The Edge of Madness (Harry Jones)

Yes, the topic of a potential cyber war is totally relevant but the story is both weak and over-dramatised, and the characters over-coloured. Pity. This makes the book definitely plane/ train material. Fine, if you want to be classed as that type of author but the topic warrants much more sophisticated treatment.Are you trying to turn us into good Americans? Why is an English author writing in a British setting using vocabulary like- airplane, railroad, sedan (car),fix, etc when we have aeroplane, railway, saloon (car), prepare (in the given context) etc.As for `sink'... H.J. finds his washbag on the wrong side of the sink. Do you use a sink for washing yourself? I use it for washing the dishes.You haven't done enough research on nuclear power stations, or the background of the Thames Barrier construction. There are also places where your fantasy appears to have detached the story from all semblance of reality e.g.- the Russian president has a Mid- European accent which modulates to Eastern European by the end of the book.- the description of sultry Sellapool resembles S. E. Asia more than the west coast of Scotland- a child imbued with the history, culture and language of rural Scotland resonds positively with `We sure do.' (Oh, come on!)- the Chinese police would stop a reporter by covering the camera first - not waiting for the camerman to be able to pick up the attack on the journalist.- three Chinese officers are squeezed into the back of an official car. `Squeeze' might apply to Americans but the Chinese are slim and official cards are spacious.- `From somewhere nearby the horns of buses bleated like lost sheep.' H.J. is in Berkeley Square. The nearest buses are in Piccadilly. That is over 250 m. How often do you hear bus horns in central London?Could do better.

The Harry Jones series is a very poor relation to the excellent political novels of Michael Dobbs' early years, and the even better Churchill series. Even by the shallow characters and contrived plots of the rest of the Harry Jones series Edge of Madness plumbs new depths. The basic plot assumption of a state-sponsored cyber attack may have some topical resonance but the execution is abysmal relying on one unbelievable coincidence after another and characters who act in mind-numbingly stupid ways. Even if you can find some redeeming features in the rest of the series you will struggle to find any in Edge of Madness. Avoid.

Michael Dobbs not at his best. Western leaders meet in lonely castle in Scotland to counter cyber war being initiated by China. Most of the 'action' is about these leaders squabbling indecisively about what to do. Mostly falling out amongst themselves. Harry Jones doesn't really know why he's there. About 80% of the way through this book I knew it was going nowhere but persevered to the end just to satisfy myself that I'd given it a fair shot. Sorry, Michael, despite the fact that I've loved your previous work, this is not your best effort.

Disappointing when read after some of his other novels.

characters and solutions not entirely believable.

I've rediscovered Michael Dobbs and am enjoying reading the adventures of Harry Jones. The Edge of Darkness was an unputdownable read.

My friend introducded me to the Harry Jones series about 4 weeks ago!! I love them and now only have the latest one to read. Can't wait 'til Christmas when my husband will buy it for me. With a book by Michael Dobbs in my hands, he knows I will be sitting quietly while living every step of the way with him.

Full of twists. Surpriss all the way through. A veŕy good setting and à twist in the tail. Very enjoyable.

Good story that does start to go a little bit over the top and gets outside of what is possible and is at times a wee bit silly.

Michael Dobbs has written some good stuff. His Churchill quartet ( Winston's War: A Novel of Conspiracy , Never Surrender: A Novel of Winston Churchill , Churchill's Hour: A Novel of Defiance  and  Churchill's Triumph: A Novel of Betrayal ), a novelization of Churchill's war leadership, was extremely satisfying. His non-fiction book on the dissolution of the U.S.S.R.,  Down with Big Brother: The Fall of the Soviet Empire , was immensely readable and instructive. Thus, it pains me to have to report so negatively on THE EDGE OF MADNESS.Occasionally, one hears of hackers penetrating government or corporate computer systems. And recently, there was the report of a cyber worm attack on an Iranian nuclear power plant. Cyber-war is the new assault mode for the twenty-first century. So, in THE EDGE OF MADNESS, China has assembled a gaggle of techno-geeks in a former toy factory to bring down the West's infrastructures beginning with that of the United Kingdom. But Britain has gotten wind of the plot through a highly placed spy, so the Prime Minister, Mark D'Arby, arranges an ultra-secret gathering of himself, the American President, Blythe Edwards, and the Russian President, Sergei Shunin, at an isolated Scottish castle to decide on a consensual pre-emptive strike. Intentionally cut-off from their respective governments to maintain secrecy, the three leaders begin their deliberations at the same time that the Chinese literally push the button to initiate their devastating cyber assault.First published in 2008 (before the U.S. elections), the author perhaps patterns the Blythe Edwards character after Hillary Clinton, the favorite to win the Presidency before Barack took America by storm. Both Hillary and Blythe have philandering husbands. And Shunin's background and nationalistic aspirations may call Vladimir Putin to mind. Whom D'Arby resembles is unclear. Blair? In any case, the main protagonist of the story is the only one to accompany the PM to Scotland, Harry Jones, the ex-SAS hero of Dobbs's previous novels  The Reluctant Hero  and  The Lord's Day .The author never really integrates the two halves of the story, the one in China and the one in Scotland. During the book's initial three-hundred or so pages, the tension increases and the reader might be led to believe there's to be a bang-up conclusion. But then one half fizzles while the other half degenerates into a farce of, to me, mind-boggling proportions. By the last quarter of the novel, I was just hurrying to finish the fiasco so I could move on to something more worthy.THE EDGE OF MADNESS was so disappointing that I may never pick up another book by Michael Dobbs again. Winston's War: A Novel of ConspiracyNever Surrender: A Novel of Winston ChurchillChurchill's Hour: A Novel of DefianceChurchill's Triumph: A Novel of BetrayalDown with Big Brother: The Fall of the Soviet EmpireThe Reluctant HeroThe Lord's Day

As a fan of Michael Dobbs' novels about Prime Ministers Churchill and the splendid Francis Urquhart it was an easy decision to add The Edge of Madness to a stock of Kindle books being assembled for a lengthy holiday.Its intended role was well defined and should have been perfect given Dobbs' prior work - to be the first book for a long flight, triggering the transition from home to holiday. It looked like intelligent escapism, a political thriller hopefully combining a good story line, informed writing and clever characterisations. Perfect getaway literature.The book's core idea - that the West and Russia are under a determined cyber attack from China - should support a taught, exciting political thriller. Certainly Dobbs' assured writing about Churchill and the swirl of events surrounding him in WWII suggested he could handle such material well. Sadly that's not what the reader gets.The narrative is jerky to the point of confusion. Without spilling the beans for anyone who buys this book, it attempts to tie tightly together rapidly developing events in numerous locations around the world and build tension accordingly. Instead it is so disjointed and improbable that half way through it was provoking scorn. It was read to the end only becaause (a) one travels in hope and (b) the in-flight films were rubbish. The ending is just infuriatingly limp.Most disappointing for a Dobbs fan, the characters are poor, either weakly drawn or close to caricature. The British Prime Minister, Mark D'Arby, falls into the first category, a sort of 'Mark D'arcy meets Tony Blair' (note to Colin Firth's agent; I suspect it was written with your man in mind for the film version, but probably best to say no). The Russian President is in the second, part Kruschev, a little Gorby and a lot of vodka.So, avoid it. I'm now going to get something else by Dobbs to restore my confidence. The reviews on his Cuba book look encouraging.

I am a fan of Michael Dobbs' Churchill novels and have enjoyed his other works too. Unfortunately, Dobbs' plot in "Edge" is improbable and silly and his characters are boring. It is his skill as a writer and a faith in his ability to produce a good ending that kept me reading. I was disappointed. If one is looking for a good Dobbs read, I would stay away form this one and, instead, pick up one of his Churchill novels.

Nothing very special but readable. Some things go a bit beyond belief in a silly way - authors can try to stretch credibility a little too far at times and the burning roof situation is very much one of those incidents.

SUPERB! The entire Harry Jones Series is an absolute MUST READ! This initial introduction is thrilling, and more than passingly realistic! HIGHLY RECOMMEND the full Harry Jones Series!

Entertaining, but Some parts poorly written, especially descriptions of people's reactions and opening scenes of some chapters. Don't need to read every word to get the drift, finished in less time than the estimate.

This is some amazing writing!

I read this because I love "house of cards" on Netflix. Time well spent. Now I'm going to read the first in the series.

Read "The Lord's Day" which I liked but this sequel only has the negative sides of "the Lord's Day": Completely unbelievable story and one-dimensional characters with none of the riveting story-telling. "The Lord's Day" was highly entertaining; this one is just plain boring.

Pretty ordinary for such a fine writer

Can't wait for next book