Published: July 04, 2012
Words: 97,670 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781476129129

Short description

Houndstooth set the stage for techno-thriller novels that would follow a decade or more later. It’s the story of a special German Shepherd dog, "Major," part of an Army dog handling experiment using a micro brain implant linked to computers and satellite relays to allow a remote handler to see what the dog is seeing and send him commands. Major is sent on an emergency spy mission deep into Russia.

Extended description

The Problem: To conduct the most important espionage mission in history.
The Condition: It is not humanly possible.
The Solution: Operation Houndstooth.

At last the complex American radar and defensive missile network has been replaced, and the ring of laser-armed satellites known as “Cerberus” is complete. It is a foolproof defense system, capable of detecting and destroying all known weapons of attack. (Read more) The Problem: To conduct the most important espionage mission in history.
The Condition: It is not humanly possible.
The Solution: Operation Houndstooth.

At last the complex American radar and defensive missile network has been replaced, and the ring of laser-armed satellites known as “Cerberus” is complete. It is a foolproof defense system, capable of detecting and destroying all known weapons of attack.

And then, as the switchover is about to be completed, on the eve of a major weapons summit conference, grim news comes through the espionage pipeline: The Russians have discovered a flaw in the Cerberus system!

The information has cost our only agent-in- place his life, and has sent the Defense Department into shock. It means that this country will be defenseless, open to massive attack at the whim of an enemy. Unless the Russian secret can be discovered, the President will enter the critical summit meeting totally at the mercy of his adversaries.

Racing against the ticking hours, a crack team of scientists and technicians is rushed to a special building at the Houston space center, and an array of the most sophisticated gadgetry of the computer age is hastily assembled.

The mission is to penetrate a Russian laboratory deep in the West Siberian Lowland. The problem is that we have no agent in the area, and the Russians have thrown an impregnable security screen around the remote installation. Yet some one must get through, get the vital information, and bring it out.

With the best brains of the military and civilian space technology, with computer banks of unimaginable complexity, with a world-wide espionage network, the job is just not possible.
And thus is born the most extraordinary spy ever sent into the field, on a mission no human could complete. The agent: a very special German Shepherd dog!

The Philadelphia Inquirer praised HOUNDSTOOTH as "one of those books that takes today's technology and carries it one giant leap forward....Michael Crichton writes books like these."

Joseph Fanzone, Jr. of The Baltimore Sun said "One thing that shows through in 'Houndstooth' is the care he's taken to research his subject thoroughly and present background to his readers. The plot is tightly constructed; it is reminiscent of an early 'Mission Impossible' script for its twists and turns and clever solutions. And there are characters who tense up and sound off and threaten the mission in credible ways."
(Less)

Tags

suspense, espionage, novel, technothriller

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Videos

HOUNDSTOOTH Book Trailer
This is the book trailer I created for my novel, "Houndstooth," and posted on YouTube.

Reviews

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Review by: Horace G. Feliu on Oct. 09, 2012 : (no rating)
I have read every book by Ian Flemming, Le Carre and other spy thriller authors and none come close to the creativity, plot and characters as Houndstooth. Ruse's insights into his main character and hero, Major, is worded in such a way that remarkably enough the reader is not only educated on the capabilities of a dog but visualizes his every move as he struggles to complete his mission. As with James Bond....Looking forward to a sequel!
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Review by: tony cole on Sep. 04, 2012 :
I have just finished reading Houndstooth by Gary Ruse, an author whose later works I have read with interest, which mostly deal with Australian themes, but this one is a very different kettle of fish.
It is in the genre called Techno-Thriller which is a sort of mix of Sci-Fi and thriller which I had not really come across before, but having read this ebook, I shall certainly look for more examples of this genre.
So not only was Gary Ruse ahead of his time with this novel, which he wrote in 1975 and originally published as a paper book (obviously) and has now brought out as an ebook, but has shown what a skilled writer he is in his mastery of several very different writing genres.
It all revolves around a dog.....
The sort of hero of this book is the dog, Major, who is sent off on a very dangerous and extremely important mission to spy on a Russian plan to upset the balance of power between Russia and the USA, and the various adventures that befall the pooch in the course of his mission. Obviously there is a full cast of both Americans and Russians who are equally engaging as characters. One of the key aspects of Gary's writing is that no one, from the dog to the nastiest Russian is a stereotype, they all have many layers to their personalities, and thus hold our interest and sympathy throughout the book.
Carefully researched.
Also, and this is important with this sort of story, he has done his research carefully, so the main idea is firmly based on actual research, and is not totally fanciful. Scary idea I find, having the possibility of seeing what a dog or some other creature is seeing whilst sitting at a video screen in another country.
Happily though, all his research has not resulted in a book that feels more like a sort of thesis than a thriller as is so often the case with heavily researched books (Forsyth springs to mind here for that failing). Gary uses the research with a light hand, so it all seems perfectly reasonable, and one never gets the feeling one is reading a slightly fanciful article in The Scientific American.
All in all, a very satisfying and gripping thriller to pass a pleasant evening's reading, and one that I enjoyed enormously and can recommend to anyone who likes thrillers. As they say, I had difficulty putting it down once I had started to read it.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: tony cole on Sep. 04, 2012 : (no rating)
I have just finished reading Houndstooth by Gary Ruse, an author whose later works I have read with interest, which mostly deal with Australian themes, but this one is a very different kettle of fish.
It is in the genre called Techno-Thriller which is a sort of mix of Sci-Fi and thriller which I had not really come across before, but having read this ebook, I shall certainly look for more examples of this genre.
So not only was Gary Ruse ahead of his time with this novel, which he wrote in 1975 and originally published as a paper book (obviously) and has now brought out as an ebook, but has shown what a skilled writer he is in his mastery of several very different writing genres.
It all revolves around a dog.....
The sort of hero of this book is the dog, Major, who is sent off on a very dangerous and extremely important mission to spy on a Russian plan to upset the balance of power between Russia and the USA, and the various adventures that befall the pooch in the course of his mission. Obviously there is a full cast of both Americans and Russians who are equally engaging as characters. One of the key aspects of Gary's writing is that no one, from the dog to the nastiest Russian is a stereotype, they all have many layers to their personalities, and thus hold our interest and sympathy throughout the book.
Carefully researched.
Also, and this is important with this sort of story, he has done his research carefully, so the main idea is firmly based on actual research, and is not totally fanciful. Scary idea I find, having the possibility of seeing what a dog or some other creature is seeing whilst sitting at a video screen in another country.
Happily though, all his research has not resulted in a book that feels more like a sort of thesis than a thriller as is so often the case with heavily researched books (Forsyth springs to mind here for that failing). Gary uses the research with a light hand, so it all seems perfectly reasonable, and one never gets the feeling one is reading a slightly fanciful article in The Scientific American.
All in all, a very satisfying and gripping thriller to pass a pleasant evening's reading, and one that I enjoyed enormously and can recommend to anyone who likes thrillers. As they say, I had difficulty putting it down once I had started to read it.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

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