Bill Clinton: President Is Missing (2019, Grand Central Publishing)
528 pages
English language
Published May 2, 2019 by Grand Central Publishing.
The President Is Missing confronts a threat so huge that it jeopardizes not just Pennsylvania Avenue and Wall Street, but all of America. Uncertainty and fear grip the nation. There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the Cabinet. Even the President himself becomes a suspect, and then he disappears from public view.
The plot centers around a computer virus termed "the Dark Ages" created by a Turkish group called the Sons of Jihad, who contrary to their name, are not Muslim jihadists but are “secular extreme nationalists”. The main character, Jonathon Lincoln Duncan, is the president of the United States and widower to character Rachel Carson, named as a homage to the famous 20th century biologist and author of Silent Spring. President Duncan's background is that of an Army Ranger who was tortured in an Iraqi prison yet heroically refused to break protocol. President Duncan's presidency …
The President Is Missing confronts a threat so huge that it jeopardizes not just Pennsylvania Avenue and Wall Street, but all of America. Uncertainty and fear grip the nation. There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the Cabinet. Even the President himself becomes a suspect, and then he disappears from public view.
The plot centers around a computer virus termed "the Dark Ages" created by a Turkish group called the Sons of Jihad, who contrary to their name, are not Muslim jihadists but are “secular extreme nationalists”. The main character, Jonathon Lincoln Duncan, is the president of the United States and widower to character Rachel Carson, named as a homage to the famous 20th century biologist and author of Silent Spring. President Duncan's background is that of an Army Ranger who was tortured in an Iraqi prison yet heroically refused to break protocol. President Duncan's presidency is later threatened with impeachment due to events caused by the "Dark Ages" computer virus.
The action of the novel features other characters such Nina, an Eastern European woman who both created and leaked information about the computer virus, and her hacker cohort, Augie, the only other person aware of the "Dark Ages" plot, Davis, the Secret Service agent who smuggles the President in disguise out of the White House, and white-hat hackers whose mission it is to prevent the "Dark Ages" computer virus from destroying the country.
Set over the course of three days, The President Is Missing sheds a stunning light upon the inner workings and vulnerabilities of our nation. Filled with information that only a former Commander-in-Chief could know, this is the most authentic, terrifying novel to come along in many years.
I hadn't read Patterson before, but I was expecting about this level of superficiality and suspension of disbelief. It's a quick, fun read, but pretty thin. If you like Clinton's politics, there are some enjoyable moments where he vamps on the current state of affairs through the voice of his alter ego.
A good thriller, which veers into the unbelievable a few times. It could have done with someone who understands computers to have helped; though clearly Bill Clinton's input has been to ensure that the story is accurate from a US government viewpoint. Some clever twists and turns, though some a little too clever. Harmless fun though.
