A Will Parker Thriller, Book 1
Anderson Harp’s novel “Northern Thunder” was first published in 2017 concerning a covert mission into North Korea. It is just as exciting today as when written but the salient facts about that rogue nation have changed somewhat since that time.
Will Parker, a protagonist in several of Harp’s books, is enjoying life as a civilian in his home town when he is called upon by the U.S. government to reenter service in order to handle a very important mission. He will be tasked with infiltrating North Korea in order to snap a picture of Peter Nampo, a top scientist who is developing technology for that country. His technology would be used to destroy enemy satellites, most obviously those placed into orbit by the United States.
Will is given the impression that all he has to do is take the picture in order for other people to hunt down and kill Nampo. Although not so readily he accepts the mission with the provisos that he can use his own team to assist him and set the training sequences necessary to handle the job and the frigid weather that he will face in North Korea.
The novel is replete with action from one end to the other. Will finds that not only is he faced with the almost impossible task of sneaking into North Korea and finding Nampo, but the high probability that he must contend with problems presented by members of his own government. An all-night draw, of course, but in spite of some facts being dated, the book is still one to draw in readers to the novels of Harp anxiously awaiting future stories from this author.
NOTE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Anderson Harp’s novel ‘Northern Thunder’ banned in China: Storyline involves an American spy on a dangerous mission to North Korea
Author Anderson Harp was excited when he learned that his book Northern Thunder would be available in China, until his publisher told him that the book was rejected by China’s state-run General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP).
“Some content about political relations regarding China and Russia, North Korea, South Korea and the United States in this book are negative, so we’re not allowed to print this book in mainland China,”read a statement from the printer on why the book was banned. GAPP has the legal authority to screen, censor, and ban any publication in China.
“Censorship is still very active in China,” said Harp, a retired Marine. “To this day, they still have public book burnings.”
The events portrayed in Northern Thunder begin in 2010 and cover the rise of the Kim Jong-un regime. The plot follows Marine veteran William Parker on a mission to stop a psychotic scientist in North Korea who is developing a nuclear bomb. The prescient storyline is more relevant and believable today with escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea in the current news.
“Clearly, the story hit a nerve,” said Harp. “For the Communist Party of China to ban Northern Thunder, their GAPP didn’t like what it saw in the book of North Korea’s efforts to put a lightweight thermonuclear weapon on an intercontinental missile aimed at the West Coast.”
Harp is the author of three military thriller/spy novels, all featuring protagonist Parker, a Marine who gets tapped for dangerous missions around the world. Harp’s other books in the Parker series are Retribution (2014, Kensington) and Born of War (2015, Kensington).
With 30 years of military service, Harp served in the Persian Gulf, Central America, Europe, Korea, and the Pentagon. He was also mobilized for Operating Enduring Freedom, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, where he was Officer in Charge of the Marines’ Crisis Action Team for Marine Forces Central Command and Marine Forces Pacific. He also served in operation centers that overlooked Korea.
11/19 Paul Lane
NORTHERN THUNDER by Anderson Harp. Lyrical Underground (November 26, 2019). ISBN 978-1516109791. 254p.