Disappearance

On the eve of the US invasion of Baghdad, as the world waits for war, a miles-high wave of incredible power cordons a vast area from southern Canada to northern Mexico, wiping 99 percent of the US population from the face of the earth in the blink of an eye. In Seattle, at the very edge of the phenomenon, heroes must rise to meet the unimaginable challenges of food riots, mass panic, and terror. James Kipper, chief engineer of the city, and Caitlin Monroe are on the trail of a Muslim fanatic ready to take advantage of what has become known as the Disappearance. Meanwhile, General Tusk Musso and Admiral James Ritchie are trying desperately to keep the peace in a world gone mad with fear. Gritty, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, Birmingham's audacious geopolitical thriller asks what would happen to the world if America suddenly disappeared. "John Birmingham's ability to seamlessly merge the gritty realism of Tom Clancy with the raw speculation of Michael Crichton is like no other author I've ever read. Brilliant, nail-biting, thoughtful, and excruciatingly pertinent to our times, his latest novel, Without Warning, is simply a tour de force, a true classic in the making. It should be required reading for the entire world." "Delivers all the action and techno-detail that any Clancy fan could wish for." "Like any well-built tech thriller, the actions come fast and hot, ripping the reader along on the ride." "[A]n unusual and intriguing scenario…This well-thought-out alternate history will appeal to fans of hard SF and techno-thrillers." "If you really want to be terrified, consider John Birmingham's Without Warning, an alternate reality in which 99 percent of the US population is wiped out by a mysterious energy force on the eve of the country's invasion of Baghdad." "Narrator Tom Weiner impresses with a broad range of male and female characterizations that reach across several cultures-English, Spanish, Australian, and others. Overall, Weiner's delivery is strong, exacting, and accurate…This is must listening-fast paced and edgy." "A blockbuster…While Birmingham's shocking premise may unnerve some American readers, a story line replete with full-throttle action should appeal to Anglophones everywhere." "An absolutely cracking read that was set to become a classic series."

When an inexplicable wave of energy slammed into North America, millions died. In the rest of the world, wars erupted, borders vanished, and the powerful lost their grip on power. Against this backdrop, with a conflicted US president struggling to make momentous decisions in Seattle and a madman fomenting rebellion in Texas, three women are fighting their own battles-for survival, justice, and revenge. Special Agent Caitlin Monroe moves stealthily through a South American jungle-her target: a former French official now held prisoner by a ruthless despot. To free the prisoner, Caitlin will kill anyone who gets in her way. Then she will get the truth about how a master terrorist escaped a secret detention center in French Guadeloupe to strike a fatal blow in New York City. Sofia Pieraro is a teenage girl who witnessed firsthand the murder and mayhem of Texas under the rule of General Mad Jack Blackstone. Sofia might have tried to build a life with her father in the struggling remnants of Kansas City-if a vicious murder hadn't set her on another course altogether: back to Texas, even to Blackstone himself. Julianne Balwyn is a British-born aristocrat turned smuggler. Shopping in the most fashionable neighborhood of Darwin, Australia-now a fantastic neo-urban frontier-Jules has a pistol holstered in the small of her lovely back. She is playing the most dangerous game of all: waiting for the person who is hunting her to show his face-so she can kill him first. Three women in three corners of a world plunged into electrifying chaos; nation-states struggling for their survival; immigrants struggling for new lives-John Birmingham's astounding conclusion to the series begun in Without Warning and After America is an intense adventure that races from the halls of power to shattered streets to gleaming new cities as humanity struggles to grasp its better angels-and purge its worst demons. Title Info. Dedication. 1. Former Uruguayan–Argentinian Border Region, South American Federation 2. North Kansas City, Missouri 3. Dearborn House, Seattle, Washington 4. Former Uruguayan–Argentinian Border Region, South American Federation 5. Central Sydney, New South Wales 6. Dearborn House, Seattle, Washington 7. North Kansas City, Missouri 8. Former Uruguayan Region, South American Federation 9. Dearborn House, Seattle, Washington 10. North Kansas City, Missouri 11. Former Uruguayan Region, South American Federation 12. North Kansas City, Missour 13. Dearborn House, Seattle, Washington 14. Central Sydney, New South Wales 15. Dearborn House, Seattle, Washington 16. North Kansas City, Missouri 17. Dearborn House, Seattle, Washington 18. Kansas City, Missouri 19. Kansas City, Missouri 20. Dearborn House, Seattle, Washington 21. Emporia, Kansas 22. Darwin, Northern Territory 23. Darwin, Northern Territory 24. Vancouver, British Columbia 25. Ardmore, Oklahoma 26. North Darwin, Northern Territory 27. North Kansas City, Missouri 28. North Darwin, Northern Territory 29. North Kansas City, Missouri 30. North Darwin, Northern Territory 31. Temple, Texas Administrative Division 32. Killeen, Texas Administrative Division 33. North Darwin, Northern Territory 34. Temple, Texas Administrative Division 35. Darwin, Northern Territory 36. Temple, Texas Administrative Division 37. Dearborn House, Seattle, Washington 38. Temple, Texas Administrative Division 39. Temple, Texas Administrative Division 40. Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas Administrative Division 41. Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas Administrative Division 42. Darwin, Northern Territory 43. Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas Administrative Division 44. Darwin, Northern Territory 45. Temple, Texas Administrative Division 46. Darwin, Northern Territory 47. Temple, Texas Administrative Division 48. Dearborn House, Seattle, Washington 49. Darwin, Northern Territory 50. Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas Administrative Division 51. Seattle, Washington 52. Fort Ho