|
A Darker Place
''A Darker Place'' is a 2009 novel by Jack Higgins. It is the 16th book in his Sean Dillon series. Plot summary The novel is about a famous Russian writer and ex-paratrooper named Alexander Kurbsky, who is fed up with the Putin government and decides he wants to "disappear" into the West. He is under no illusions, however, about how the news will be greeted at home. Having seen too many of his countrymen die mysteriously at the hands of the thuggish Russian security services, he makes elaborate plans for his escape and concealment with Charles Ferguson, Sean Dillon, and the rest of the group known informally as the Prime Minister's private army A private army (or private military) is a military or paramilitary force consisting of armed combatants who owe their allegiance to a private person, group, or organization, rather than a nation or state. History Private armies may form when .... However, Kurbsky is still working for the Russians and intends to infiltrate the hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WikiProject Novels
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by ''Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Higgins
Henry "Harry" Patterson (27 July 1929 – 9 April 2022), commonly known by his pen name Jack Higgins, was a British author. He was a best-selling author of popular thrillers and espionage novels. His novel '' The Eagle Has Landed'' (1975) sold more than 50 million copies and was adapted into a successful 1976 movie of the same title. Some of his other notable books are ''A Prayer for the Dying'' (1973), '' The Eagle Has Flown'' (1991), '' Thunder Point'' (1993), '' Angel of Death'' (1995), ''Flight of Eagles'' (1998), and '' Day of Reckoning'' (2000). His 85 novels in total have sold more than 250 million copies and have been translated into 55 languages. Early life Jack Higgins was born Henry Patterson on 27 July 1929 in Newcastle upon Tyne to an English father and a Northern Irish mother. When his father abandoned them soon afterward, his mother returned with him to her home town of Belfast, Northern Ireland, to live with her mother and her grandfather on the Shankill Road ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thriller Novel
Thriller is a genre of fiction, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Successful examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Thrillers generally keep the audience on the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax. The cover-up of important information is a common element. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists, unreliable narrators, and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is often a villain-driven plot, whereby they present obstacles that the protagonist must overcome. The most common genres that overlap with the thriller genre include crime, horror and detective fiction. Characteristics Writer Vladimir Nabokov, in his lectures at Cornell University, said: In an Anglo-Saxon thriller, the villain is generally punished, and the strong silent man gener ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hardback
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occasionally leather). It has a flexible, sewn spine which allows the book to lie flat on a surface when opened. Modern hardcovers may have the pages glued onto the spine in much the same way as paperbacks. Following the ISBN sequence numbers, books of this type may be identified by the abbreviation Hbk. Hardcover books are often printed on acid-free paper, and they are much more durable than paperbacks, which have flexible, easily damaged paper covers. Hardcover books are marginally more costly to manufacture. Hardcovers are frequently protected by artistic dust jackets, but a "jacketless" alternative has increased in popularity: these "paper-over-board" or "jacketless" hardcover bindings forgo the dust jacket in favor of printing t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, leather, paper, or plastic. Inexpensive books bound in paper have existed since at least the 19th century in such forms as pamphlets, yellowbacks, dime novels, and airport novels. Modern paperbacks can be differentiated from one another by size. In the United States, there are "mass-market paperbacks" and larger, more durable "trade paperbacks". In the United Kingdom, there are A-format, B-format, and the largest C-format sizes. Paperback editions of books are issued when a publisher decides to release a book in a low-cost format. Lower-quality paper, glued (rather than stapled or sewn) bindings, and the lack of a hard cover may contribute to the lower cost of paperbacks. Paperback can be the preferred medium when a book is not expected t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sean Dillon (Jack Higgins Character)
Sean Dillon is a fictional Irish character who is the hero of a series of Jack Higgins novels. Fictional biography He is described in the stories as a short man and fair-haired. An aspiring actor at the age of 19, Dillon takes up being an IRA member, seeking revenge after his father is killed in Belfast in the crossfire between the British and the IRA. He is a protégé of Liam Devlin. Born in 1952, he is a master assassin. When he was 19 his father was killed by British forces. He started as an IRA assassin but realised that the cause was not everything. After that he just was a gun for hire. He worked for almost everyone as long as they paid the right price. He is taught several things by Devlin, including the 'eerie dog-whistle'. An excellent gunman and a good actor, he very soon earns the nickname "The Man of 1000 Faces" from the British, who dread him. He is noted for his part in the Downing Street bomb blast, which fails to kill or injure anyone. His disapproval ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russian Airborne Troops
The Russian Airborne Forces (russian: Воздушно-десантные войска России, ВДВ, Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii, VDV) are the airborne forces branch of the Russian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1992 from units of the Soviet Airborne Forces that came under Russian control following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Troops of the Russian Airborne Forces have traditionally worn a blue beret and blue-striped '' telnyashka'' undershirt and are called ''desant'' (Russian: Десант) from the French ''Descente''. The Russian Airborne Forces utilizes a range of specialist airborne warfare vehicles and are fully mechanized. They traditionally have a larger complement of heavy weaponry than most contemporary airborne forces. History With the demise of the Soviet Union, the number of VDV divisions shrank from seven to four, as well as four brigades and the brigade-sized training center. In October 2013, Shamanov announced that a new air assaul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Presidency Of Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin has served three terms and is currently in a fourth as President of Russia (2000–2004, 2004–2008, 2012–2018 and May 2018 to present) and served as Acting President from 1999 to 2000, succeeding Boris Yeltsin after Yeltsin's resignation. Putin was also Prime Minister for three months in 1999 and served a full term from 2008 to 2012. During his presidency, he has been a member of the Unity party and the United Russia party. He is also affiliated with the People's Front, a group of supporters that Putin organized in 2011 to help improve the public's perception of United Russia. His political ideology, priorities and policies are sometimes referred to as Putinism. Putin has enjoyed high domestic approval ratings throughout the majority of his presidency, with the exception of 2011–2013 which is likely due to the 2011–2013 Russian protests. In 2007, he was ''Time'' magazine's Person of the Year. In 2015, he was designated No. 1 in ''Time'' 100, ''Time'' m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intelligence Agencies Of Russia
The intelligence agencies of the Russian Federation, often unofficially referred to in Russian as ''Special services'' ( rus, Спецслужбы), include: * Federal Security Service (FSB), an agency responsible for counter-intelligence and other aspects of state security as well as intelligence-gathering in some countries, primarily those of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); reports directly to the President of Russia. * Main Directorate of Special Programs of the President of the Russian Federation (GUSP), is a federal executive agency that performs functions to ensure the fulfillment of the authority of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of mobilization training and mobilization in the Russian Federation. The scope of their competence is described in the Federal Law "On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization in the Russian Federation." * Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), an agency concerned with collection of intelligence outside the CI ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, they sit as members of Parliament. The office of prime minister is not established by any statute or constitutional document, but exists only by long-established convention, whereby the reigning monarch appoints as prime minister the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons; this individual is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber. The prime minister is ''ex officio'' also First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and the minister responsible for national security. Indeed, certain privileges, such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Army
A private army (or private military) is a military or paramilitary force consisting of armed combatants who owe their allegiance to a private person, group, or organization, rather than a nation or state. History Private armies may form when land owners arm household retainers for the protection of self and property in times of strife and where and when central government is weak. Such private armies existed for example in the Roman Empire following the collapse of central authority. The dynamics at play in such circumstances can be observed in modern-day Colombia: on the one hand there are those forces affiliated with the drug cartels, existing to protect their criminality, and on the other those of the landlords created to resist kidnappings and extortion, i.e. the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia. In many places these private household retainers evolved into feudal like structures, formalising obligations and allegiances and becoming household troops, and in some cases g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
