Former President Bill Clinton and James Patterson collaborated on The President is Missing, a suspenseful novel about a threatened attack on the cyberspace infrastructure of the United States.
President Duncan is approached with the threat that America will soon be brought to its knees. A massive plot is in motion to disable the entire country by systematically deleting all electronic files, sending the United States into the “Dark Ages,” the name used for the crippling possibility of the attack.
Sure enough, a virus is discovered that threatens to delete all electronic files in record time. The President is taken to a predesignated safe place, but even there attack is imminent. It becomes obvious that among the President’s inner-circle of seven trusted people, one is a traitor. But who? Who can he confide in at the nations crucial hour? The saying, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” seems apropos.
Almost every facet of our lives now depends on computer technology. Such a massive shut-down would throw the military back to the 19th Century, while Russia, China, and North Korea remained in the 21st Century.
President Duncan enlists the help of some of the best brains in the country to find the code word to stop the virus. Unless they can find it, the country will plunge into the Dark Ages, making the 1930s Depression pale by comparison.
The President is Missing is a large volume (528 pages), but I found myself riveted from beginning to end. The novel is a fascinating read, and scary. The threat is believable, the writing impeccable, and the resolution plausible. Highly recommended.