Act of War (novel)


Act of War is a 2014 USA Today and New York Times bestselling thriller spy novel by American author Brad Thor and the thirteenth book in the Scot Harvath series. It was preceded by Hidden Order and was followed by Code of Conduct.
Of the book, Thor stated that his "No. 1 goal is to entertain people. I'm an entertainer and I'm gonna give them a great summer read. But if you close the book with questions or wanting to learn more about something or just a little bit smarter, than I think that's a neat kind of value add."

Plot

The main plot of the novel revolves around President of the United States Paul Porter and the United States attempt to stop a catastrophic attack on the country by the Chinese. The name of the Chinese plot is Snow Dragon.
Thor tells the story of the main plot through three important subplots. A first subplot involves a team of three Navy SEALS and a CIA agent that are dispatched to spy on North Korea. This is being done because intelligence has told the United States that the Chinese are conducting training missions in the country.
The second subplot centers around a division of the Chinese government and their planning of Snow Dragon. When one of the cell members of the plot in the United States continually fails to make contact, that division of the Chinese government sends in a known killer and super spy into the U.S. to check things out.
The last subplot focuses on the fact the Chinese contracted out the completion of Snow Dragon to Muslims and other extremists in the Middle East. If the U.S. government wants any information or any hope of stopping Snow Dragon they must find anyone and everyone involved in pulling off this catastrophic event.
Throughout the three subplots is the story of former Navy SEAL, Secret Service member and American hero Scot Harvath. Harvath, who is working with the Carlton Group, a specialized intel and operations group, does whatever it takes to stop the Chinese and keep America safe.

Reception

Tulsa World praised Act of War and compared it favorably to the television series 24. The Nashville Scene also gave a positive review, writing "With Act of War, Thor has proven once again why he is a favorite of the genre — and of the political right."