The Hades Factor by Robert Ludlum
Introduction
I was travelling on a week’s duty to Kamptee (Maharashtra) a year back. It was a 36 hour journey with a change of train and an eight hour halt included at Delhi. I was a stranger to MouthShut at that time so there was no question of knowing any of the members in Delhi, whom I could pester for eight hours. Naturally the only companion for 36 long hours of journey has to be a book.
I had reached the Jalandhar station well in time so that I do not miss the train this time as I did when I was proceeding on leave to Allahabad a month earlier.
My last journey had been very eventful. I misread the departure time of the train on the ticket. I read 1900 hours as 9 PM and set out from home at 8.30 PM only to find that the train had left over an hour back.
I made a mental calculation bought another ticket and caught the next train, a super fast, for Delhi at 10 PM. This got me to Delhi Junction at 4.10 AM. Of course the journey was performed sitting on my suitcase all night near the toilet. As soon as the train reached Delhi Junction, I ran out, caught a taxi and reached New Delhi Railway Station in 35 minutes. I rushed to the platform No. 9 where my missed train to Allahabad was standing. I was in it and on my berth at 4.50 AM and it left New Delhi at 5 AM. Whew! What a hectic rush that was. I was sweating from head to toe, but I had made it. Naturally I slept all day after having sat all night. The result of this whole episode was that I got no opportunity to either buy or read a book, and a journey without a book can be awful.
This time I was fully prepared. There was still ample time for the train to come so I had sufficient time to buy a book. I went to the book stall on the platform and scanned the books available. My eyes hit upon The Hades Factor by Robert Ludlum. I had read two of Robert Ludlum’s books earlier The Bourne Identity and Chancellor Manuscript and had enjoyed the experience. I immediately bought this book and was happy that the journey would now be worth the 36 hours.
A Word About Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlum, also known as Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd before he started writing as Robert Ludlum, was born on 25 May 1927. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1951. He started off as an actor and a theatrical personality. He started writing novels rather late, during his middle age.
He has written 21 novels which are sold in 42 countries and have been translated into 32 languages. His many books have thrilled millions of readers, reaching the top of bestselling lists the world over, and setting a standard that has never been surpassed.
He was a stickler for detail, therefore he carried out intensive research before writing a novel. Almost all his books are based on reality and research. As a result his books are as close as possible to fact intertwined with fiction. Ludlum often took historical characters and built his novels around them. Government secrets, corruption in high places, intricately interwoven tales with astounding twists were all a part of his plot.
He suffered a massive heart attack and died in his home in Naples, Florida on 12 Mar 2001 at the age of 73. He had been working on three other books at the time of his death and in all probability they will be published posthumously, so we can look forward to their release.
The Hades Factor
When three people of different backgrounds in three geographically removed places succumb to a virus almost simultaneously within an hour of being infected and die a violent death, it is a cause for concern.
When the doctor investigating the virus in the U.S. Army’s Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID), Dr. Sophia Russell too falls a victim to the killer virus and her fiancée Lt Col Jon Smith also a researcher in the institute survives attempts on his life, it can not be coincidence. Lt Col Jon Smith gives the official channels a go by and assembles a private team to investigate and avenge the death of his fiancée.
Lt Col Jon Smith’s investigations continue, taking him to the darkest corners of the earth, while the death toll mounts. He and his team of investigators find leads to the highest levels of power, as they try to outwit the mad genius behind the misuse of the deadly virus for personal gain.
Who is the mad genius? What motivates him to cause such wide spread terror? Can he be exposed? With whose support and backing is going ahead with this mad scheme of annihilating thousands of innocent people? How does Lt Col Jon Smith over come the odds and bring him to book? To find out I am sure you would like to read the book.
My Comments on the Book
Though the book is gripping and moving right from the word go, it is not in the genre of The Bourne Identity or Matarese circle’, Chancellor Manuscript, and Icarus Agenda, none-the-less, I enjoyed reading it. There is a bit of exaggeration in that Lt Col Jon Smith is shown as a sub human, surviving many attempts on his life. This probably could have been handled with a little practicality, but then the main protagonist has to survive. If he had succumbed to the machinations of the mad genius as a normal mortal, there was no stopping the mad man.
Like the five fingers in a man’s hand can not be of equal length and strength, one can not expect each work of a writer to be of the same calibre and level. The Hades Factor is definitely a shade below expectations, but thenit can not be written off as scrap either. It has its attention grabbing power as one reviewer in Washington Post said ’’It’s a lousy book. So I stayed up until 3am to finish it.’’ If it indeed had been so lousy, he would not have lost sleep over it.