World Without End [Paperback]

Well what can I say about this book? I really enjoyed reading this book, I find it hard to find a book that grips me and rather then reading the first few chapters and placing it back on the shelf never to be finished! But before I went on holiday to Italy in the summer I came across 'World without End'. When I got there I started to sit in the countryside where my family live and I can honestly say I literally only put it down to eat and sleep.

This book is packed with action and terror with is held together by an element of mystery. It being a technological story I thought it would be to far fetched and unbelievable but I can honestly say the gripping part of the book is that the storylines are believable because somewhere I sure there are weapons like the ones mentioned in the book.

The discovery of Chris Mooney and his first novel, DEVIANT WAYS, last year was one of the most rewarding surprises of 2000. I found it almost unbelievable that a new author could come from out of nowhere with a novel of such riveting suspense, in-your-face violence, and pacing that leaves the reader utterly breathless by the end as he/she travels into the world of the serial killer. Mr. Mooney is now back with his newest novel, WORLD WITHOUT END, and comes very, very close to matching the quality and intensity of his first book. This time around, the story deals with CIA operative, Steve Conway, who's a member of the elite IWAC (Information Warfare Analysis Center) unit, and whose mission is to stop one of the most diabolical terrorists-Angel Eyes-in the world from stealing the ultimate military weapon-an optical camouflage suit that can render a soldier invisible to the enemy. Conway is one the CIA's best agents: he's tough, highly intelligent, loyal to the core, and totally relentless in carrying out his assignments. Though having come close to death on his previous mission, Conway is ready to get back into the trenches of dirty warfare and stop Angel Eyes from acquiring the one weapon that could literally change the course of mankind. A trap is set by IWAC for Angel Eyes in Austin, Texas at the company that's designing this camouflage suit. The creator of the suit, Major Dixon, is being used as bait to draw Angel Eyes out. After months of hard work and diligent planning, everything seems ready to roll, but something goes tragically wrong. Conway and the other members of the IWAC unit are caught completely off guard. Major Dixon is kidnapped, the camouflage suit is stolen, and almost everyone on the CIA's team is murdered. Due to blind luck, Conway barely manages to escape death a second time. The cost of surviving, however, is tremendous. Conway now realizes that there's a traitor in his organization that has ties to the Russian Mafia and who wants the suit for himself. As Conway seeks to follow the trail of clues that will lead him to Dixon and the suit, he has to find a way to stay alive while combating the traitor within the Agency's midst and keeping one step ahead of Angel Eyes. Conway won't know whom to trust as the bodies start piling up, and neither will the reader. As Angel Eyes tells him: Trust no one! WORLD WITHOUT END is a sleek, edge-of-your-seat thriller that sets a neck-breaking pace for the reader in the first twenty-or-so pages. The character of Steve Conway, though strong and determined, is a vulnerable one. He grew up as an orphan and learnt to keep his emotions bottled up, allowing few people to get close to him. In fact, it seems that most of the main characters in this novel had extremely bad childhoods. Everyone from Angel Eyes, to his right-hand assistant, Gunther, to Steve's partner and girlfriend, Pasha Romanov, and even the renegade CIA agent have tried to escape the past of their earlier, tormented years. Also, except for Steve and two of his old friends from his college days, all of the characters (and there are a lot of them-so pay attention!) have secret agendas to fulfill and are definitely not the nicest people in the world. A couple of them have the nasty habit of biting off the ears of people before the serious torture begins. Whether intentional or not, there were certain scenes in the book where Angel Eyes reminded me a great deal of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, especially when he was conversing with Steve Conway and the torture scene at the end of the novel. And, for the fans of DEVIANT WAYS, there's a brief mention of Malcolm Fletcher. It appears that both the CIA and the FBI are intent on tracking him down and delivering their form of deadly justice for his so-called sins. The writing skills of Mr. Mooney are definitely that of a seasoned pro. He knows how to quickly hook the reader into his books, deliver a sense of pacing that makes it almost impossible to put the novel down for more than a minute or two, create scenes of such intensity that one has to occasionally back off for a few moments to digest the horror of what he/she has just read, and bring the reader face to face with characters who are so delightfully evil. WORLD WITHOUT END clearly demonstrates that Chris Mooney's first novel was no fluke, and that this author is on his way to a long and successful career. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Hollywood wasn't already knocking on his door for the screen rights to his two novels.

Well what can I say about this book? I really enjoyed reading this book, I find it hard to find a book that grips me and rather then reading the first few chapters and placing it back on the shelf never to be finished! But before I went on holiday to Italy in the summer I came across 'World without End'. When I got there I started to sit in the countryside where my family live and I can honestly say I literally only put it down to eat and sleep.

This book is packed with action and terror with is held together by an element of mystery. It being a technological story I thought it would be to far fetched and unbelievable but I can honestly say the gripping part of the book is that the storylines are believable because somewhere I sure there are weapons like the ones mentioned in the book.