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Cloaked Deception
From Timothy Zahn, Hugo Award winner and # New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire, comes this pulse-pounding political thriller.
A tactical nuclear weapon is stolen from an Indian research facility, setting off a chain of events that spans the globe.
Those behind the heist plan to use it to take out thousands of innocent people—all to assure death of a single man who they believe is too dangerous to be left alive.
What are the lives of thousands compared to the safety of the world?
At the same time, scientists have invented the world’s first cloaking device, able to render its user almost completely invisible. It’s the epitome of hidden-in-plain-sight—a game changer for any military. At least until three of the lead scientists are murdered and their work is stolen the night before their first demonstration.
Authorities have no idea the two crimes are connected.
There are ten days before the bomb is set to go off.
Can they unravel the trail of red herrings in time?
The clock is ticking...
A tactical nuclear weapon is stolen from an Indian research facility, setting off a chain of events that spans the globe.
Those behind the heist plan to use it to take out thousands of innocent people—all to assure death of a single man who they believe is too dangerous to be left alive.
What are the lives of thousands compared to the safety of the world?
At the same time, scientists have invented the world’s first cloaking device, able to render its user almost completely invisible. It’s the epitome of hidden-in-plain-sight—a game changer for any military. At least until three of the lead scientists are murdered and their work is stolen the night before their first demonstration.
Authorities have no idea the two crimes are connected.
There are ten days before the bomb is set to go off.
Can they unravel the trail of red herrings in time?
The clock is ticking...
683 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 14, 2024
110 people are currently reading
3388 people want to read
About the author
Timothy Zahn
486 books8,389 followersTimothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he became a professional writer. He and his wife Anna live in Bandon, Oregon. They have a son, Corwin Zahn.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
May 19, 2024
I thought this was going to be science fiction but while there is some high tech stuff , it’s really a political thriller (not usually my sort of book). Initially there’s two seemingly unconnected thefts, in India a nuclear bomb goes missing and in the USA 3 scientists are murdered and the tech they were working is stolen. There are plenty of red herrings both for the reader and the CIA/FBI teams working on the cases. I found it an enjoyable read, although too long and a bit repetitive, particularly all the long winded conversations. (I guess it was to give the characters some personality but it didn’t really work.) It was good to read something that didn’t make the bad guys the usual whatever the latest propaganda mainstream news is on about and that’s why I kept reading, it was actually interesting to find out what was going on.
May 27, 2024
This is a marked departure for Timothy Zahn, who has almost exclusively worked in Science Fiction or in Media Tie-in Fiction (and his tie in franchises Star Wars, Starcraft, and Terminator are all basically Sci-Fi anyway), so this is his first straight up thriller.
Technically, this book was originally published in 2015 through an indie-publisher, but it is being republished in 2024 by Aethon books. The original title was "Cloak", while this new title is "Cloaked Deception" (not to be confused with James Luceno's Star Wars book Cloak of Deception).
I would describe this book as a political/techno thriller. It very much felt like a Tom Clancy book. It has the political intrigue his books had, the mystery his books had, and the technobabble that Clancy's books had. The Cloak in this book very much reminded me of the stealth system on the Red October. Neither one is reality, but each could happen with the right technology.
Like Tom Clancy's books, this book is way too bloated for its own good. The book feels tedious at times, and doesn't have the strong pacing it should have had. 100-200 pages could have been easily cut and made the book a lot more exciting than it was. As it was, I felt it was ponderous at moments.
I also thought that unlike Clancy's books, this book doesn't really have that strong of a protagonist. An argument could be made that it is Adam Ross, and an argument could be made that it is Angie Chandler. I would argue that its a true multi-protagonist story, but unfortnuately none of the characters stood out enough to make it work. It should have had more character development, particularly for Adam and Angie.
That being said, the mystery here is excellent! Really top notch! And the technology seems plausible, as does all of the work done to establish the many motives and possibilities for who is the bad guy.
Overall, this is an enjoyable book, but it is too bloated at points and could have had stronger character work. That being said, the action and ideas and mystery do carry it enough that I'll give it a 7.5 out of 10.
(P.S. The hardcover has the printed on cover without a dust jacket, which really detracted from the experience, and I thought that the binding choices were odd).
Technically, this book was originally published in 2015 through an indie-publisher, but it is being republished in 2024 by Aethon books. The original title was "Cloak", while this new title is "Cloaked Deception" (not to be confused with James Luceno's Star Wars book Cloak of Deception).
I would describe this book as a political/techno thriller. It very much felt like a Tom Clancy book. It has the political intrigue his books had, the mystery his books had, and the technobabble that Clancy's books had. The Cloak in this book very much reminded me of the stealth system on the Red October. Neither one is reality, but each could happen with the right technology.
Like Tom Clancy's books, this book is way too bloated for its own good. The book feels tedious at times, and doesn't have the strong pacing it should have had. 100-200 pages could have been easily cut and made the book a lot more exciting than it was. As it was, I felt it was ponderous at moments.
I also thought that unlike Clancy's books, this book doesn't really have that strong of a protagonist. An argument could be made that it is Adam Ross, and an argument could be made that it is Angie Chandler. I would argue that its a true multi-protagonist story, but unfortnuately none of the characters stood out enough to make it work. It should have had more character development, particularly for Adam and Angie.
That being said, the mystery here is excellent! Really top notch! And the technology seems plausible, as does all of the work done to establish the many motives and possibilities for who is the bad guy.
Overall, this is an enjoyable book, but it is too bloated at points and could have had stronger character work. That being said, the action and ideas and mystery do carry it enough that I'll give it a 7.5 out of 10.
(P.S. The hardcover has the printed on cover without a dust jacket, which really detracted from the experience, and I thought that the binding choices were odd).
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June 28, 2024I've liked everything I've read by Timothy Zahn. This is the first time I've not finished one of his books. There wasn't really anything wrong with this one, it just wasn't what I was expecting. For some reason I thought this was going to be another sci-fi, but it ended up being a political thriller and I just couldn't get into the right mood for it. I should have read the description. DNF for now but I may end up trying it again later when I'm in the right mood for it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Aethon Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Aethon Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.
February 11, 2024
Advanced Review Copy provided in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley.
Score: 2.5/5 (rounded to 3/5)
Since this is an ARC, the review aims to be as Spoiler-free as possible.
Read this review and more on my Medium Blog: Distorted Visions
A fresh new techno-thriller blends the espionage action of Mission Impossible, with gritty noir-esque detective work, immersed in a world of geopolitical intrigue comes in the form of Timothy Zahn’s new standalone novel Cloaked Deception.
Timothy Zahn should be a household name for those who enjoy the expanded Star Wars novels, rising to fame with his Thrawn series, among other tales in the expanded universe that are now considered canon in the franchise. What he is not as well known for is his catalog of standalone fiction novels, among which Cloaked Deception is the newest offering.
As an opening caveat, the cover of Cloaked Deception paints a vibe of a cybernoir/SciFi story which led me to pick up the novel to write an advanced review. Sadly, this is not a Sci-Fi novel in the traditional sense. While it does include a piece of “futuristic” technology as a major plot-driving thingamajig, the rest of the plot is smack dab in a present-day setting. I was unable to shake off that feeling of being “cheated” by my expectations and that negatively influenced my entire mood while reading this book.
Cloaked Deception is your bog-standard military espionage/spy-thriller with a bit of futurism thrown in as a gimmick. The dragged through the molasses trope of a nuclear threat from hidden enemies is a tale best left to Die Hard-level pulpy action flicks and the hyperchurn of novels that James Patterson puts out every month. Zahn tries to add his sprinkle of spice by tacking on a parallel plot of the “futuristic” piece of tech, viz. an invisibility cloak-esque fabric designed to strengthen the American war machine, which promptly gets stolen to assist with the aforementioned nuclear-threat shenanigans. And away we go…
The central treatise (without specific spoilers) of the plot is broken up into two major arcs, the threat of a stolen untraceable nuclear weapon and the investigation of the theft of a top-secret piece of new military neo-tech fabric designed to be an “invisibility cloak”. I felt like these two plots would have worked better as individual novels allowing the author to dig a deeper pit of intrigue, especially in the case of the missing cloaks. The version of Cloaked Deception that we do get felt overinflated in a way that the reader gets dragged through a myriad of sequences meant exclusively to prove how much of a “thinking man’s plotter” Zahn is, with a continuous treadmill of events showcasing how “the bad guy is always one step ahead!”. The escalation never felt rewarding and I felt like I was being pulled from one checkpoint to the next as the cat-and-mouse game went through the motions toward the inevitable conclusion.
One of the major aspects of this novel that went from very cool, to expected, to downright tedious, was that EVERY major character is hypercompetent to the point of it becoming a slog as it feels like less of an organic progression and more of a synthetic game of one-upmanship.
Have you ever read a book or watched a (horror or thriller) movie where the protagonists or antagonists do excessively stupid things and you cannot help but sigh or yell at the book/screen for them to be more competent to give you a more rewarding experience, as they bumble through the story? Well, Cloaked Deception gave me the exact OPPOSITE feeling, and it was, unfortunately, just as icky.
The obvious counterargument to the above assertion is that we are dealing with the very highest apex of espionage intelligence in Cloaked Deception, wherein the key players are the heads of the FBI, CIA, NSA, and the gosh darn President of the United States. The antagonists are also portrayed as the highest levels of marines-turned-terrorists under a highly decorated armed forces General. While factually true, the way Zahn navigates the resolution of the various points of intrigue in the book feels less like he’s trying to let the reader think ahead to decipher the twists and turns of the plot, and more like reading the latest Michale Bay over the top action blockbuster.
In a sea of named-but-utterly-interchangeable characters, one of the only interesting characters in the story, Private Investigator Adam Ross serves as the bridge between the two major arcs, and is your classic wrong-place-wrong-time reluctant but also hypercompetent hero (a cross between John McLane and Ethan Hunt). The other standout character is hypercompetent (see the pattern?) but severely socially-challenged analyst for the FBI/CIA whose entire role in the novel feels like driving the “good side” of the cat-and-mouse chase as she feeds the reader with mystery-solving whiz-kid solutions. The antagonists are a numbered set of faceless marines who are, yet again, so amazingly competent at what they do that their flawless execution of their General’s nefarious plan feels almost robotic. With no discernible personalities assigned to any of them, it is easy for us to easily lose track of who’s who and who’s doing what through most of the story.
The other biggest failing of Cloaked Deception is just how flimsy the primary motivation of the villain, which is extremely jarring when contrasted with their superior sense of executing said motivation.
The “evil for the greater good of a nation” is a trope done to death, and the villains in Cloaked Deception add no nuance to the trope making them nothing but moustache-twirling megalomaniacs with a paper-thin veneer of anything akin to an interesting character study.
As a side note, as an Indian, with India being among the key players of Cloaked Deception, I sincerely felt that Zahn did a terrible job of painting a convincing nuanced narrative around my countrymen, culture, and political climate. Without descending into something irredeemably racist, it borders on cartoonishly stereotypical much in the same vein of Russians being the standard villains of the post-Cold War Hollywood media, which then got traded for the post-9/11 culture of painting the vague “Middle East” as the new baddies.
It just feels lazy.
To sum up, Cloaked Deception is held back by moments of its self-importance in plot-execution while also having a weak underlying meta that will leave readers feeling exhausted and unrewarded as they plod through the minutiae of a tediously complicated story with interchangeable characters, culminating in an ending that feels wholly underwhelming, overly predictable, thereby cloaking its own deception!
Score: 2.5/5 (rounded to 3/5)
Since this is an ARC, the review aims to be as Spoiler-free as possible.
Read this review and more on my Medium Blog: Distorted Visions
A fresh new techno-thriller blends the espionage action of Mission Impossible, with gritty noir-esque detective work, immersed in a world of geopolitical intrigue comes in the form of Timothy Zahn’s new standalone novel Cloaked Deception.
Timothy Zahn should be a household name for those who enjoy the expanded Star Wars novels, rising to fame with his Thrawn series, among other tales in the expanded universe that are now considered canon in the franchise. What he is not as well known for is his catalog of standalone fiction novels, among which Cloaked Deception is the newest offering.
As an opening caveat, the cover of Cloaked Deception paints a vibe of a cybernoir/SciFi story which led me to pick up the novel to write an advanced review. Sadly, this is not a Sci-Fi novel in the traditional sense. While it does include a piece of “futuristic” technology as a major plot-driving thingamajig, the rest of the plot is smack dab in a present-day setting. I was unable to shake off that feeling of being “cheated” by my expectations and that negatively influenced my entire mood while reading this book.
Cloaked Deception is your bog-standard military espionage/spy-thriller with a bit of futurism thrown in as a gimmick. The dragged through the molasses trope of a nuclear threat from hidden enemies is a tale best left to Die Hard-level pulpy action flicks and the hyperchurn of novels that James Patterson puts out every month. Zahn tries to add his sprinkle of spice by tacking on a parallel plot of the “futuristic” piece of tech, viz. an invisibility cloak-esque fabric designed to strengthen the American war machine, which promptly gets stolen to assist with the aforementioned nuclear-threat shenanigans. And away we go…
The central treatise (without specific spoilers) of the plot is broken up into two major arcs, the threat of a stolen untraceable nuclear weapon and the investigation of the theft of a top-secret piece of new military neo-tech fabric designed to be an “invisibility cloak”. I felt like these two plots would have worked better as individual novels allowing the author to dig a deeper pit of intrigue, especially in the case of the missing cloaks. The version of Cloaked Deception that we do get felt overinflated in a way that the reader gets dragged through a myriad of sequences meant exclusively to prove how much of a “thinking man’s plotter” Zahn is, with a continuous treadmill of events showcasing how “the bad guy is always one step ahead!”. The escalation never felt rewarding and I felt like I was being pulled from one checkpoint to the next as the cat-and-mouse game went through the motions toward the inevitable conclusion.
One of the major aspects of this novel that went from very cool, to expected, to downright tedious, was that EVERY major character is hypercompetent to the point of it becoming a slog as it feels like less of an organic progression and more of a synthetic game of one-upmanship.
Have you ever read a book or watched a (horror or thriller) movie where the protagonists or antagonists do excessively stupid things and you cannot help but sigh or yell at the book/screen for them to be more competent to give you a more rewarding experience, as they bumble through the story? Well, Cloaked Deception gave me the exact OPPOSITE feeling, and it was, unfortunately, just as icky.
The obvious counterargument to the above assertion is that we are dealing with the very highest apex of espionage intelligence in Cloaked Deception, wherein the key players are the heads of the FBI, CIA, NSA, and the gosh darn President of the United States. The antagonists are also portrayed as the highest levels of marines-turned-terrorists under a highly decorated armed forces General. While factually true, the way Zahn navigates the resolution of the various points of intrigue in the book feels less like he’s trying to let the reader think ahead to decipher the twists and turns of the plot, and more like reading the latest Michale Bay over the top action blockbuster.
In a sea of named-but-utterly-interchangeable characters, one of the only interesting characters in the story, Private Investigator Adam Ross serves as the bridge between the two major arcs, and is your classic wrong-place-wrong-time reluctant but also hypercompetent hero (a cross between John McLane and Ethan Hunt). The other standout character is hypercompetent (see the pattern?) but severely socially-challenged analyst for the FBI/CIA whose entire role in the novel feels like driving the “good side” of the cat-and-mouse chase as she feeds the reader with mystery-solving whiz-kid solutions. The antagonists are a numbered set of faceless marines who are, yet again, so amazingly competent at what they do that their flawless execution of their General’s nefarious plan feels almost robotic. With no discernible personalities assigned to any of them, it is easy for us to easily lose track of who’s who and who’s doing what through most of the story.
The other biggest failing of Cloaked Deception is just how flimsy the primary motivation of the villain, which is extremely jarring when contrasted with their superior sense of executing said motivation.
The “evil for the greater good of a nation” is a trope done to death, and the villains in Cloaked Deception add no nuance to the trope making them nothing but moustache-twirling megalomaniacs with a paper-thin veneer of anything akin to an interesting character study.
As a side note, as an Indian, with India being among the key players of Cloaked Deception, I sincerely felt that Zahn did a terrible job of painting a convincing nuanced narrative around my countrymen, culture, and political climate. Without descending into something irredeemably racist, it borders on cartoonishly stereotypical much in the same vein of Russians being the standard villains of the post-Cold War Hollywood media, which then got traded for the post-9/11 culture of painting the vague “Middle East” as the new baddies.
It just feels lazy.
To sum up, Cloaked Deception is held back by moments of its self-importance in plot-execution while also having a weak underlying meta that will leave readers feeling exhausted and unrewarded as they plod through the minutiae of a tediously complicated story with interchangeable characters, culminating in an ending that feels wholly underwhelming, overly predictable, thereby cloaking its own deception!
May 11, 2024
Fantastic. A fast paced thriller filled with twists and turns. A lot of threads and characters to figure out at the start but it soon settles into two main story arcs - the theft of "invisibility cloaks" and a missing tactical nuke. It takes quite a while for the two stories to come together and the chapters switch back and forth between the two investigations. But, well laid out, easy to read and plenty of action. Really enjoyed it.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 2, 2024
A fun summer potato chip read. Zahn's Star Wars books are a fun read as well, but this excursion into the techno-thriller genre is well done.
August 25, 2024
This book was hard to follow and had a very unexciting plotline. Do not recommend.
June 17, 2024
Excellent techno thriller
An international sea of red herrings swim throughout this tale of a nuclear bomb , the people trying to stop it and the people trying to make it detonate. Thoroughly enjoyed it and hoping there will be more installments with this team.
An international sea of red herrings swim throughout this tale of a nuclear bomb , the people trying to stop it and the people trying to make it detonate. Thoroughly enjoyed it and hoping there will be more installments with this team.
April 21, 2024
I was given an ARC of this.
Well written, just very much not for me on any axis. I love how Timothy Zahn writes characters, I just usually end up bouncing off the genres he chooses to do it in.
Well written, just very much not for me on any axis. I love how Timothy Zahn writes characters, I just usually end up bouncing off the genres he chooses to do it in.
June 17, 2024
Timothy Zahn is the author of more than 60 novels. Cloaked Deception was published in May of this year. It is the 45th book I completed reading in 2024.
I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.
This is a novel with a lot of characters. The Indian government has lost one of its tactical nuclear weapons. It is small, but with a 0.2 kiloton yield, it will devastate a small area. Once news of the theft reaches the US intelligence and defense agencies, the country quietly goes on high alert.
A seemingly unrelated event occurs at Sand/Star Technologies in San Jose, California. The research lab is quietly breached, and three scientists are murdered. Once discovered and the police are called in, the product of their research efforts is missing. The theft is significant as the research team had been working on an invisibility cloak. They were on the verge of demonstrating to the US military when it was stolen.
Angie Chandler was the wife of the lead scientist. She was the last person known to have visited the facility before the murders. Adam Ross had a Private Investigator office in the same building as the bank where Angie worked. They had struck up a casual friendship. He is enjoying his morning coffee the morning after the killings. He sees Angie approaching but also notices men who appear to be preparing to attack her.
Bullets fly in the mall, but Adam manages to get Angie away from her would-be killers. Neither knows why she has been targeted. Adam and Angie must keep on the run. Those after her are unwilling to stop. At the same time, Angie has become the prime suspect in the killings at the lab. Law enforcement is now after her as well. While Adam appears to have saved her life, she barely knows him and soon comes to fear him. She finds a way to ditch him and slips away on her own.
These two events converge as US officials realize that the invisibility cloak will give those with the bomb a means of placing it anywhere. They have so many questions. Who is this Good Samaritan Adam Ross who has spirited away Angie Chandler? Who is trying to kill her? Why do they want her dead? Where is Angie? Can they put her into protective custody before it is too late? What is the target for the tactical nuke?
I enjoyed the 12+ hours I spent reading this 683-page thriller. This was an excellent action-packed thriller. The plot is full of intrigue and suspense, with unexpected twists. I have had the opportunity to read two of Zahn’s other novels, Knight and Queen. They were both good. I have also read the excellent A Call to Duty co-authored with David Weber. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4.6 (rounded to 5) out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.
This is a novel with a lot of characters. The Indian government has lost one of its tactical nuclear weapons. It is small, but with a 0.2 kiloton yield, it will devastate a small area. Once news of the theft reaches the US intelligence and defense agencies, the country quietly goes on high alert.
A seemingly unrelated event occurs at Sand/Star Technologies in San Jose, California. The research lab is quietly breached, and three scientists are murdered. Once discovered and the police are called in, the product of their research efforts is missing. The theft is significant as the research team had been working on an invisibility cloak. They were on the verge of demonstrating to the US military when it was stolen.
Angie Chandler was the wife of the lead scientist. She was the last person known to have visited the facility before the murders. Adam Ross had a Private Investigator office in the same building as the bank where Angie worked. They had struck up a casual friendship. He is enjoying his morning coffee the morning after the killings. He sees Angie approaching but also notices men who appear to be preparing to attack her.
Bullets fly in the mall, but Adam manages to get Angie away from her would-be killers. Neither knows why she has been targeted. Adam and Angie must keep on the run. Those after her are unwilling to stop. At the same time, Angie has become the prime suspect in the killings at the lab. Law enforcement is now after her as well. While Adam appears to have saved her life, she barely knows him and soon comes to fear him. She finds a way to ditch him and slips away on her own.
These two events converge as US officials realize that the invisibility cloak will give those with the bomb a means of placing it anywhere. They have so many questions. Who is this Good Samaritan Adam Ross who has spirited away Angie Chandler? Who is trying to kill her? Why do they want her dead? Where is Angie? Can they put her into protective custody before it is too late? What is the target for the tactical nuke?
I enjoyed the 12+ hours I spent reading this 683-page thriller. This was an excellent action-packed thriller. The plot is full of intrigue and suspense, with unexpected twists. I have had the opportunity to read two of Zahn’s other novels, Knight and Queen. They were both good. I have also read the excellent A Call to Duty co-authored with David Weber. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4.6 (rounded to 5) out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
March 6, 2024
Overview
Cloaked Deception is a techno-political-ish spy thriller set in the current/near-future. While I mostly picked this up because Zahn is the author who got me into SF as a kid, it was a decently fun read, if a little bloated.
The Good
This story had a fun plot. I wouldn't entirely agree with the claim in the blub that you can't see the twist coming, but anticipating it was actually more of a benefit to the plot than a determent. As with any techno-thriller, there were some spots where Zahn asked you to take a tiny leap with him on the idea; however, there was only two, and the leap was so small that it didn't require much suspension of disbelief. Perhaps this is my very long history of reding SF/F kicking in here.
The characters were all really enjoyable, even the ones whose face I wanted to see punched before the end, which is good, but it means that...
The Bad
Because I liked the characters, I feel like I didn't really get enough time with them. The emphasis is much more on the political and military aspect, so to a certain degree this makes sense. That said...
The Ugly
There are so many characters. I took a wild guess, just based on how certain characters were being written at the beginning, about who the main characters were, and I was right, but by the end I think I could make a solid argument for there being anywhere between one and five main characters. This, by the way, is not the total number of POV's in the book, just the one's I felt like I was supposed to be the most interested in. I honestly could not keep up with all the names, and I only managed to start recognizing the main characters about halfway through. Up to that point, I was just using context clues. This book practically needs a spreadsheet just to keep up with the characters, about half of which are POV characters at some point. If you are great at names, enjoy Excel, comfortable with "figuring it out" as you go (or if the publishers add some sort of chapter/section headers to let you know who the POV is and where they are in this new scene), this may not be a problem for you.
There is a major point of serendipity. Major
Thanks to NetGalley and Aethon Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Cloaked Deception is a techno-political-ish spy thriller set in the current/near-future. While I mostly picked this up because Zahn is the author who got me into SF as a kid, it was a decently fun read, if a little bloated.
The Good
This story had a fun plot. I wouldn't entirely agree with the claim in the blub that you can't see the twist coming, but anticipating it was actually more of a benefit to the plot than a determent. As with any techno-thriller, there were some spots where Zahn asked you to take a tiny leap with him on the idea; however, there was only two, and the leap was so small that it didn't require much suspension of disbelief. Perhaps this is my very long history of reding SF/F kicking in here.
The characters were all really enjoyable, even the ones whose face I wanted to see punched before the end, which is good, but it means that...
The Bad
Because I liked the characters, I feel like I didn't really get enough time with them. The emphasis is much more on the political and military aspect, so to a certain degree this makes sense. That said...
The Ugly
There are so many characters. I took a wild guess, just based on how certain characters were being written at the beginning, about who the main characters were, and I was right, but by the end I think I could make a solid argument for there being anywhere between one and five main characters. This, by the way, is not the total number of POV's in the book, just the one's I felt like I was supposed to be the most interested in. I honestly could not keep up with all the names, and I only managed to start recognizing the main characters about halfway through. Up to that point, I was just using context clues. This book practically needs a spreadsheet just to keep up with the characters, about half of which are POV characters at some point. If you are great at names, enjoy Excel, comfortable with "figuring it out" as you go (or if the publishers add some sort of chapter/section headers to let you know who the POV is and where they are in this new scene), this may not be a problem for you.
There is a major point of serendipity. Major
Thanks to NetGalley and Aethon Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
May 10, 2024
Cloaked Deception is the new techno thriller from Timothy Zahn, well known author of some of the most influential stories in the Star Wars expanded universe.
This new book from the acclaimed author is a new standalone novel not set in a galaxy far far away and much closer to home. It’s even on this planet.
The story is a military/espionage thriller which involves the theft of a nuclear by a shadowy organisation and are using it to threaten the stability of the government of their country. At the same time three scientists are murdered in Silicon Valley and their piece of tech, a material that can render anything that is hidden by it invisible. A relative cloaking device.
Seemingly unrelated, it becomes apparent that the two things are linked, and the agents assigned to the case must work against time to stop the threat.
This is the second book that I have read from Aethon Books recently and is quite interesting in that they are producing books from well known authors that are outside their usual sphere. However, I must say that Cloaked Deception did not work for me.
Unfortunately, I was not taken in by the high stakes adventure/espionage thriller and instead found it quite ponderous with a high stakes level of exposition in it.
Whilst there is a twist in the sting of the tale (which I must admit that I did not see coming), the journey to the end of the book left me somewhat wanting and when I actually got to said twist, I found that my attention had waned somewhat.
Filled with the regular tropes associated with books like this, I did not feel that there was any subversion or doing anything new with the tropes and instead of hooking me into the story, I found that they just gave me constant eye rolls.
One of the major things that I felt that hampered the plot was that everyone in the soooo competent in their field and yet they were constantly and infuriatingly stupid in determining what was going to happen next. I mean, come on Mr Zahn, stop making your characters dumb in order to prove that the villains are one step ahead.
I have got to say that I really was not on board with this book and found the characters and the plot inherently not relatable and unfortunately couldn’t wait until the end.
This new book from the acclaimed author is a new standalone novel not set in a galaxy far far away and much closer to home. It’s even on this planet.
The story is a military/espionage thriller which involves the theft of a nuclear by a shadowy organisation and are using it to threaten the stability of the government of their country. At the same time three scientists are murdered in Silicon Valley and their piece of tech, a material that can render anything that is hidden by it invisible. A relative cloaking device.
Seemingly unrelated, it becomes apparent that the two things are linked, and the agents assigned to the case must work against time to stop the threat.
This is the second book that I have read from Aethon Books recently and is quite interesting in that they are producing books from well known authors that are outside their usual sphere. However, I must say that Cloaked Deception did not work for me.
Unfortunately, I was not taken in by the high stakes adventure/espionage thriller and instead found it quite ponderous with a high stakes level of exposition in it.
Whilst there is a twist in the sting of the tale (which I must admit that I did not see coming), the journey to the end of the book left me somewhat wanting and when I actually got to said twist, I found that my attention had waned somewhat.
Filled with the regular tropes associated with books like this, I did not feel that there was any subversion or doing anything new with the tropes and instead of hooking me into the story, I found that they just gave me constant eye rolls.
One of the major things that I felt that hampered the plot was that everyone in the soooo competent in their field and yet they were constantly and infuriatingly stupid in determining what was going to happen next. I mean, come on Mr Zahn, stop making your characters dumb in order to prove that the villains are one step ahead.
I have got to say that I really was not on board with this book and found the characters and the plot inherently not relatable and unfortunately couldn’t wait until the end.
May 2, 2024
Cloaked Deception by Timothy Zahn is a highly recommended political techno-thriller that reads like an action movie. From the opening we know some group is planning a focused nuclear strike to eliminate one man in ten days. Then we learn that a tactical nuclear weapon has been stolen from an Indian research facility. This starts the countdown to the event that we know is coming but don't know who or where.
There are the two main storylines that are followed in the novel as the clock counts down the days until the planned major event will take place. Two secret agents, using the code names Ten and Eleven, are on a Pakistani container ship in the South China Sea secretly transporting the nuclear weapon. At the same time three scientists are killed and their invention, a cloaking device that can make things/people invisible, has been stolen. FBI special agent Madison Talbot and San Jose detective Natal Delgado begin investigating who took the cloaking technology. Then Angie Chandler, the wife of one of the dead scientists, has a hit squad shooting at her and she escapes with the help of private investigator Adam Ross.
Cloaked Deception is a well-written, detailed thriller that presents itself like an action movie. Honestly, it should be made into a movie. Zahn has all the details for characters, setting, and atmosphere right there, in the plot, along with plenty of new discoveries and twists. There are a whole lot of characters in this novel (but they could be pared down a bit for the movie). The cat and mouse aspect of the people moving the bomb into place versus the investigation into the deaths and stolen cloaking device create an increasing amount of tension as the days pass by and the countdown moves closer to the expected major event. Thanks to Aethon Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/0...
There are the two main storylines that are followed in the novel as the clock counts down the days until the planned major event will take place. Two secret agents, using the code names Ten and Eleven, are on a Pakistani container ship in the South China Sea secretly transporting the nuclear weapon. At the same time three scientists are killed and their invention, a cloaking device that can make things/people invisible, has been stolen. FBI special agent Madison Talbot and San Jose detective Natal Delgado begin investigating who took the cloaking technology. Then Angie Chandler, the wife of one of the dead scientists, has a hit squad shooting at her and she escapes with the help of private investigator Adam Ross.
Cloaked Deception is a well-written, detailed thriller that presents itself like an action movie. Honestly, it should be made into a movie. Zahn has all the details for characters, setting, and atmosphere right there, in the plot, along with plenty of new discoveries and twists. There are a whole lot of characters in this novel (but they could be pared down a bit for the movie). The cat and mouse aspect of the people moving the bomb into place versus the investigation into the deaths and stolen cloaking device create an increasing amount of tension as the days pass by and the countdown moves closer to the expected major event. Thanks to Aethon Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/0...
March 15, 2024
The two major premises of this book are that a group has stolen an Indian nuclear bomb with a plan to use it to disrupt the government of their country. Who they are is not clear until the last 20% of the book, making the story even more astonishing. At the same time in a company in Silicon Valley, three scientists are murdered and their new breakthrough stolen. the breakthrough is a material that can be used to make anything put under the cloth to disappear. The only weekness in the "cloak" is that it only works if whats under it doesn't move.
As we follow the agents of the US government looking for the murderers, the thiefs are continuing with their pursuit of getting the bomb to where they have planned to use it. To move the bomb they have to frustrate anyone who is looking for it. As you follow the two prong stories, the bad guys seem to always be one or two steps ahead of the good guys. The mastermind behind the theft of the bomb and the use of the cloaks to assist hiding it is like a well orchestrated ballet.
This is a well written and thought out book and should be interesting for anyone who likes adventure and military stories.
As we follow the agents of the US government looking for the murderers, the thiefs are continuing with their pursuit of getting the bomb to where they have planned to use it. To move the bomb they have to frustrate anyone who is looking for it. As you follow the two prong stories, the bad guys seem to always be one or two steps ahead of the good guys. The mastermind behind the theft of the bomb and the use of the cloaks to assist hiding it is like a well orchestrated ballet.
This is a well written and thought out book and should be interesting for anyone who likes adventure and military stories.
May 4, 2024
I distinctly remember getting a book voucher in my early teens and heading over to the bookshop, as a massive Star Wars fan I ended up picking Timothy Zahn’s ‘Hier to the Empire’ and thoroughly loving it.
It was a pivotal moment in my reading journey and opened up a huge range of books to me.
Imagine the excitement then when I was approved for an ARC of Zahn’s new book.
Now all authors have the freedom to write in whatever genre they wish. However Zahn’s name, combined with the edgy cover art, and the Sci-Fi/Fantasy description gives you certain expectations.
None of these things however gave a true representation of what I was about to read.
Initially, whilst it was nothing like I was expecting the book did grab my interest. However that slowly ebbed away the longer the story went on, and it turned into a fairly dull action/thriller with a peppering of politics.
The characters were flat and two dimensional, the story was predictable and full of cliches. You could almost smell the sweat stained shirts accompanied by loose tie, undone top button and sleeves rolled up.
I felt so privileged to be accepted for this ARC but it was such a disappointing read.
It was a pivotal moment in my reading journey and opened up a huge range of books to me.
Imagine the excitement then when I was approved for an ARC of Zahn’s new book.
Now all authors have the freedom to write in whatever genre they wish. However Zahn’s name, combined with the edgy cover art, and the Sci-Fi/Fantasy description gives you certain expectations.
None of these things however gave a true representation of what I was about to read.
Initially, whilst it was nothing like I was expecting the book did grab my interest. However that slowly ebbed away the longer the story went on, and it turned into a fairly dull action/thriller with a peppering of politics.
The characters were flat and two dimensional, the story was predictable and full of cliches. You could almost smell the sweat stained shirts accompanied by loose tie, undone top button and sleeves rolled up.
I felt so privileged to be accepted for this ARC but it was such a disappointing read.
May 19, 2024
A political thriller of epic purportion. Not my go to genre. But I'm game when Timothy Zahn is the writer and Peter Berkrot is narrating the same said book! Timothy Zahn cut his eye teeth writing Star Wars novels and don't forget that he wrote the YA series, Dragonback which was soooooooo good.
With a paramilitary group sneaking an atomic bomb through the US the borders. Always seemingly out maneuvering the investigators every step of the way.
This is one of the most intense books I've read this year, and I mean edge-of-your-seat kinda intensity. But if that wasn't enough there was Ross, for the longest time I couldn't figure out who Ross was and where he stood in this story, he really creaped me out for awhile... So yeah you'll wanna grab this audiobook because Peter Berkrot is well suited to telling us this kinda story. So can Timothy Zahn write thrillers, or what, go ahead you decide... Read it. Then write and post your own review!
Here's a quote that amused me:
"Damn it, Madison, you're gonna get us in
deep fertilizer we'll grow mushrooms."
With a paramilitary group sneaking an atomic bomb through the US the borders. Always seemingly out maneuvering the investigators every step of the way.
This is one of the most intense books I've read this year, and I mean edge-of-your-seat kinda intensity. But if that wasn't enough there was Ross, for the longest time I couldn't figure out who Ross was and where he stood in this story, he really creaped me out for awhile... So yeah you'll wanna grab this audiobook because Peter Berkrot is well suited to telling us this kinda story. So can Timothy Zahn write thrillers, or what, go ahead you decide... Read it. Then write and post your own review!
Here's a quote that amused me:
"Damn it, Madison, you're gonna get us in
deep fertilizer we'll grow mushrooms."
May 26, 2024
A fairly standard terrorist thriller, not science fiction
This story is a a terrorism thriller. The only science fiction is the development of an invisibility cloak. Otherwise it’s pretty standard fare, unlike Zahn’s other novels.
It appears to be set sometime in the early/mid 1990s. The Soviet Union no longer exists, cell phones are somewhat common but no smartphones, the Internet has not yet been become popular, and shopping malls are still a thing. I’m not sure why he chose that setting instead of something more modern, but this almost seems like a novel that had been written a long time ago and only recently dusted off and published. I’m not saying that’s what it is, just that it feels dated.
The story does have some similarity with his Admiral Thrawn Star Wars novels, in that the antagonist is a tactical genius, always three steps ahead of the good guys. But otherwise it’s like some generic thriller novel you’d pick up in an airport bookstore.
The story is good, but it’s not what I’m expected from the author. I give it 4/5 stars.
This story is a a terrorism thriller. The only science fiction is the development of an invisibility cloak. Otherwise it’s pretty standard fare, unlike Zahn’s other novels.
It appears to be set sometime in the early/mid 1990s. The Soviet Union no longer exists, cell phones are somewhat common but no smartphones, the Internet has not yet been become popular, and shopping malls are still a thing. I’m not sure why he chose that setting instead of something more modern, but this almost seems like a novel that had been written a long time ago and only recently dusted off and published. I’m not saying that’s what it is, just that it feels dated.
The story does have some similarity with his Admiral Thrawn Star Wars novels, in that the antagonist is a tactical genius, always three steps ahead of the good guys. But otherwise it’s like some generic thriller novel you’d pick up in an airport bookstore.
The story is good, but it’s not what I’m expected from the author. I give it 4/5 stars.
January 13, 2025
A well woven political technothriller! Plots within plots, a missing nuke, cool invisibility cloaks, dead scientists, mysterious numbered operatives and a general to lead them and a woman on the run trying to find out who and why someone would kill her husband and also her! It has shifting viewpoints throughout the book, so you get the bad guy's perspective (11 was a fun voice) and they are definitely really clever which adds to the tension of the story (always seeming one step ahead of those trying to stop the nuke from going off, and finding the cloaks) and then a few others, like Angie, or Adam, or one of the FBI/CIA analysts who is the person to rely on as she can see all the links in a steaming mess that the bad guys left.
So, it was a good thriller, especially the last bit when it all comes to a head and I was on the edge of my seat and yelling at the good guys to put all the pieces together before it is too late.
So, it was a good thriller, especially the last bit when it all comes to a head and I was on the edge of my seat and yelling at the good guys to put all the pieces together before it is too late.
May 29, 2024
Not science fiction for the most part. The cloak is future tech, but I was confused about the timeline of events. The story mentions things indicating that it is after 9/11 but then includes fighter jets (F-14) that have not been in service since 2006. F-15s, 16s, 18s, 22s, or 35s would have made more sense for the scenario depicted in the story. I get why the AV-8B IIs were used, but F-35Bs might have made more sense for current day.
Regardless, I enjoyed to story and mystery of who was behind it all (typical of Zhan). I pick up all of his books and am never disappointed. I can enjoy a well thought out, detective, buddy-cop story without having to worry about vulgarity, profanity, and sex getting in the way.
Regardless, I enjoyed to story and mystery of who was behind it all (typical of Zhan). I pick up all of his books and am never disappointed. I can enjoy a well thought out, detective, buddy-cop story without having to worry about vulgarity, profanity, and sex getting in the way.
March 30, 2024
Thanks to Timothy Zahn, Aethon Books, and NetGalley for access to the Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I picked up this book knowing that Timothy Zahn was an excellent writer and a Hugo award winner for his science fiction. Quite to my surprise, what I got was an outstanding technology thriller that could be ripper from today’s headlines.
The characters are interesting and believable, the pacing is good and there are enough twists and turns to always keep you on your toes. Given Timothy Zahn’s history, I hope and expect this is the start of a series. Recommended.
I picked up this book knowing that Timothy Zahn was an excellent writer and a Hugo award winner for his science fiction. Quite to my surprise, what I got was an outstanding technology thriller that could be ripper from today’s headlines.
The characters are interesting and believable, the pacing is good and there are enough twists and turns to always keep you on your toes. Given Timothy Zahn’s history, I hope and expect this is the start of a series. Recommended.
May 3, 2024
What a great read!
I devoured this story in one go, chasing the truth until the very last page.
Even though it's marketed as a sci-fi novel, I find the narrative leans more towards a thriller.
A magnificent thriller where technology plays a central role in being both astonishing and dangerous. Perhaps the less successful aspect was the particular characterization of individual characters as easily recognizable entities. Sometimes, amidst the large number of characters and names presented, they blur together because they exhibit similar behaviors at times.
Zahn proves himself a great writer even in standalone novels.
I'd like to thank Netgalley for allowing me to read it in advance.
I devoured this story in one go, chasing the truth until the very last page.
Even though it's marketed as a sci-fi novel, I find the narrative leans more towards a thriller.
A magnificent thriller where technology plays a central role in being both astonishing and dangerous. Perhaps the less successful aspect was the particular characterization of individual characters as easily recognizable entities. Sometimes, amidst the large number of characters and names presented, they blur together because they exhibit similar behaviors at times.
Zahn proves himself a great writer even in standalone novels.
I'd like to thank Netgalley for allowing me to read it in advance.
August 16, 2024
A nuclear weapon has been stolen than later a cloaking device is stolen and 3 of the scientists killed, but the authorities do not know they are connected. They know they have 10 days before the bomb goes off. The clock is winding down like sand grains in a hourglass. Can the authorities figure it out before thousands of innocent people die?
The action and suspense in this book is without compare. It will keep you on the edge of your seat until you finish. The narrator is awesome and brings this book alive. I loved every second of the ride.
This audio was supplied by the publisher Aethon for review purpose
The action and suspense in this book is without compare. It will keep you on the edge of your seat until you finish. The narrator is awesome and brings this book alive. I loved every second of the ride.
This audio was supplied by the publisher Aethon for review purpose
June 5, 2025
Flighty Espionage Thriller
A lot of the storyline is just too dependent on random events, luck, barely possible coincidence, etc. to hold together at the center. The genius villain is a goofball foul-up in the end, his reasoning too foolish to bear. I finished it, barely. The last minute save by the heroes went totally beyond my naturally generous suspension of disbelief. Would not recommend.
A lot of the storyline is just too dependent on random events, luck, barely possible coincidence, etc. to hold together at the center. The genius villain is a goofball foul-up in the end, his reasoning too foolish to bear. I finished it, barely. The last minute save by the heroes went totally beyond my naturally generous suspension of disbelief. Would not recommend.
June 4, 2024
Excellent page turner!!!
Timothy Zahn is a top-drawer writer. This is an International thriller with a tiny drop of Science Fiction in it. He has successfully hidden details that it won't become dated quickly.
I don't give anything 5 stars except Hugo/Nebula winners.
This excellent all the way through.
Enjoy.
Timothy Zahn is a top-drawer writer. This is an International thriller with a tiny drop of Science Fiction in it. He has successfully hidden details that it won't become dated quickly.
I don't give anything 5 stars except Hugo/Nebula winners.
This excellent all the way through.
Enjoy.
October 27, 2024
Won this book on a Goodreads giveaway.
Timothy Zahn is the author of my favorite Star Wars books, and I hadn’t read anything else by him until now.
I really enjoyed this book. There was suspense, and action throughout, and it was exciting to the end.
I guess I will have to start reading Zahn’s other non-Star Wars books now.
Timothy Zahn is the author of my favorite Star Wars books, and I hadn’t read anything else by him until now.
I really enjoyed this book. There was suspense, and action throughout, and it was exciting to the end.
I guess I will have to start reading Zahn’s other non-Star Wars books now.
January 6, 2025
Cloaked Deception by Timothy Zahn didn’t meet my expectations as a seasoned thriller reader. I found it tedious to get through, with a plot that failed to capture my interest and characters that felt flat and unengaging. While Zahn has a reputation for strong storytelling in other works, this one simply wasn’t for me.
June 5, 2024
I have been a fan of Timothy Zahn’s sci-fi books and always enjoyed them. Delighted to find his thriller book was equally good. Swift plot development w a number of interesting characters. Plus neat tech twist.
July 2, 2024
I thought Zahn was a Sci-Fi writer
This was a good rendition of a mystery thriller. I'm usually strictly a Sci-fi Fi reader, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I'm just concerned that it might give someone too many ideas.
This was a good rendition of a mystery thriller. I'm usually strictly a Sci-fi Fi reader, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I'm just concerned that it might give someone too many ideas.
July 10, 2024
Another well though out story from Timothy Zahn
Sell told with interesting characters on both sides of the plot. The whole story comes together at the very end. Not much in the way of his usual science fiction, but a key sci-fi twist to make the story work out.
Sell told with interesting characters on both sides of the plot. The whole story comes together at the very end. Not much in the way of his usual science fiction, but a key sci-fi twist to make the story work out.
August 5, 2024
The beginning and ending are great but the middle 30 chapters are all info dump conversations with very little action. I would say it was very Tom Clancyesque, but it was horrible reading having to slog through those middle chapters. I wouldn't have even bothered but I knew Zahn would have a payoff at the end, and he came through with a great climax.
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