Green Power

by Charles Vrooman

After the renowned microbiologist Dr. Ray Pendleton leads a demonstration to close down Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant, Ray is assaulted by two of Dirk Hendricksonas fellow Delta Valley militiamen. Ray survives the beating and is motivated to set up methane digesters as an alternative source of electrical power for Lodi dairies. Dirk's continued attacks on the professor and his projects result in a life-threatening epidemic pointing to one of Rayas methane lagoons as the cause. The infected patients are admitted to UC Davis Medical Center. Linda McCord, a lab tech at the hospital and former student of Dr. Pendleton, works with Ray to hopefully prove that the methane power source is not the cause of this spreading disease. Both Ray and Linda develop a romantic relationship while working together. Linda is devastated when Ray develops a serious infection from the bacterium causing the epidemic.

Genres: Thriller

211 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2007

About the author

My name is Charles Vrooman and I have a B.S. degree in Microbiology and an A.S. degree in Computer Systems. I have been licensed by the State of California as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist. I have also been registered as a Medical Technologist with the American Society of Clinical Pathology for over 25 years.
I have been recognized for a number of scientific papers published in professional journals in my line of work. I have not only won an award, but have also received good reviews for my first published thriller novel – “Green Power”. “The True Virus”, is my second biotech thriller novel. My most recently released thriller, is "Botox".

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read with a fast paced and exciting storyline that kept you interested despite knowing who was responsible for what. The premise of the book follows a university professor, Ray Pendleton, who has developed a new way of producing electricity using methane gas. As his project begins to take off a militia group begins to sabotage the project and go after him following his protests against a nuclear power plant in the area that is subsequently shut down. As things spiral out of control the actions of the militia group get more and more deadly. The finale of the story is gripping and exciting complete with car chases and shoot outs.

The environmental element of the story is well written and shows clear knowledge on the part of the author with regard to microbiology and the use of methane in power production. Although technically complex these elements are explained in such a way that the reader can easily follow without any prior knowledge of these areas. This book also raises some interesting question with regard to renewable energy and the small scale options that seem to have been overlooked in favour of bigger projects (be it nuclear power, wind energy or solar power). The role of the media in the success of small scale green energy projects is also touched upon, with the media playing a key role in the 'battle' between the professor and the militia group and providing dis-information to the public that creates an unnecessary backlash to the professor's project.

The characters are well developed and suit the roles they are given within the story with the 'good' and 'bad' guys clearly divisable throughout. My only slightly picky complaint is some of the character dialogue is a bit formal and not how I imagine such characters to speak on a day to day basis (this could just be me though). Overall the characters were realistic with well researched histories that suit each of them perfectly.

Overall this is a very enjoyable book with a good storyline that raises a few interesting points about the power of demostrations, the use of all types of green technology and the power of the media in determining the public preception of these.

[Charles Vrooman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This medical thriller uses realistic situations like those found in Robin Cook’s books while employing the underlying opinion driven plot technique of Michael Palmer. The theme of this novel is: “The negative energy of protest becomes a positive force once the creative use of green power is achieved.”

[Ruralmysteries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three of the stars were because this was very good for this author's first book! It had elements of suspense, mystery, action, and science. The forth star is because the story location is in my Northern California backyard. Written by a local Auburn author, this bio-terrorism thriller plays out in 1989 Sacramento, when a security guard loses his job at the Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant, blames a UC Davis Professor, seeks revenge, and is pursued by a Roseville FBI agent into the Sierra Nevada Desolation Wilderness.