Fotograaf Mike Burke heeft ongevaar alle oorlogen en onheilsplaatsen op aarde gezien, maar als hij een helicoptercrash op het nippertje overleeft, besluit hij het rustiger aan te doen. Hij heeft geen honger meer naar gevaar, maar het gevaar is nog niet klaar met hem...

Aan de andere kant van de oceaan verlaat Jack Wilson de gevangenis. Ook hij verlangt naar een nieuwe start, alleen is Jacks droom een nachtmerrie voor de rest van de wereld. Gedreven door zijn obsessie voor een indiaanse ziener en geleid door de geschriften van wetenschapper Nikola Tesla droomt Wilson van een apocalyps: de vernietiging van de westerse beschaving. En hij doet er alles aan om deze droom te doen uitkomen.

Een verschrikkelijke wereldwijde kettingreactie wordt in gang gezet, maar er staat nog één ding tussen Jack Wilson en de dag van afrekening: Mike Burke. Zonder dat hij iets te verliezen heeft en zonder goed te beseffen wie of wat hij tegenover zich heeft, spoort Burke Wilson op, en zet hij voor de laatste keer alles op het spel. Het wordt een gevecht tegen een meedogenloze vijand die geen angst kent - en geen genade toont...

Technological terrorist using former scientist Tesl experiments to 'de-tech' the world. ( )

John Case (Genesis Code, First Horseman) is a master of the thriller and Ghost Dancer does not disappoint. Jack Wilson is an alienated and angry man, a follower of Ayn Rand with a deep interest in the work of Nikola Tesla - and he's the Ghost Dancer (the name Jack Wilson has historical significance for Native Americans as the originator of the ghost dance). The book is worth reading just for the exploration of Tesla's history and ideas. One of the scientific geniuses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Tesla invented the radio and AC electricity. Why did the FBI seize his lab records upon his death? Did his `teleforce' device accidentally cause the 1908 Tunguska incident?

Could evil genius Jack Wilson refine Tesla's designs? And why would he want to? Well, he does hate the US government and that long stretch he did in the Supermax may just have sent him around the bend.

Wilson needs money to complete his plot and does business with Arab terrorists, Russian mobsters, and African strongmen to get the cash. But he makes some enemies and picks up a loving Ukrainian bride along the way.

Can former photojournalist and bereaved husband Mike Burke stop him? First he has to overcome the indifference and bullying arrogance of an FBI agent before time runs out. He's gonna need some help.

Highly recommended for fans of thrillers everywhere. Sweet twist at the end. Fans of John Case will not be disappointed. ( )

Good but not great. It seemed a little bit all over the place and the ending was a bit of a let-down. Genesis Code was still my favorate John Case novel by far. ( )

Who says commercial thrillers can't stimulate your brain as well as your central nervous system? Husband-wife author team "John Case" continues their entertaining string of brainy thrillers with "Ghost Dancer."

At first appearance the reader appears to be embarking on a standard international thrill ride in a post-9/11 terrorist conspiracy vehicle, seen through the eyes of hero Mike Burke and anti-hero Jack Wilson. With the recent passing of his wife, Burke is stuck in a depressing holding pattern, passing time keeping his father-in-law's business afloat. Then Wilson, recently released from prison and representing himself as a businessman named Franciso D'Anconia, walks into Burke's office, asking him to set up a corporation (with an offshore bank account) called the Twentieth-Century Motor Company and making Burke an unwitting accomplice in a complex scheme to further Wilson's terrorist intentions.

The Ayn Rand references, combined with Wilson's obsessive recreation of Nikolai Tesla's scientific discoveries, establish that ideas are going to be an unusually-important component of this thrill ride. "Ghost Dancer" follows through on this promise, exposing the fault lines in Ayn Rand's glorification of rational self-interest. It turns out that Jack Wilson, a Native American genius with all of the early promise of a Rand hero, had turned to the dark side only after having his lucrative patent confiscated under a government secrecy order, being wrongfully convicted of attempted murder, and serving a harsh maximum-security prison sentence.

Just as I became increasingly sympathetic with Wilson's plight and understanding of his motivation to "stop the motor of the world," I also became increasingly convinced that Wilson's Randian temperament created a fertile vat for his anger and resentment to ferment into an evil, psychopathic brew. The powerful altruistic impression left on Burke by his diseased wife's medical work in third-world countries and Wilson's unexpected soft spot for his Russian "mail-order" bride, serve as nice contrasts to the Rand philosophy and effectively foreshadow the story's resolution.

If the story meanders and drags somewhat during the conspiracy's financing phase, it clicks along terrifically in the second half when Burke embarks on his quest to track down Wilson in time to thwart his frightening terrorist plot, ending with a suitably harrowing climax. Overall this is a strong thriller that elevates John Case to my short list of must-read authors.

-Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker" ( )