| Richard Granger is the leader of a cult that calls themselves The Hammer of Eden. They live in the Silver River Valley, in northern California. The government plans to build a dam in their area that will flood their valley. Granger, a one-time crook for the mob, now reformed hippie, cooks up a scheme to stop construction of the dam and save their commune. He will threaten the governor of California that he will cause an earthquake if the governor doesn't stop his plan to build more power plants. He steals a machine called a seismic vibrator, a device used in oil exploration, and kills the driver. He tests it out in a remote area of Owens Valley, California, not far from Yosemite National Park. He hopes this will be enough to make the governor give in, but he will not. In the meantime, Judy Maddox, from the San Francisco office of the FBI, is initially assigned the case. Her boss has a political axe to grind and at first makes her out to be foolish in front of the governor's aide. She is taken off the case. Later, when she finds a critical clue that tells her an earthquake really CAN be human caused and that they DID cause the earthquake in Owens Valley, she is vindicated. She is put in charge of the task force to hunt down Granger and his band of maniacs. They can only stay one step ahead of her for so long. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) Time/era of story: Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: Disaster, natural or nuclear Yes Kind of disaster: - earthquake Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 30 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Who's the terrorist enemy here? Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - revenge The antagonists are: - cults How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting United States Yes The US: - California City? Yes City: - dangerous Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment What kind of sex: - vague references A lot of techno jargon? Yes Kind of jargon? - physics Unusual forms of death - crushed Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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