For 30 years, Robert Ludlum's novels have set the standard for the finest in international intrigue and suspense. With an unbroken string of bestsellers in almost every country in the world, Robert Ludlum's books have been enjoyed by hundreds of millions of readers, and are widely acknowledged as classics in the field. Now, after the bestselling Covert-One novels The Hades Factor and The Cassandra Compact comes the third thrilling novel in the series - The Paris Option.

A fiery explosion in the dark of night shatters one of the laboratory buildings in Paris's esteemed Pasteur Institute. Among the dead is Emile Chambord, one of the leaders in the global race to create a molecular - or DNA - computer. Unfortunately, Professor Chambord kept the details of his work secret, and his notes were apparently destroyed in either the bomb blast or the raging fire that followed.

The scientific community does not expect a workable DNA computer to be developed for years. But suddenly U.S. fighter jets disappear from radar screens for a full five minutes, and there's no explanation. Utilities across the Western states cease functioning, and all telecommunications abruptly stop, with devastating consequences. This is not the work of a clever hacker, although Washington, worried about a panic, assures the public it is. Only the enormous power and speed of a DNA computer could have caused such havoc.

Under the cover of visiting his friend Marty Zellerbach, who was severely injured when the Pasteur lab was destroyed, Covert-One agent Jon Smith flies to Paris to search for the connection between the Pasteur explosion and the forces now wielding the computer. Following a trail that leads him across two continents, Smith uncovers a web of deception that threatens to wreck havoc and forever reshape the world.

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From Publishers Weekly

After a 30-year career that engendered dozens of bestselling novels of international intrigue, Ludlum died in the spring of 2001, just before publication of The Cassandra Compact, the second title in the Covert-One biotech series. This third Covert-One opus co-written with spy novelist Gayle Lynds (Mosaic), who also worked on the first Covert-One epic, The Hades Factor reprises the over-the-top, almost parodic tone of its predecessors with more antics from undercover agent army Lt. Col. Jonathan Smith, M.D. A horrific explosion destroys the Paris lab of computer genius Emile Chambord on the eve of his breakthrough in the development of a revolutionary molecular DNA computer that has the ability to control virtually all the world's computerized operations. Overnight, military satellites, international data banks and worldwide communications threaten to crash. Faced with the enormity of this malevolent power play, Dr. Jon Smith sets out to find the perpetrators. Arriving in Paris just as Chambord's daughter, Th‚rŠse, is being abducted, Smith trails the terrorists to Toledo, Spain. Just when this thrilling setup promises a return to vintage Ludlum, Smith's corny pals, CIA spook Randi Russell and British MI6 spy Peter Howell, pop up and they all go bumbling across Europe to avert a nuclear holocaust. Gainsaying the old saw, "You can't take it with you," Ludlum bequeaths yet another ghostly burlesque of his fabled plotting talents.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Ludlum is light years beyond his literary competition in piling plot twist upon plot twist, until the mesmerized reader is held captive...[He] dominates the field in strong, tightly plotted, adventure-drenched thrillers. Ludlum pulls out all the stops and dazzles his readers.”—Chicago Tribune

”Ludlum stuffs more surprises into his novels than any other six pack of thriller writers combined.”—The New York Times

“Reading a Ludlum novel is like watching a James Bond film.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Welcome to Robert Ludlum's world...fast pacing, tight plotting, international intrigue.”—The Plain Dealer

“Robert Ludlum is the master of gripping, fast-moving intrigue. He is unsurpassed at weaving a tapestry of stunningly diverse figures, then assembling them in a sequence so gripping that the reader's attention never wavers.”—The Daily Oklahoman

“Don’t ever begin a Ludlum novel if you have to go to work the next day.”—Chicago Sun-Times

”If a Pulitzer Prize were awarded for escapist fiction, Robert Ludlum undoubtedly would have won it. Ten times over.”—Mobile Register

“An exciting medical-military thriller that moves at a rapid pace to its climax...an exciting new series.”—Midwest Book Review

“A pop hit...that should bounce right up the bestseller lists.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Gripping...robust writing and a breakneck pace.”—Boston Herald