The Kill Switch (Tucker Wayne Series #1)

by James Rollins, Grant Blackwood

Overview

From bestselling authors James Rollins and Grant Blackwood, the first installment in an exciting new thriller series based on the Sigma Force novels featuring former Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his partner, Army working dog Kane, introduced in the New York Times bestseller Bloodline and the e-original story "Tracker."

Former Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his military working dog Kane are recruited by Sigma Force to extract a Russian pharmaceutical magnate from Siberia. A scientific genius, the drug tycoon holds the biological key to a new weapon system, a danger engineered from the ancient past to terrorize the modern world.

From the frozen steppes of Russia to the sun-blasted savannahs of Africa, Tucker and Kane must piece together a mystery going back to the origins of life on Earth—before the ancient peril can destroy the heartland of America, and with it, all of humankind.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062135254
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/13/2014
Series:	Holt McDougal Mathematics Common Core , #1
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

James Rollins is the author of international thrillers that have been translated into more than forty languages. His Sigma series has been lauded as one of the “top crowd pleasers” (New York Times) and one of the "hottest summer reads" (People magazine). In each novel, acclaimed for its originality, Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets—and he does it all at breakneck speed and with stunning insight. He lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

In addition to his New York Times bestselling collaborations with Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy, Grant Blackwood is the author of three novels featuring Briggs Tanner: The End of Enemies, The Wall of Night, and An Echo of War. A U.S. Navy veteran, Grant spent three years as an Operations Specialist and a Pilot Rescue Swimmer. He lives in Colorado.

Hometown:

Sacramento, California

Date of Birth:

August 20, 1961

Place of Birth:

Chicago, Illinois

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/17/2014
This exceptional military thriller, a spin-off from bestseller Rollins’s Sigma Force series (Bloodline, etc.), introduces U.S. Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his four-footed partner, a small Belgian shepherd named Kane. After a short stint protecting a Russian billionaire, Tucker signs on with Sigma Force, a unit working for the ultra-secret Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. His job is to smuggle pharmacological tycoon Abram Bukolov out of Russia. Bukolov’s reasons for fleeing his country are murky, but it eventually becomes clear that he has the key to a virulent life form that has the potential to destroy all the plant life on Earth. Meanwhile, Gen. Artur Khazin of Russian military intelligence hires freelance mercenary Felice Nilsson to prevent Bukolov from escaping. The action careens across Russia and into South Africa, where Tucker and Kane must go underground to find the deadly life form. Rollins and Blackwood succeed brilliantly at depicting interspecies communication. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

[T]his fast moving story delivers plenty of the tension laced action readers expect from Rollins. The bond between Tucker and Kane is the best part of the tale.

Monsters and Critics on THE KILL SWITCH

Readers who have enjoyed the Sigma Force series will not only find this an entertaining thriller, but the collaboration of these two accomplished authors also adds another dimension to this exciting series.

Bookloons.ocm on THE KILL SWITCH

A fantastic adventure story with non-stop action [that] shows the close bond between dog and partner, and the readers will fall in love with this canine and his handler.

Crimespree Magazine on THE KILL SWITCH

The science... reads like the best of Michael Crichton. The machinations of government read like the best of David Baldacci. And the action and thrills read like the best of Clive Cussler. Rollins takes the best of all of these and creates an amazing thriller unlike any other.

Associated Press on Bloodline

Nobody—and I mean nobody—does this stuff better than Rollins.

Lee Child on The Devil Colony

A spiraling, high-octane adventure, loaded with cutting-edge technology and jam-packed with action and mayhem. This pulse-pounding thriller moves at mach speed. James Rollins is clearly at the top of his game.

Steve Berry

Amazonia grabs you by the throat...Rollins is one of the most inventive storytellers writing today. Don’t dare miss this one!

Lincoln Child

From the hidden Indian treasure, to the Fort Knox secrets, to the conspiracy at the beginning of the United States The Devil Colony gives you every reason why you’ll want to be a member of Sigma Force.

Brad Meltzer

James Rollins is a master of international action and intrigue.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

James Rollins knows adventure.

Chicago Sun-Times

★ 04/01/2014
Late in the second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902) in South Africa, a primordial material, to be later known as LUCA, sickens and kills a party of Afrikaners in a remote cave. Kept hidden for over a century, this strange organism has been rediscovered. Will it lead to scientific advancement or devastation in the modern world? Former U.S. Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his military working dog, Kane, are recruited by Sigma Force to extract from Siberia a scientific genius, Russian pharmaceutical magnate Dr. Abram Bukolov, who just might know where to find the elusive LUCA, and the key to its control. Getting Bukolov out proves to be no easy task—the Russian military and GRU spy network, including the beautiful and ruthless Swedish sniper Felice Nilsson and Russian Gen. Artur Kharzin, have plans for LUCA that echo the worst Cold War nightmares. VERDICT The taut and complex story sprints across the globe from Russia to Istanbul to southern Africa to the United States, and offers a diverse cast of well-developed characters and a tightly woven plot that intrigues, excites, and doesn't let go. This is the first volume in a new subseries of the Sigma Force novels focusing on Tucker Wayne and loyal and fearsome Kane. Highly recommended for thriller readers. [See Prepub Alert, 10/20/13.]—Vicki Gregory, Sch. of Information, Univ. of South Florida, Tampa

Library Journal