What do you think?
Rate this book
The Time of Thunder
In Australia's Northern Territory, NORFORCE Sergeant Jamie McKinnon escorts a group of Americans into Arnhem Land, one of the world’s last great wildernesses. Yet what begins as a field assignment becomes a journey into Jamie's own identity.
Danny Carter was a schoolboy during the Korean War, growing up with the mystery of his airman brother's disappearance. As Danny comes of age in a rapidly changing United States, he is determined to locate his brother's lost plane in the face of murder, intimidation and loss.
Danny and Jamie, coming together from opposite sides of the world, will find that revenge extracts a terrible price, and reveal a shocking truth that will shake the world.
Danny Carter was a schoolboy during the Korean War, growing up with the mystery of his airman brother's disappearance. As Danny comes of age in a rapidly changing United States, he is determined to locate his brother's lost plane in the face of murder, intimidation and loss.
Danny and Jamie, coming together from opposite sides of the world, will find that revenge extracts a terrible price, and reveal a shocking truth that will shake the world.
270 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2020
80 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Greg Barron
24 books115 followersCrime, terrorism, history, international politics and the wide open spaces of outback Australia are all passionate interests of author Greg Barron. He has lived in North America, New South Wales and in and around Katherine, Northern Territory. He once crossed Arnhem Land on foot, and has a passion for the Top End landscape.
His books, published by HarperCollins Australia and Stories of Oz Publishing, are gutsy pageturners that tell the truth about the world. Rotten Gods was long listed for the prestigious Ned Kelly awards, and has been lauded as "one of the most sophisticated geopolitical thrillers ever written." Savage Tide was described by ABC Radio reviewer Rob Minshull as; "Both supremely intelligent and written at breathtaking pace."
Camp Leichhardt is the first of his Australian stories to see print, and was serialised in 2016 to wide acclaim. Rotten Gods, Savage Tide, Voodoo Dawn and Lethal Sky all feature Marika Hartmann, the Australian intelligence agent who has won the hearts of readers all over the world.
His books, published by HarperCollins Australia and Stories of Oz Publishing, are gutsy pageturners that tell the truth about the world. Rotten Gods was long listed for the prestigious Ned Kelly awards, and has been lauded as "one of the most sophisticated geopolitical thrillers ever written." Savage Tide was described by ABC Radio reviewer Rob Minshull as; "Both supremely intelligent and written at breathtaking pace."
Camp Leichhardt is the first of his Australian stories to see print, and was serialised in 2016 to wide acclaim. Rotten Gods, Savage Tide, Voodoo Dawn and Lethal Sky all feature Marika Hartmann, the Australian intelligence agent who has won the hearts of readers all over the world.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 19, 2023
This was a very enjoyable story set in the Northern Territory of Australia. The author writes beautiful descriptions of the countryside and the people and really, what better place to lose a bomber carrying a hidden secret from the Korean War than the sparsely inhabited vastness of Arnhem Land.
The pilot of the plane is considered a traitor by the Americans and a hero by others who knew him. His brother is keen to find the plane and a team from the Australian army is sent to help him. However there are people in the U.S. still keen to maintain their cover up and events take a nasty turn.
There is plenty of action and it is a fast and easy read. The good characters are all likeable and the bad ones are very bad! An exciting, nicely written book set in a beautiful place. I will certainly look out for more books by this author.
The pilot of the plane is considered a traitor by the Americans and a hero by others who knew him. His brother is keen to find the plane and a team from the Australian army is sent to help him. However there are people in the U.S. still keen to maintain their cover up and events take a nasty turn.
There is plenty of action and it is a fast and easy read. The good characters are all likeable and the bad ones are very bad! An exciting, nicely written book set in a beautiful place. I will certainly look out for more books by this author.
April 18, 2023
Spanning forty years, from the time of the Korean War when he was still at school, Danny Carter had been searching for answers about his brother Matt. Now, he, his daughter Tasha and son-in-law, Glenn, were on a mission in Australia to find Matt's last resting place and the evidence of what went wrong.
Sergeant Jamie McKinnon had a team of his men and two vehicles to make the journey into Arnhem Land. Danny wouldn't tell him anything, and the young woman from ASIO in Canberra, along for the ride, wouldn't tell him anything either. Jamie was frustrated but they continued following orders as well as Danny's GPS. Danny needed to find Matt, but would he? Ray, one of Jamie's team, was also an Aboriginal tracker, and knew they were getting close to forbidden areas. His unease registered with Jamie...
The Time of Thunder is another exceptional piece of writing from Aussie author Greg Barron. Set in the vast wilderness of Arnhem Land, the awe and wonder as they moved through the country made me wish I could see the same land. Caves with wall art, unseen for centuries, waterfalls with wildlife and beauty surrounding them. Partly factual, mostly fictional, the story of two brothers, two countries a long way apart, and what happened in between, is a tale definitely worth reading. Highly recommended.
Sergeant Jamie McKinnon had a team of his men and two vehicles to make the journey into Arnhem Land. Danny wouldn't tell him anything, and the young woman from ASIO in Canberra, along for the ride, wouldn't tell him anything either. Jamie was frustrated but they continued following orders as well as Danny's GPS. Danny needed to find Matt, but would he? Ray, one of Jamie's team, was also an Aboriginal tracker, and knew they were getting close to forbidden areas. His unease registered with Jamie...
The Time of Thunder is another exceptional piece of writing from Aussie author Greg Barron. Set in the vast wilderness of Arnhem Land, the awe and wonder as they moved through the country made me wish I could see the same land. Caves with wall art, unseen for centuries, waterfalls with wildlife and beauty surrounding them. Partly factual, mostly fictional, the story of two brothers, two countries a long way apart, and what happened in between, is a tale definitely worth reading. Highly recommended.
May 3, 2020
I have read a lot of Greg Barron books. All of them have that fast-paced thriller action that appeals to me, and I've downed them all greedily. Yet, having just finished The Time Of Thunder, I really think I've found my favourite Barron book yet.
This author writes the most vivid and authentic Australian outback settings I've read. I thought that about his story 'Whistler's Bones' - and it's evident again here.
For example: 'Every hill has shadows, each layer of stone tells a story, and every stream bed a history that binds millions of years into a story. Your connection to this land is a high tensile web and euphoria begins at the base of your neck and spreads into your heart.'
I liked the interweaving of real events with fiction. I loved the indigenous characters and glimpses of indigenous lore. This is brilliantly plotted, and while it's such a small part of the book, I loved the cameo of Bob Hawke and Blanche right at the end - and the line about 'ANZAC spirit'.
There really are two or three heroes of this story. There is Jamie, the Australian army man leading an outback expedition in 1990 to find a plane that's already been missing 40 years. And there is American Danny, now 50 years old, searching for his brother Matt - the man who was flying that mysterious lost plane.
Matt is a hero too, although we never know very much about what happened to him as this part of the story is all fed to the reader in small snippets (my only gripe - the capital letters for Matt's part of the story on Kindle was very hard to read).
Young Danny is supposed to believe that his brother died a traitor, but we know through Danny's memories of the person Matt was (and Matt's friends), that this can't be the truth. There's been a US Army cover up, and this story pins this brilliant narrative together.
I thought this was wonderful writing and a great story where stakes just rose higher and higher.
Really well done, Greg Barron.
This author writes the most vivid and authentic Australian outback settings I've read. I thought that about his story 'Whistler's Bones' - and it's evident again here.
For example: 'Every hill has shadows, each layer of stone tells a story, and every stream bed a history that binds millions of years into a story. Your connection to this land is a high tensile web and euphoria begins at the base of your neck and spreads into your heart.'
I liked the interweaving of real events with fiction. I loved the indigenous characters and glimpses of indigenous lore. This is brilliantly plotted, and while it's such a small part of the book, I loved the cameo of Bob Hawke and Blanche right at the end - and the line about 'ANZAC spirit'.
There really are two or three heroes of this story. There is Jamie, the Australian army man leading an outback expedition in 1990 to find a plane that's already been missing 40 years. And there is American Danny, now 50 years old, searching for his brother Matt - the man who was flying that mysterious lost plane.
Matt is a hero too, although we never know very much about what happened to him as this part of the story is all fed to the reader in small snippets (my only gripe - the capital letters for Matt's part of the story on Kindle was very hard to read).
Young Danny is supposed to believe that his brother died a traitor, but we know through Danny's memories of the person Matt was (and Matt's friends), that this can't be the truth. There's been a US Army cover up, and this story pins this brilliant narrative together.
I thought this was wonderful writing and a great story where stakes just rose higher and higher.
Really well done, Greg Barron.
May 25, 2020
The Time of Thunder, by Greg Barron, has action, an interesting location, great characters, and a good mystery to hook you. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I found this book a great escape from all the stress of a Covid 19 and highly recommend it.
I thank the author and publisher for the Kindle version of this book that I won on Goodreads Giveaways. I will be checking out other Barron books in the future.
I thank the author and publisher for the Kindle version of this book that I won on Goodreads Giveaways. I will be checking out other Barron books in the future.
November 14, 2020
I read this book with keen interest because it is set on country that is close to my heartland. The strong descriptions of the landscapes and of the people in this yarn, as typical of Greg’s other work set in the Top End, show his personal knowledge and connection with the place. While the genre, is not usually my preference, the plot rolled along at a good pace and included historically orientated twists and turns that made the proposition of the novel worth an afternoon of solid reading.
July 6, 2021
Splendid!
This is a book that eats the night.
The writing is tight, lyrical, continuous, drawing the reader from phrase to phrase, sentence to sentence, until all the time is gone and the book is read.
It is believable, and mesmerizing, emotional, and frightening.
The characters are wonderful. The adventure is high.
But what makes the book is the interplay of those, and the country.
Wow.
This is a book that eats the night.
The writing is tight, lyrical, continuous, drawing the reader from phrase to phrase, sentence to sentence, until all the time is gone and the book is read.
It is believable, and mesmerizing, emotional, and frightening.
The characters are wonderful. The adventure is high.
But what makes the book is the interplay of those, and the country.
Wow.
September 8, 2020
Review of The Time of Thunder
I won this book from Goodreads after reading I am to review. Matthew is the brother who flew the B50 bomber during the Korean war. Danny is the younger brother and main character. Matthew is assumed dead because the plane went down but is not found during the war. It is sad the way Danny is treated. I can't say anymore than that.
I won this book from Goodreads after reading I am to review. Matthew is the brother who flew the B50 bomber during the Korean war. Danny is the younger brother and main character. Matthew is assumed dead because the plane went down but is not found during the war. It is sad the way Danny is treated. I can't say anymore than that.
October 29, 2020
I really enjoy historical mysteries and this is a good one. It provides a fascinating glimpse of the Australian outback, has a different time frame than one usually encounters and, best of all has three really interesting main characters (Jamie, Matt and Danny). It's a well written book that I enjoyed.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
December 13, 2020
I loved this book!
I absolutely loved this story! It has a great plot but also contains so many thought provoking themes around right and wrong, good and bad, love and justice - i.e. life in general and what is truly important. I’ll be binge reading Greg Barron’s others books in the next few week!
I absolutely loved this story! It has a great plot but also contains so many thought provoking themes around right and wrong, good and bad, love and justice - i.e. life in general and what is truly important. I’ll be binge reading Greg Barron’s others books in the next few week!
January 31, 2021
Excellent.... just get it,
i did enjoy this immensely. Well written. Descriptions of Arnhem land are brilliant and woven into the story in detail. It really wants to make you visit the place.
As said... great story line... characters portrayed with just the right touch of what you would expect and want them to be.
All in all... do yourself a favor...don't miss out on this book.
Albert
i did enjoy this immensely. Well written. Descriptions of Arnhem land are brilliant and woven into the story in detail. It really wants to make you visit the place.
As said... great story line... characters portrayed with just the right touch of what you would expect and want them to be.
All in all... do yourself a favor...don't miss out on this book.
Albert
January 13, 2025
Gripping and evocative.
I loved the atmospheric nature of The Time of Thunder and would love to see a film studio pick it up to make a this delightful story into a magical film. The deep dive into the Northern Territory (where I believe Greg Barron lived for some time) was as surprising as it was beautiful.
I loved the atmospheric nature of The Time of Thunder and would love to see a film studio pick it up to make a this delightful story into a magical film. The deep dive into the Northern Territory (where I believe Greg Barron lived for some time) was as surprising as it was beautiful.
December 15, 2020
Interesting story of outback Australia which gets MUCH better in the 2nd half. I didn't much like the unprofessional radio dialogue between the Aus & US forces which I thought somewhat immature and unlikely but overall 3.5*
January 22, 2025
It you like this sort of thing
It was ok. Took a while to get into the story. A long time spent on describing Australia's top end and history.
The story to me seems somewhat improbable but, hey it's fiction
It was ok. Took a while to get into the story. A long time spent on describing Australia's top end and history.
The story to me seems somewhat improbable but, hey it's fiction
May 6, 2020
A well written novel
May 20, 2020
Kept my interest from the first page to the last
June 6, 2020
I want to thank goodreads for this giveaway. It was a wonderful read.
June 10, 2020
Well written enjoyable story. Fascinating characters and plot make for a great read.
December 10, 2020
Enjoyable
The story line was good and could have happened with the type of leaders America seem to like. Thank heavens it didn’t happen.
The story line was good and could have happened with the type of leaders America seem to like. Thank heavens it didn’t happen.
January 21, 2022
Doing what is right
Living knowing you have done what is right. Learning where your roots are gives you a solid foundation. Great read love the descriptions of Northern Australia
Living knowing you have done what is right. Learning where your roots are gives you a solid foundation. Great read love the descriptions of Northern Australia
October 3, 2023
the time of thunder by Greg Barron
Good easy read but I would prefer a more believable plot line.
IMO not in the same league as Whistlers Bones
Good easy read but I would prefer a more believable plot line.
IMO not in the same league as Whistlers Bones
January 8, 2025
Love a good Barron Read
April 15, 2024
What a great read. The author captured the uniqueness of the Top End perfectly.
August 14, 2023
Not a bad yarn if a little unlikely. Great to see a NORFORCE story, something which is regularly overlooked in Australian military fiction. In fact, it is just great to see some Australian military fiction full stop. Unless you count the inumerable SAS "biographies" out there, Australian military fiction is almost non-existant. I hope to see more from this Author.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews