In the Twinkling of an Eye: A Novel of Biological Terror and Espionage

By James Lawler

"In the Twinkling of an Eye" is a story about espionage, family love, and loyalty, focused on a Russian-North Korean conspiracy to develop a devastating biological weapon for assassination, terror and genocide, as written by a senior CIA operations officer whose career was devoted to battling the spread of weapons of mass destruction. This is the second book in the thrilling Guild Series!

In 1986, a Ukrainian teenager loses his father and his own left eye to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, but he escapes and becomes a top-notch genetics engineer at Moscow State University. There, he is seduced into joining a well-funded new genetics institute where he hopes to develop a genetic solution (better than CRISPR) to cure his twelve-year old daughter's leukemia that is a result of her damaged genes that she inherited from his radiation exposure. But soon he learns that the Institute is actually a coverup run by the Russian intelligence service and is secretly developing advanced genetic bioweapons with the North Koreans for assassination, terror, and genocide. The Ukrainian scientist feels he must remain at the institute, however, in order to find a cure for his dying daughter.

Parallel to this story, a young North Korean girl escapes to South Korea via a North Korean attack tunnel beneath the DMZ. Her father, the North Korean military mining engineer who designed the tunnel, dies during the attempt, and she loses her younger brother with whom she was escaping. She is adopted by a Korean-American US military officer and grows up to be an FBI special agent devoted to battling WMD, who secretly recruits the Ukrainian scientist.

In the course of their work, the FBI agent equips the Ukrainian scientist with a new glass eye with microelectronics on the nano scale that enables him to record covertly everything he sees and hears and transmit his intelligence to her daily through one of his daughter's dolls that has advanced artificial intelligence. It is perfect revenge for a character, who has lost his eye as a teenager, is scarred for life and has lost his beloved father due to Soviet incompetence at Chernobyl. The doll is virtually sentient and is a stand-in for the female FBI agent whom she resembles. In so doing, the agent overcomes the biggest obstacles that spies traditionally face: safely communicating frequently with their case officer for operational guidance and psychological reinforcement and transmitting critical information in a timely fashion.

Together, the scientist and the FBI agent must prevent Russia and North Korea from using the bioweapons for assassination and mass murder of regime opponents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667809496

James Lawler

I was born on an old farm in 1934, you could see daylight coming through the crack in the walls until papa could afford plaster to fill them in. Mama would bath us kids once a week in a big round wash tub.. There were ten of us kids, three girls and seven boys. All my brothers are gone and I’m still here with my three sisters. We had no indoor plumbing or electricity; we got our water from a hole in the ground and the toilet was out back in a little wooden shack. We read by candle light and in the evenings we sat around telling stories; we were always in bed by nine. Papa had a hard life trying to feed all of us but I don’t recall ever going hungry. He stood in the bread line for hours many a times and he worked for the WPA, a welfare program earning a dollar a day. He was also a share cropper, off and on through-out the years. We went through many hard times and looking back, oddly enough, I miss those hard times; we all pulled together as a family I’m eighty two years old now and I love to tell stories; it keeps my mind occupied My darling wife was aflicted with Alzheimers bless her heart and there’s nothing I can do for her, I feel so helpless. I wrote a novel a couple of years back; I also published a book of poetry and one of short stories. I’m worhing on three other books; I just hope I have enough time left to finish them.

Book preview

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What the experts are saying about In the Twinkling of an Eye:

Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, former Director of CIA’s WMD Department in the Counterterrorist Center, former Director of Intelligence and Counterintelligence at U.S. Department of Energy, author of A State of Mind.

"In his debut spy thriller, Living Lies, CIA’s WMD savant Mad Dog Lawler imagines a world in which the clock ticks slowly, mere minutes from the midnight of nuclear madness. Now imagine something even more frightening. Delve into In the Twinkling of an Eye, and the author takes us on a romp into a world inhabited by an even greater evil - biological weapons. A memorable collection of flawed characters takes the reader on a heart-pounding race against time to narrowly avert a genocide. (Spoiler alert - or, do they?) Humankind’s ability to avert biological disaster in the real world is as uncertain as it is in the disturbing portrait of ourselves that the author has painted."

Dr. David Relman, Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor Departments of Medicine, and of Microbiology & Immunology Stanford University, former President of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

"Before reading In the Twinkling of an Eye, I knew of Jim Lawler’s prodigious skills as a legendary intelligence officer, an astute student of psychopathology, a passionate defender of the principles to which we all might aspire, and a talented storyteller (witness, Living Lies). Now, I find all of this to be true and then more. In the Twinkling of an Eye is both thrilling and disturbing. Lawler teaches us that only when we understand the flaws and cracks that lurk within each human, will we have a chance of improving our collective destiny." 

Gary Schroen, retired Senior CIA Officer, who led CIA forces into Afghanistan after 9/11 and author of First In.

"Mr. Lawler’s first book in this series, Living Lies, was a pure pleasure to read. This second entry in the series is all that first book was and more. The scenes here crackle, the characters are well drawn, and the action crisp and exciting. In the Twinkling of an Eye is hard to put down, the research detailed, and the scenes grab you and pull you in. It is not easy to come up with unique plots, authentic locales, and spot on tradecraft, but Mr. Lawler makes it appear easy. He is a new, strong, welcome voice in the genre."

Dr. Robert Kadlec, former Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response, Department of Health and Human Services, and former Special Assistant for Biodefense Policy to President George W. Bush.

"Jim ‘Mad Dog’ Lawler has written a gem with his latest book, In the Twinkling of an Eye. He fuses the world of intelligence and science to create a riveting and realistic page turner. Jim underscores the importance of ethical scientists and competent intelligence and law enforcement professionals to ensure that the benefits of advanced bioscience are realized and not diverted for malevolent purposes."

Bill Harlow, former chief spokesman for the Central Intelligence Agency and bestselling author.

"James Lawler has drawn upon his decades of experience in the CIA’s Clandestine Service, razor sharp eye for detail, and impressive skill as a storyteller once again. In the Twinkling of an Eye combines high-tech, high stakes and high drama in a gripping tale."

Doug Frantz, author of The Nuclear Jihadist and Fallout, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.

With the skills of a master spy and a compelling writer, James Lawler has created a high-octane blend of old-fashion espionage and ultramodern artificial intelligence that both entertains readers and warns all of us of new technologies in the hands of longtime adversaries.

Dr. Norman Kahn, Director of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s Counter-Biological Weapons (c-BW) Program from 2001-2013.

Jim Lawler has crafted an engrossing page-turner, with an important message on the threat posed by biological weapons. To quote one of the main characters: A terrorist group or fascist state may be only one good scientist away from us having a very bad day. Vigilance is the key. Scientists everywhere must remain alert to the dangers that lie ahead and be prepared to stop the insanity. To this I would add that not only scientists, but any individual has the responsibility to alert authorities to concerning behaviors or actions of bioscientists, who attempt to apply their skills to the dark side.

Dr. Roger Brent, Molecular biologist, co-author of Short Protocols in Molecular Biology.

A terrific romp. In broad strokes and bright colors, Lawler tells a tale that combines Chernobyl, spycraft, quantum communication, augmented reality, and contemporary synthetic genomic technologies. If John Lilly, of 1960s Southern California, EEG readings, immersion tanks, dolphin communications, and LSD in dartguns had been an operational intelligence officer living in the 2020s, he might -- [barely] have written this book.

Anna B. Puglisi, Senior Fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, former National Counterintelligence Officer for East Asia and co-author of Chinese Industrial Espionage.

"Mr. Lawler‘s second novel is a welcome addition to espionage novels. In the Twinkling of an Eye is riveting start to finish, layering a clear understanding of human nature, the tradecraft and the existential threat new genomic technologies may present in the wrong hands. The characters present the U.S. at its best and demonstrate the teamwork and diversity necessary to confront those who seek to undermine global norms."

Dr. David Charney, noted forensic psychiatrist and consultant to the U.S. Intelligence Community on motivations for espionage.

"In the Twinkling of an Eye, James Lawler’s second techno-military-espionage thriller that follows Living Lies, extends his winning streak. Drawing on his science-heavy intelligence career, Lawler has created a complex plot line that incorporates two cutting-edge technologies of the moment, artificial intelligence and advanced genetics CRISPR biology. He imagines what could happen right around the corner when these technologies get combined to hatch horrific possibilities that may rival nuclear war. All-too-believable prospects for collusion between Russia and North Korea, each with their own malign ambitions, put the world at risk for unimaginable disaster. An array of fascinating characters, a tortured Russian genetics scientist, a Korean FBI Special Agent, a brilliant CIA counterintelligence officer and many others, enliven the propulsive plot, forcing the reader to keep turning the pages to see what happens next. As the novel reaches its crescendo, Lawler’s enjoyable entertainment factors compete with the reader’s lingering edgy worry that his imagined futures are all too possible in reality. I can’t wait for the third novel of Lawler’s spellbinding trilogy!"

Dr. Erik Prentice, former Deputy Senior Bio Advisor in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

"A masterfully crafted story from a true expert in intelligence. In the Twinkling of an Eye is a riveting tale that entertains but also warns about the possible dark side of the capabilities which humanity is developing." 

By James C. Lawler

Living Lies

In the Twinkling of an Eye

Listen! A mystery! We will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye... For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Copyright © 2021 by James C. Lawler

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author, addressed Attention: Permissions at [e-mail]

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental, with the exception of certain specific individuals mentioned in the acknowledgements.

The Guild Library

McLean, VA 22101

Ordering Information:

For details, contact [e-mail]

Print ISBN: 978-1-66780-948-9

eBook ISBN: 978-1-66780-949-6

Printed in the United States of America on SFI Certified paper.

First Edition

This novel is dedicated to Elizabeth, Austin and Sarah.

My love will never fade away.

DISCLAIMER

This does not constitute an official release of CIA information. All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the CIA or any other U.S. government agency. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. government authentication of information or CIA endorsement of the author’s views. This material has been reviewed solely for classification.

Contents

PART 1

Bound for Hell

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Part 2

The Father of Lies

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Part 3

Genetic Roulette

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Part 4

The Woman in White

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Part 5

We Have Met the Enemy

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Part 6

Contact

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Part 7

The Eye of the Beholder

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Part 8

Death Walked In

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Part 9

Tau

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PART 1

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BOUND FOR HELL

"Hell, my ardent sisters, be assured,

Is where we’re bound; we’ll drink the pitch of hell—

We, who have sung the praises of the Lord

With every fiber in us, every cell."

From Bound for Hell, by Marina Tsvetaeva

"Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice."

Fire and Ice, by Robert Frost

Chapter 1

Pripyat River, Northern Ukraine, April 26, 1986

The screaming of the klaxons rent the cold night air over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

The boy shivered in his sleep.

On the treed bank of the Pripyat river, the boy and his dog were curled up together next to the remains of their campfire. The dog was chasing rabbits in his sleep while the sleeping blond boy was having a romantic dream about a beautiful classmate. The dog’s legs twitched, and the boy’s arms hugged himself, each enjoying their respective nirvana.

In school, Yulia acted as if he didn’t exist, but not so in this dream. They were in the cloakroom at a school dance, far away from the others, and she wore a form-fitting black gown that accentuated her long dark hair and slender body. She leaned her head forward, so close he could feel her warm breath. Her eyelashes brushed him like butterfly wings, and her lips touched his own, her tongue circling his lips, his cheeks, his chin. It felt so good…but her breath seemed to have a strange odor…

A sharp noise broke the illusion. Yulia disappeared.

The shrill sound woke Andrei abruptly, Yulia replaced by the icy blue eyes of Kosmos, his Siberian Husky, centimeters from his face.

The dog stared back at him and chuffed, his stinking breath steaming in the silvery moonlight. The husky licked his face again, glad to see Andrei awake. Kosmos’s furry ruff stood on end as he puzzled over the klaxons’ sound coming from the direction of the nuclear power plant only five kilometers away. He gave a low growl, followed by a whimper.

Andrei petted his head, scratched him behind his pointed ears, and reassured him. It’s okay boy. You’re okay.

The husky wasn’t Yulia, not by a long shot, but he was Andrei’s best friend.

The dog quieted, tail wagging wildly. He licked his master’s face again.

It had been Andrei’s fifteenth birthday the day before, and Pa had granted him the rare privilege of camping out in his new sleeping bag even though it was a school night. The only condition was that he came home in time for school. Andrei had bridled at the restriction, hoping to do some birthday fishing in the morning, but Pa had insisted and even made him promise not to oversleep.

Not a problem now, thought Andrei. Not with these banshee sirens awakening him from his extraordinary dream.

Fully alert now, he thought he might as well head home, a thirty-minute walk away. He bent and retrieved his rifle, the one that his granddad had used as a partisan in the Great Patriotic War, and slung it over his shoulder as he rolled up his new sleeping bag and grabbed his fishing rod. In the bright moonlight, he noticed a coating of ash on his bedding and personal items and wondered where the fire was. A breeze stirred the ash, which was so fine that it irritated his eyes. He rubbed at it.

A fire would mean a busy night for Pa, who was working the nightshift that evening at the Pripyat Fire Department. A twenty-year veteran, his father had recently achieved the senior rank of captain. The only reason he was working the nightshift was that one of his squad commanders had asked for time off to visit his ailing mother. Pa, who was a kindhearted man, had offered to take his place rather than ruin another firefighter’s Sunday evening.

At last night’s birthday dinner, Pa had mentioned that their next-door neighbor, a young nuclear technician, had told him they’d be conducting some kind of test that evening at the power plant. Could that explain the noise? What kind of test required sirens wailing at this hour and waking people far and wide? That seemed too realistic to be just a test. Odd.

He and Kosmos started trudging home and were only a few hundred meters down the road when he spotted flashing red lights and heard fire trucks approaching him on the main road connecting Pripyat and the Chernobyl power plant. He waved at the lead truck, a pumper in which his Pa usually rode. As the pumper passed, Andrei caught a glance of his father in his distinctive helmet, waving back.

His heart swelled with pride to see his father in command of this company, the 6th Paramilitary Fire/Rescue Unit. Maybe someday he could be part of Pa’s company of brave men.

Wouldn’t that be fine?

The pumper roared past as Andrei and Kosmos stood on the side of the road. Andrei waved again as they disappeared around a bend. And for some reason he kept waving, not realizing that his father had driven out of his life forever.

Chapter 2

Chernobyl Power Plant, Reactor 4, About thirty minutes earlier

Holy fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! screamed the young technician as he looked bug-eyed at the dials in front of him and shrill alarms began to sound. He and his comrades on the night shift had inherited a shit storm.

Things had rapidly gone from bad to worse to doomed. What led to this massive clusterfuck had ironically been an attempt to test the safety features of the RBMK light water graphite-moderated nuclear reactor.

The evening shift had just left around midnight as the night shift took over to run the long-delayed power-failure stress test. And the stress was not just mechanically induced but also human. The pressure was on from the plant managers for the operators to successfully complete the safety test – a safety test that had failed miserably on three earlier occasions over the past four years.

Perhaps they should have expected that this test would be far from routine, thought the technician.

He reserved special loathing for their inept senior plant manager Pavel Orlov, who was constantly kissing asses and toadying to the authorities in Kiev and Moscow. Word was that Orlov wanted this safety test to succeed in quick order so he could score points with senior Soviet nuclear officials and move his own career up the ladder. This, in spite of the fact that Orlov knew nothing about the technical challenges involved.

Worthless apparatchik.

The test had been designed to recreate the circumstances of an emergency shutdown. For this reason, Comrade Orlov had mandated that all experienced hands be present for the simulation.

Somehow, though, the test scenario had become reality as the simulated emergency developed into not only a real emergency but a complete nightmare.

The test had been challenging from the start. All of the operators knew that a safety design flaw in these nuclear reactors meant that they’d have a one-minute gap between the time the power was interrupted and the three backup diesel generators managed to bridge the gap with the 5.5 megawatts of electrical power required to run the main pump for the coolant water that kept the reactor safe from a meltdown.

Orlov and his senior staff hoped – hope being the operative word – that rotational energy from the plant’s steam turbine could be used to bridge that 60-second gap.

Hence, the test and the sealing of their fate.

Amazingly, in spite of the three previous failures of this important safety test, no safety issues were expected according to Comrade I’m in charge! Orlov, and neither the reactor designer nor the scientific manager was consulted. Orlov and his craven deputy plant managers pressed forward. Power levels were far too low as the test began, so Orlov ordered that control rods be withdrawn in order to increase power while automatic safety systems were shut down and alarms ignored.

The technician shook his head in disbelief. This was hardly standard protocol, but the test must proceed was the order of the day. Orlov and his lickspittles were firmly in charge and, to add to the tension, were standing directly behind him.

The technician looked at the others, then said, Pardon me, sir, but the safety systems should not be overridden. We’re on really dangerous ground here. These systems shouldn’t be pushed past their…

No one should worry, barked Orlov. Just do your jobs. We’re going to finish this test per Moscow’s orders. So, sit back and do your jobs. Follow my lead.

Uh huh, follow his lead. Where? The technician and his team were increasingly nervous.

Things had begun to go wrong almost immediately.

Initially, steam bubbles in the core inhibited the ability of the liquid water to absorb neutrons, thus increasing power output further. The automatic control system kicked in and compensated for this by inserting control rods into the reactor, but things were happening far too quickly for the human operators.

The technician, watching the gauges go crazy and lights blinking everywhere, started to say something more, but Orlov’s withering glare killed the words in his throat. What should I do? he thought, pulse racing. If he said anything more it could be his job, but things were headed south in a hurry.

To his everlasting shame, he bit his tongue.

It’s debatable whether operator error or technical design errors ultimately produced the impending catastrophe or merely worsened it, but in combination they were a remarkable formula for disaster.

The technician saw the large power spike and the rapidly rising temperature. So did Comrade Orlov, who stood over his shoulder like a vulture looming over roadkill.

The technician’s lips trembled. Sir…sir...?

Orlov blinked at the dials, not quite comprehending what was happening.

It finally sank in that Orlov was witnessing doom itself, and his eyes nearly popped out. After another moment’s hesitation, Orlov’s fat, sweaty fist hit the EPS-5 button in front of the technician, which triggered an emergency shutdown or SCRAM of the reactor.

In a trembling voice but still trying to reassert his authority, Orlov said, Th…this should take care of the problem.

Instead, this may have sealed their doom. As always, irony was a central feature of Soviet life.

After the button was pressed, the control rods began their descent into the reactor core to decrease power output, but they moved slowly. Worse, there was also a design flaw in the control rods because the lower portion of the rod did not consist of neutron-absorbing material but instead displaced coolant water, increasing power further in the reactor instead of the opposite.

This was akin to spraying gasoline from a fire extinguisher onto a raging fire.

Sitting in front of the control panel, the sweating technician had to exert extreme sphincter control as he watched the dials spinning out of control. That idiot Orlov had first overridden the safety controls to increase power and then SCRAM’ed the reactor to put it in shutdown mode and…and for what?

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

He began to think of the bootleg copy of the American movie The China Syndrome, which he’d seen only a few years earlier. Another case of a SCRAM’ed reactor and severe coolant problems.

The power output dial indicated they had now jumped past 30,000 megawatts, ten times the reactor’s normal level, and still climbing rapidly towards 33,000. He knew instinctively that this was not going to end well, and yet he was helpless to stop it.

What happened next was referred to as a power excursion, as if the power, having tired of its humdrum purpose of turning water into steam and propelling turbines to generate electricity, had decided to take an outing to see the sights, maybe a luxury cruise or take in a show or two.

As if…

Instead, all hell broke loose.

A loud explosion shook the building, followed a few seconds later by an even louder one. Years later, scientists would debate the exact sequence of events and what transpired. Some would theorize that the initial explosion was in fact a nuclear explosion that was followed by a steam explosion.

What was not in dispute was that human folly was abundant.

Regardless of the exact sequence, the core overheated and then exploded, fracturing some of the fuel rods, which in turn limited the insertion of the control rods to only one-third of their length, far from sufficient to stop the reaction.

As bad as that was, things can always get worse, and they did in short order.

The reactor now underwent runaway criticality, which caused a graphite fire and the remaining coolant water to flash into explosive steam. This sudden outpouring of energy, equivalent to ten tons of TNT, utterly destroyed the reactor casing and revealed yet another fatal design flaw: there was no hardened containment vessel to encase the reactor and its deadly radiation should there be a major problem.

And there definitely was a major problem.

The blast blew the 2000-ton upper plate of the reactor through the roof of the building as if the gates of hell had burst open.

Then, the real horror began.

With no hardened containment vessel around the reactor, the enormous blast ejected vast amounts of highly radioactive material, smoke and steam sky-high, starting fires on the roof of reactor number 3 next door. A roof that had been constructed of flammable material – another design flaw, as if they needed more.

The technician looked about and saw that Orlov and his coterie had already departed posthaste. He left the control room at a sprint, passing the bodies of two of his team killed in the explosion by collapsing walls. He saw only their feet protruding from the rubble and for an absurd moment thought of the Wicked Witch of the East being crushed under Dorothy’s falling house in The Wizard of Oz. He imagined seeing their feet curling up and out of sight from the intense heat and radiation. He felt sick and wanted to vomit.

He ran for the reactor building, or what was left of it, to see if the rest of the night crew had gotten out. The technician saw only devastation and fires everywhere. He suddenly stopped and stared, dumbfounded. Beaming skyward out of the destroyed top of the reactor building, as if Hades were assaulting heaven from below, was an intense bluish light caused by ionizing radiation.

The technician looked at his watch in the glow of the unearthly light and saw it was almost 1:40 AM. The sound of approaching fire truck sirens, sounded in the distance.

Thank God. He hurried toward the gate to meet them.

As he neared it, a car passed him from behind at a high rate of speed. A glance into the darkened windows did not reveal who was exiting the plant, but the distinctive black ZiL limousine could only be carrying a certain fat rat deserting the sinking ship.

Orlov’s test goes tits-up and guess who bails out first?

The technician raised both hands in one-finger salutes as the ZiL disappeared in the direction of the front gate. He continued to run toward the approaching fire trucks, now coughing from the choking smoke and ash.

Christ only knows how radioactive this shit is.

At least someone had called in the alarm, and the firefighters had come running to the rescue, but this was no ordinary fire.

Fortunately for residents of Pripyat and Chernobyl and the entire Central Eurasian landmass, these firemen were not ordinary men.

Chapter 3

Chernobyl Power Plant, 1:40 AM, April 26, 1986

Hell may be a state of mind, but sometimes it has a physical manifestation.

Such

Reviews for In the Twinkling of an Eye

[Chris Smith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well-written, fast-paced, and terrifyingly plausible. This is a great and fun read.