"Ultimatum" was R.J. Pineiro's second published techno-thriller. Unlike his more recent novels that deal with the computer/high tech industry, this novel is a military thriller that takes place soon after Desert Storm. Saddam Hussein has nuclear missiles and is readying them for deployment against neighboring countries and U.S. troops stationed in the area.

The central figure, Lt. Kevin Dalton, is a fighter pilot in-training who nearly is stripped of his ability to fly due to the direct disobedience of orders. However, the CG makes an exception and gives Dalton another chance. Dalton doesn't make the best of his second chance and is soon on the run from the Iraqis. He meets a Mossad agent named Khalela and soon they join forces to locate where Hussein is producing his weapons. What ensues is a non-stop, action-filled search that concludes with a resounding climax. The door is left open for a sequel and Pineiro took advantage of that with his next novel entitled "Retribution".

While a departure from the them of his later novels, "Ultimatum" is a highly entertaining read and most of the statements regarding military weaponry, planes, etc. seem fairly accurate. If you enjoy military thrillers with little fluff, I recommend giving "Ultimatum" a read. If you find this one enjoyable, read the sequel although it's more of a spy thriller than military thriller.

WOW!!! Even though I am only in eigth grade,that's what came into my mind after I finished this book. It is a really great book and if you like war and action books, read this one. It also has a touch of romance in it between the two really MAIN characters, Leutenent Dalton and Kahlela. Touching too. Trust me. You'll like it. It's AWESOME!

This is so far the Best book I have ever read! Far better than Chakespear, there is an excitement that pushed me not to stop reading it. You'll learn a lot about military Scramble situations this masterpiece makes you feel in the middle of the thing, the only problem some one may face reading the book is that the more you read the more you can't stop reading it and the thing is that when you approch the end you'll probably wish the story does not end. This book will make some one think about the real values of life, it can completely change your personality.

Bruce Tucker an ex Navy Seal is hired to protect Mortimer Fox
a billionaire computor guru.An assassination attempt is made on Fox's life and he dies in Tucker's arms.Fox tells Tucker a secret computer code that will open up Firewall and Creator.
Tucker then goes to Italy to find Fox's estranged daughter.Vlad Jarrko,an ex Stasi assassin has been hired by North Korea to steal the password and give North Korea access to Firewall and it's secrets.Monica Fox is kidnapped and taken to North Korea

to be tortured for the secret password. Tucker gives chase. This
turns into an exciting battle between Tucker and the forces of evil. This book is without questuion a page turner.Nonstop action
from start to finish.Pineiro has another good book.

It's novels like this that keep R.J. Pineiro on top of my 'must read' thriller list.

Bruce Tucker is ex-Navy Seal, ex-Secret Service and Ex-CIA operative. After losing his family to terrorists, which he also blames on the CIA, Tucker takes the job of protector/bodyguard to one of the richest computer gurus alive (think Gates) named Mortimer Fox. When Fox has a heart attack, after a failed attempt on his life, he passes on to Tucker a couple secrets and asks him to please protect his daughter. The same powerful forces that have been trying to kill him will now go after her. The big secret (Firewall) behind Mortimer Fox is a technology, which if discovered by another country, could trigger Armageddon. From launch codes to all the coded messages between intelligence agencies, nothing can be kept secret if the code to Firewall is acquired.

As much spy thriller as techno thriller. A better-rounded thriller you couldn't ask for. From computer technology to the possibilities of a North Korean invasion, all play a pivotal role in this non-stop thriller. At times it gets graphic (Cannibalism) and violent, but in the situations presented it's appropriate and not over done. This novel is very satisfying and should create some new fans for R.J. Pineiro.

Highly Recommended.

R.J. Pineiro is the author of numerous excellent technothrillers. "Exposure" is a non-stop action-packed novel that hits the ground running from the beginning. Being an engineer at Advanced Micro Designs (AMD), his books tend to have a computer-related theme to them.

The story opens with the malfunction of a nuclear power plant in Palo Verde, Arizona. The malfunction leads to a meltdown that ultimately causes the deaths of all 45,000 inhabitants of Palo Verde. The cause of the malfunction was an error in the instruction set of the processor in the plant's computers. Obviously, the idea for this novel resulted from the error on the first generation Pentium chips from Intel in 1994.

Two LSU professors discover an algorithm that can duplicate the error on a somewhat frequent basis. They plan to expose the chip maker for it's faulty processor, but one of the professors is murdered before he can release his findings. The other professor soon finds herself on the run from an evil syndicate that includes Microtel Corporation, the maker of the processor, the DIA and the local Louisiana police.

Eventually, she finds support in an unlikely place in addition to the FBI. The race is on to retrieve the algorithm to expose Microtel. However, the syndicate is also out to retrive the last remaining copy of the algorithm. The book continues on a rapid pace throughout the entire 300+ pages.

My only knock on the book is the author's obsession with the female professor's "chocolate freckle" on her upper lip. He constantly makes reference to this in every way possible -- wet, being kissed, makeup on it, etc. A few mentions is fine, but 30+ times in the novel is gross overuse.

This book is very easy to read and enjoyable for someone with a technical background. It is not so technical that you get lost in all of the details, but it tells you enough that it is believable. Pineiro knows his stuff. The book also provides a good insight into the computer industry in general, and a very realistic "what if" scenerio that was very fun to read.

Another exciting book from R.J. Pineiro. The subject matter is very lifelike and scary. The billionaire badguy certainly added to the story. Another element of this story is the military and hired assasins that are dispatched by Sinclaire. The good guy and heroine in this story certainly add to the quality of this story. Pineiro will have to do a sequel to Exposure. A quality book.

This paperback contained war stories from three noted authors.The first story was by Stephen Coonts. It tells of an ex Marine sniper and a female military pilot who team up to kill the
terrorists who were responsible for killing her parents. In a story authored by Dean Ing a private investigator,a bounty hunter
and an FBI agent team up and discover a terrorist plot that could
lead to thousands of deaths.The final story by Barrett Tillman
tells the story of a group of retired fighter pilots who battle
enemy jets over the skies of California. Combat #2 was not as good a book as Combat #1. I hope that Combat #3 is an improvement
over Combat #2.

Combat #3 offered up four good stories by four good authors.
The first story was written by Harold Coyle.He told of a special Army unit made up of cyber warriors. They are recruited to combat the growing attacks by hackers whocause online terrorism around the world. The next story is by Ralph Peters. His story takes place in the Balkan states. A U.S. Army observer is taken hostage by the people he is sent over to observe.James Cobb tells of a U.S. calvary unit that does combat with an Algerian recon division that is attempting to attack a helpless African country.R.J. Pineiro,one of the rising stars among today's authors tells of a Russian terrorist seizes a space station
equipped with nuclear warheads.It is up to Marine Diane Williams to stop him.Four good stories for the price of one. Read this. You will enjoy it.

This was a really good buy. I have read all of Coonts books along with Clancy (except his Net Force), Brown, & Coyle. This is a great book for when you want to get down and dirty with the action within a short period. Each short is creatively done and reflects different views on combat and its effects on people and machines.

This is also a great way to learn about up and coming authors in this particular field.

Good plot and a fast moving storyline that is sure to provide terrorists with plenty of new targets to think about. An equal mix of adrenaline and testosterone that feels like a season script for the TV show "24" - or maybe a Bruce Willis miniseries.

The writing is solid but the author has the annoying habit of referring to the September 11 / World Trade Center attacks so many times (nearly every other page in the first 50 pages - and much more towards the end), that this reader got tired of it. It is as if he keeps doing a George W. Bush impression-repeating Sept. 11 as a Mantra, trying unsuccessfully to push emotional buttons without reason-and looking stupid because of it.

Not my favorite book by Peneiro, but a good solid read with lots of action and suspense.

See book summary above.

Though he goes a little overboard with what he thinks cyberterrorists are capable of, he still provides a very entertaining thriller. The cyber thrills are as moving as the real life thrills and chases. Both provide the reader with quite a bit of suspense.
As a computer engineer, R.J. Pineiro has the background, and as an author he has the skill.

Recommended.

This author just gets better and better. His subject and characters made up a very intriguing story. It grabbed me by the hand and ran me at a break-neck speed through an adventure not even imagined. He got my attention early with the pipeline because I don't live so far from them but he never let up with adding more to the story with the the action inside the brains of a computer and much more. Action movies are exciting but books like this are so much more. I didn't even miss the visuals because he paints it so well for me to see. It just amazes how unlimited the possibilities for terror are. To me this is fantasy but in reality........... Most of us will never know just how much of a possibility some of this is. I'm looking forward to more of his books.

I wont reiterate the book summary, but have some personal comments.

I read this book about 9 yrs ago, a paperback I picked up
at the drug store check-out. The cover caught my eye.
A picture of the Space Shuttle, and the title "Siege of Lightning" (you guessed it, the Shuttle Name is Lightning)
I really enjoyed it and 'passed-it-on' as a reference for
other techo-thriller fans to read. Never got it back :-(
Couldnt find it at a bookstore for years.! I finally got a
beat up copy at a used book store for 50 cents, but will
cherish it.

I had read Payne Harrisons STORMING INTREPID a few years earlier,
another Space Shuttle Techo-Thriller; and just loved - loved - loved it, and this book is very similiar.

Techincal, lots of action, personable characters.

Give it a try, if you can find it.

This was the first book ever written by R.J. Pineiro and it is a good one.mIn this book the space shuttle Lightning is blasted into space for a mission. The European space agency named Athena
is attempting to sabotage the space ship. The Athena group has already blown up a Russian space ship. Athena is led by a businessman named Vanderhoff. Vanderhoff has bribed officials of the CIA as well as the French military.The hero of the novel is
named Cameron Stone.Several assassination attempts are made on his life. The book also features a commando raid on an Athena
rocket site. This is a very exciting book that I enjoyed reading.
It is excellent like the rest of R.J. Pineiro's books. I have never read a bad R.J. Pineiro book.

I thought this book was par at best the charecters were over emphasized. The whole plot is too unbelivible, (the main charecter just happens too fall in love w/ the same people wh tried too kill her previously, yet the tourture scenes had given a good visual and the villan was smartly chosen , but in the end just ends up too bland and seems like a carbon copy of a short Tom Clancy novel, alright if you're a spy,CIA,espionage junkie otherwise you can read if you have nothing else.

"Y2K", while some may think it's outdated due to its title, is still an entertaining read. Pineiro, the author of numerous techno-thrillers, combines the action of a good Ludlum novel with a high tech background story. While better than many techno-thrillers, this one is not the best of Pineiro's works.

The story opens on a high note with the massacre of a CIA team due to a slip in security procedures. The lone survivor, a 19 year veteran of the CIA, decides to leave the force and start her life anew. Little does she know that she can't leave her past totally behind her. She falls for the CEO of a company that has developed a software application designed to fix parts of the dreaded Y2K problem. However, there are others who want the code -- some want it for the good of the world and others want it in order to hold the world hostage.

While the book does start well and develops well, the chase to retrieve the Y2K code becomes a bit tedious and, at some points, a bit hokey. With all techno-thrillers, the reader needs to suspend rational thought a bit, but this one seemed too farfetched in places. The tie-ins with the enemy and the other party involved in obtaining the code is too unbelievable. Although the days of Y2K are now behind us, this is still a good read for fans of techno-thrillers. Just be prepared to stretch your imagination a bit more than with other similar novels.

There are not many books I read where I get to point where
I must not put it down.
I got to page 108 and I could not put it down. I am type of person who likes to hold off from finishing book. To make enjoyment last longer.

1. I was surprised with the title and story not being on 1/01/00 or 1/01/01. Which was good in my viewpoint
2. He needs to get over Lost Creek subdivision. Come on there are other subdivisions in Austin that nice and have interested landscaped to be utilized in his stories.
3. U ever been to Austin you will love the refers to Austin...

Stanford honors graduate and computer engineer "extraordinaire" Michael Ryan is being courted by every big name high-tech company imaginable, including MicroSoft and Oracle. However, like Grisham's protagonist in _The Firm_, Michael gives in to the promise of a bright and very lucrative financial future with an unknown company, this one named SoftCorp, whose only client is the Internal Revenue Service. What Michael doesn't know (but we all easily deduct) is that SoftCorp has some serious skeletons in the closet, and will go to any lengths to protect their company's secrets. SoftCorp is also the focus of a botched FBI investigation in which one agent and one informant have already been killed. When Karen Frost, the current special agent in charge, approaches Michael and his wife Victoria about helping with the investigation, they all become disposable pawns in a deadly game of hide and seek masterminded by one corrupt individual. Pretty soon people with powerful political agendas, (and corporate executives who were puppets to these agendas) start to die, leaving Michael to use his expert computer programming skills, and a little ingenuity, if he is to keep himself and Victoria alive.

This book is a cyber thriller/political intrigue mix. Through his protagonist R.J Pineiro introduces us to the high-tech world of virtual reality programming and back door politics, without drowning us in a heap of technical jargon. He also shows how vulnerable our economy is to the advances taking place in technology. What makes this story line work so well is the high tech solutions used to wither away from the constant threat of danger, and the unrelenting pace and suspense built in by the author. Pineiro really knows how to keep his readers on the edge of their seats...when the action gets really hot, his chapters become shorter, making the plot race almost as fast as your heartbeat. This is a must read if you love explosive suspense thrillers with a good dose of high-tech solutions thrown into the mix.

4 and 1/2 stars...only because the basic premise is all too familiar...but Pineiro digresses sharply from Grisham-dom early on with his cyber-tech theme. And the ending is superb.

What a terrific read. I devour thrillers of all kinds, legal, high-tech, military, medical, etc, and this one ranks among the best of Ludlum, DeMille, and Morrell. In the begininng the plot seemed all too familiar (The Firm), but it soon takes off in a different and very exciting direction. The hero, Mike Ryan, is a terrific and very sympathetic character, as is his wife, Victoria, and the FBI agent on the case, Karen Frost. Together they go up against a Cuban-American billionaire who is about to send his own puppet to the White House. There is plenty of action in both the real world as well as the cyber world, as Ryan surfs the Internet through Matrix-like virtual-reality hardware.

If you enjoy the kind of thriller that you just can't put down, with memorable characters and a twisting plot, you can't pass up this one.

I have to admit that what first grabbed be about this book while browsing through my favorite Houston bookstore was its cover artwork. So I picked it up right there and read through the prologue and first chapter and went straight to the cashier, finishing it two days later.

I'm a lover of thrillers and collect them in hardback. This one way exceeded my expectations. When I read a LeCarre or a DeMille, I pretty much know what to expect: top-notch fiction. Here I got that and much more, plus it was not expected.

So, on to the book. Enter Michael Patrick Ryan, Stanford University's top graduate in computer engineer, already in possession of job offers from all the big guys, plus married to a beautiful and talented woman, Victoria Ryan, also a Stanford graduate in finance. To cut to the chase, they get lured to Austin after SoftCorp, a little-known software company with a single client, the IRS, overwhelms him with a top salary, bonuses, stock options, a new car, plus a top-paying job at an Austin bank for Victoria. But all is not well at SoftCorp and its relationship with the IRS, where computer automation contracts with SoftCorp result in extraodinary amounts of money being funneled straight out of its coffers and into SoftCorp's accounts in the bank that Victoria is working at. From there it goes overseas to finance . . . well, I'm not going to steal the author's thunder.

Sounds familiar so far? Remember Mitch McDeere from Grisham's The Firm? Well, up to this point (just Chapter 1) it's just a well-written high-tech version of the legal thriller that made Grisham a household name. But then R.J. Pineiro takes the novel in a radically different direction, exposing the reader to a heck of a thriller ride smartly woven with artificial intelligence and virtual reality technology, but explained in terms that even a borderline computer illiterate like me can understand, and also learn.

When Ryan suspects that something is wrong and hooks up with FBI Special Agent Karen Frost, the action and suspense escalates to a level that even Grisham could not achieve with The Firm. One interesting aspect of the story is how Ryan gets out of jams using his computer skills rather than the brute-force methods of his FBI sidekick, Karen Frost, and her Desert Eagle .44 Magnum (the same one used by those evil agents in The Matrix).

I really want to give this fine tale more than five stars because it not only kept my attention through 400 pages, but it did so while also educating me in aspects of virtual reality and artificial intelligence that I had never really thought about much. The story also underlies just how sensitive our technology is to hackers and how much we stand to lose if not properly protected from such attacks.

Way to go, Pineiro. I'll be sure to look out for your future books. You've got a new fan.

This is my third Pineiro novel (01-01-00 and Breakthrough were my first two). In this story, the author creates a scenario that guarantees to keep you at the edge of your seat. It's got computer viruses, chips going bad from sabotage, terrific FBI characters, a crack Navy SEAL team, and even a responsible and level-headed president. I've noticed a few comments from readers complaining about typos. I found four in the entire book, and while they should have gotten caught by the editors, they certainly didn't detract me from enjoying such terrific story. I'm sure the author and the publisher will get them fixed on the paperback. By the way, the last Grisham and Clancy that I read had far more errors but I didn't see anyone complaining, so why pick on this author? Pineiro deserves a lot of credit for writing with a powerful and authoritative hand and not pulling any punches, painting the kind of terrific scenarios and characters that will leave readers screaming for more.

This book well documents the computer wars between the U.S. and Japan. After some disasters as a result of computer equipment
sabotage Erica Conklin discovers that the sabotage was carried out by members of the Japanese government.She is teamed up with Brent MacClaine an F.B.I. agent.Agents of the Japanese(including
a Japanese terrorist group) attempt to kill them.Erica is working for the F.B.I. because of being caught hacking into computer systems.Erica and Brent stave off several assasination attempts by the forces. Erica and Brent participate in a SEAL operation aimed at getting to the bottom of the computer chip sabotage.Action abounds in this book. The ending is also very good.I stll wait for the day when one of R.J. Pineiro's books is made into a movie.A good book. Read it.

I noticed the highly polarized reviews for this work. I read many, many novels but seldom leave feedback because I never pay attention to someone else's opinion, because opinions, after all, are highly subjective. But after reading this book, I simply couldn't resist to put in my two cents and add to those praising this fine story. This is a good book. Period. It's one of those that you simply can't put down once you start. The conflict is gripping, the characters unforgetable, the technology amazingly real and easy to understand, and the action is out of this world. I read someone complaining about typos and grammatical errors. I spotted four in the entire book. People, really, give this guy a break. I've spotted far more errors in some of Clancy's and Ludlum's works. Pineiro definitely knows how to write good fiction.

If this book didn't take itself so seriously, it'd have a shot at being comedy. Pineiro's writing reads like a botched attempt to recreate 30's pulp science fiction, and his editor was clearly asleep at the switch. My favorite quote:

"...[The Kardinal] curled the fingers of both hands against the yellow-painted metal cover and took a deep breath. Hinges creaking in silent protest, the heavy cover inched upward." (p. 106)

The characters are always being "scourged" by some kind of pain, at least when that pain is not "screaming obscenities" at them.

The plot is standard-fare airport trash, and one never seriously doubts the good guys are going to win it all: the girls, the money, and the technology. It's too bad the ending hinges on the hero, drawn as a brilliant biotech CEO, being convinced to compromise his dream by a painful and silly economics lecture on disruptive technology.

I'd recommend you pass this one up unless you're looking for some good laughs. I hope Pineiro gave his other books better QC before shipping them.

R.J Pineiro puts you right smack dab in the middle of world espionage. This book is both captivating and suspensefull, while intriging the reader. i myselfhave read this book two times, and each time it kept getting better.

I picked up this book after reading the author's latest (Shutdown). Once again, Pineiro exceeded my expectations. There's action, conflict, drama, and love, all tied up in a nifty, very original plot that will leave you wanting for more.