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Dead Hand
Harold Coyle Book Review

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Plot Summary of Dead Hand
"

Forge, May 2001, 24.95, 383 pp.
ISBN: 0312879199

    During the coldest moments of the Cold War, the Communist regime concluded that the West had superior capability with a second strike that could wipe out the Soviet retaliation. As a deterrent and the ultimate eye for an eye response, the Soviet Union creates DEAD HAND, an offensive nuclear retaliatory system that becomes triggered by massive destruction that needs no human operator.

    The Soviet Union has since crumbled, but DEAD HAND quietly remains activated. Nereus 1991 HWC, an asteroid on a collision course with Siberia, has the strike force potential to trigger DEAD HAND. A race against time begins to deactivate the doomsday machine as the crash lights up Siberia in a way that makes Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like harmless firecrackers rather than deadly weapons of war. However, as the heroic military team advance on the mission to save the world, not everyone in Russia wants to abort DEAD HAND.

    DEAD HAND is an action-packed global thriller that never slows so readers better take a big breath at the start. The story line is an updated slight twist of Dr. Strangelove without the keen satirical blade of the movie. The characters are heroic and intrepid, but they seem slim. Still this techno-military thriller will please those readers who want action to the nth degree and is a sure best seller for Harold Coyle who always provides a one stop reading experience.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Dead Hand
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
How difficult to spot villain? - Somewhat obvious
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: - stopping a saboteur/spy - preventing bomb/biohazard/disaster
Disaster, natural or nuclear Yes
Kind of disaster: - asteroid
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - finding a known killer

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - scientist
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - politician/elected ruler
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
The antagonists are: - communists
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - Russia

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - hundreds or more
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to Dead Hand
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Night Probe! by Clive Cussler
Murder In The Forecast by Valerie Wolzien
Mutant by Peter Clement
By Dawn's Early Light by Philip Shelby


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