About this item
View our feature on John Barnes's Directive 51. The first book in a new post-apocalyptic trilogy from "a master of the genre" Heather O'Grainne is the Assistant Secretary in the Office of Future Threat Assessment, investigating rumors surrounding something called "Daybreak." The group is diverse and radical, and its members have only one thing in common-their hatred for the "Big System" and their desire to take it down. Now, seemingly random events simultaneously occurring around the world are in fact connected as part of Daybreak's plan to destroy modern civilization-a plan that will eliminate America's top government personnel, leaving the nation no choice but to implement its emergency contingency program...Directive 51.
About the Author
My thirty-first commercially published novel came out in September 2013. I've published about 5 million words that I got paid for. So I'm an abundantly published very obscure writer.For readers who are wondering where to start with my work, the most common suggestions are Orbital Resonance, A Million Open Doors, Mother of Storms, Encounter with Tiber, or Tales of the Madman Underground. However, almost no one likes all five of those books--I write a wider range than most people read--so you might want to flip a few pages before buying. My most popular have been Directive 51, Mother of Storms, and the two collaborations with Buzz Aldrin. My 3 most popular series begin with A Million Open Doors, Directive 51, and Patton's Spaceship. Nearest my heart are probably One for the Morning Glory, Tales of the Madman Underground, and The Sky So Big and Black. And the most fun was had in writing Gaudeamus, Payback City, and Raise The Gipper! I used to teach in the Communication and Theatre program at Western State College. I got my PhD at Pitt in the early 90s, masters degrees at U of Montana in the mid 80s, bachelors at Washington University in the 70s; worked for Middle South Services in New Orleans in the early 80s. For a few years I did paid blogging mostly about the math of marketing analysis at TheCMOSite and All Analytics. More recently, I covered advanced technology, especially space, stories in the Government section of Information Week. If any of that is familiar to you, then yes, I am THAT John Barnes. I have also become aware of at least 72 Johns Barneses I am not. Among the more interesting ones I am not:1. the Jamaican-born British footballer who scored that dramatic goal against Brazil2. the occasional Marvel bit role who is the grandson of Captain America's sidekick3. the Vietnam-era Medal of Honor winner4&5. the lead singer for the Platters (and neither he nor I is the lead singer for the Nightcrawlers) 6.the Australian rules footballer7. the former Red Sox pitcher8. the Tory MP9. the expert on Ada programming10&11. the Cleveland-area member of the Ohio House of Representatives (though we're almost the same age and both grew up in northern Ohio) who is also not the former member of the Indiana House that ran for state senate in 2012 (one of them is a Democrat, one a Republican, and I'm a Socialist) 12. the former president of Boise State University13. the film score composer14. the longtime editor of The LaTrobe Journal15. the biographer of Eva Peron16. the manager of Panther Racing (though he and I share a tendency to come in second) 17. the British diplomat (who is not the Tory MP above) 18. the conservative Catholic cultural commentator (now there's an alliterative job) 19. the authority on Dante 20. the mycologist21. the author of Marketing Judo (though I have an acute interest in both subjects) 22. the travel writer23. the author of Titmice of the British Isles (originally published as Greater and Less
