Adrian d'Hagé had a distinguished military career (our paths crossed at the Department of Defence), before writing six novels. This second one is a book for our times, featuring a COVID-19 like virus being used as a weapon.
Very much in the style of Tom Clancy, this novel involves conspiracies at the very top of the US Government, with honest hardworking military and intelligence personnel hampered by duplicitous self-serving politicians. However, in this case the characters are not quite so black and white, with some of the terrorists acting out of a sincere wish to improve conditions for their people, and business people acting more like terrorists.
With this sort of action adventure set in the present day, details are important and I have a quibble over one detail. In the novel the hero visits the impressive headquarters of the Beijing Olympic Games Committee. I spent almost a week there as a guest of BOCOG to provide some advice on the 2008 Olympics web site. As a recall it was an ordinary office building. The one unusual detail was a security guard in an immaculate uniform standing to ramrod attention in the foyer.
It is always a delight to found someone I know has written a book. In this case it is a relief to find it is a good book, and I will look out for others by Adrian d'Hage, just as soon as the official libraries open again.
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The fact that part of the fireworks were digitally generateddigitally generated, suggests interesting possibilities for future Olympics. Rather than call this a fake, as many of the media have, it should be seen as opening up new options, freeing the games from restrictions which do not apply in the digital age.
It has not been possible for smaller, less prosperous countries to bid for the games, due to the cost and logistics. However, that most of the audience is via TV (and in future the Internet) removes this restriction. The Games could be held, for example, in several African countries, each with a small venue, specialising in one sport. For the opening ceremony, these could be digitally stitched together into one event. Those in the stadia could watch their live segment combined using projection technology with those of the other sites.
Perhaps London 2012 could be the first of the games of the new digital age. Many of the viewers of the 2012 games will not be watching conventional digital TV, but via TiVo and other computer based systems. This will create a different more involving experience for the viewer, who can use software to create their own perspective. Even those at the opening ceremony will be using their own mobile devices to watch part of it, and perhaps be involved in creating the digital experience. The challenge will be to make it an authentic virtual experience.
ps: But while digital effects might be okay for the opening ceremony, the sports themselves need to be genuine, for the event to be enjoyable. A suspicious number of swimming records have been broken. Perhaps the Olympic committee needs to bring in independent experts to measure the pool and make sure it is the correct specification. The Australian TV comedy "The Games" about the Sydney 2000 Olympics had one episode with a "100m" running track which was shorter than 100m.