novels with a good mix of reality and science fiction, making the story futuristic yet believable. Often in his books (and definately in this one), half-way into the story he'll fly off on a tangent for a hundred pages or so, then bring you back into the original story - something alarming at first, but you can get used to it. All his work is well researched, and his writing is difficult to fault. A marvellous book, which comes highly recommended.

Very entertaining, easy to ready, hard to put down, fast pace. Turning a U-Boat into a sailing ship is a real stretch of the imigination. Dumb ending, could have thought of a better one. Too bad his other books are so hard to get.