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D.R. Bell

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The Great Game (The Counterpoint Trilogy Book 2) Kindle Edition

by D.R. Bell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 501 ratings

Book 2 of 3: The Counterpoint Trilogy

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The US is polarized between "blue" and "red" states, while inflation rages unchecked. China and Russia stage a financial attack to unseat the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Fortunes are made and lost in a matter of hours. But some have more far-ranging plans than financial gain. Computer engineer David Ferguson has no idea that a chance meeting with a friendly stranger in the airport will change everything. Suddenly, he is running for his life, without knowing why or from whom. In trying to evade his pursuers, David accidentally involves Maggie Sappin, a graduate student and a transplant from Kiev. To save themselves, they have to uncover the reasons behind a financial crisis and political upheaval that followed. From Los Angeles to Texas, Kiev, Moscow, and New York, the body count mounts along with the layers of deception as two innocent people become key players in—The Great Game. This is a work of fiction created in 2013. But what are presented in the story as facts of the time of writing are indeed facts in real life. And if some elements look hard to imagine, back in the early 1980s one would have been laughed at for suggesting that in a few short years people would be dancing on top of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union would be no longer. While The Great Game has originally been conceived as a stand-alone work, it is now the middle book in The Counterpoint trilogy. The prequel, called The Metronome, has been published in August of 2014. The sequel, called The Outer Circle, was published in April of 2015. The Great Game and The Metronome are largely independent, with only a minor overlap amongst the characters. The Outer Circle brings the heroes of the two earlier books together to conclude their journey.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Great Game is an international intrigue and thriller piece and is a strong recommendation for readers who enjoy cat-and-mouse games ... one might think such a thriller would revolve around the CIA and other agent clashes, but that's one of the delights of The Great Game: its primary protagonist is a computer engineer with no prior ties to politics. Add a waitress Maggie who unwittingly becomes involved and a series of murders that draw ever closer to two ordinary individuals not well versed in either politics or espionage, and you have a riveting story line cemented by very strong, believable protagonists.

Connecting the political to personal realms is a challenging achievement: too often either the politics aren't properly explored, or the protagonists assume one-dimensional proportions in comparison to the wider political arena. Not so in The Great Game, which gives equal attention to both and so creates a novel filled with action, intrigue, and the concerns of two persons who find themselves playing a game they never asked for or thought about.

How do ordinary individuals become extraordinary? How can simple lives be changed by complicated circumstances? And how can even those with no special abilities rise to meet life-changing challenges from outside forces? All these facets and more make The Great Game a satisfyingly-complex novel that engages the reader in just one battle of what will ultimately prove a greater war. Any who want a vivid, fast-paced adventure story will find its characters and action more than a cut above the ordinary.

D. Donovan, Senior Book Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

From the Author

This book was intended as more than a pure entertainment read. It is based on one possible result of our collective course of action - or inaction. You won't find apocalyptic visions, zombies, vampires, people with super-human abilities or even unconventional sex here. Just a story of two ordinary people trying to rise to a dangerous challenge against the backdrop of a changing world.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00HGM63II
Publisher ‏ : ‎ D. R. Bell (December 19, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 19, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2306 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 354 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,656,882 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #759 in Financial Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- #2,280 in Financial Thrillers (Books)
- #3,467 in Political Thrillers & Suspense

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4.2 501 ratings

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D.R. Bell

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I didn't plan to write, I had kind of "fallen" into it. In a way, I feel fortunate to take up writing late in life: since I don't depend on it for my livelihood, I'm free to write what I want. I don't target mass audience; if you're looking for a light read after a hard day at work, you have better options. I want to follow Milan Kundera, one of my favorite writers, in that a “novel is a meditation on existence.” I try to find something meaningful to say and I hope my stories speak to you. To all of you who read my books and left reviews - thank you for your wonderful feedback!

My latest work, Eleos, is a historic fiction set primarily during the time of the Eichmann's trial. In a way, it's a personal investigation into how events like the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide become possible.

Marshland is a detective story set in modern Los Angeles, focused on the impact that internet and social media can have on our lives and their potential for unscrupulous abuse by those in power.

The first three books - The Metronome, The Great Game, and The Outer Circle - form a trilogy, where the lives of seemingly unconnected characters intersect against the backdrop of a turbulent power game between United States, China, and Russia. Unfortunately, some of the events described there are now happening in real life.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

501 global ratings

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Tony Parsons

international tech thriller

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2019

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3342 4/ 29/ 2022, What did David Ferguson (space station Computer engineer) meet with Thomas Mann about?
Detective Megrano (50+), & Detective Chander (A/A, 30+ partner) were interviewing Margarita “Maggie” Sappin (PT waitress, UCLA econ grad student).
Miguel, Alejandro, & Oleg, invited David, & Maggie for dinner.

Pyramid Restaurant John Platt invited Mr. David Brockman, & Mrs. Maggie Brockman for some wine.
John gave the 2 of them some inside info. Mitchell Williams (former presidential candidate, U of Texas; economics/international business, Wharton Business School; MBA), Jim Zorn (campaign mgr.), Chief of Staff Mike Black, Sr. Advisor Suzy Yamamoto (Asian, wife/mother, Berkeley; finance, Harvard; JD), & Johnathan Schulmann (JD) were all killed in the explosion.

Why did Jonathan leave CFTC?

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written international tech thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a large set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great international tech thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series. To be continued. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free author; BookSends; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

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Sam Marr

outstanding. ( not a 5 because really how many books are really the greatest?)

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2014

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Outstanding book for plot, character development, writing quality, and insightful quotes in reference to themes of chapters. The romantic development of of lead couple was done so well with pace and not over the top with the redundant character thoughts of (s) he is so attractive but not right for me seen in so many books. History, economic thought, and sense of place were engrossing. Will follow this writer.

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Amazon Customer

A pulsating, new, 21st century genre

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2014

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Thirty years ago Tom Clancy gave us heart-pounding cold war techno-thrillers such as The Hunt for Red October. Next came Dan Brown with his exciting but more cerebral novels like The Da Vinci Code. Now D.R. Bell gives us a pulsating new 21st century genre, a novel with action, intrigue, a love affair and storyline related to an international monetary crisis. David—the central character, a Tom Hanks everyman—finds the inner strength to match wits and physical courage against the rogue agents of major powers’ spy agencies. Within the story a UCLA professor lauds his favorite novel with, “Ultimately, the novel not only entertains but makes you think and question. Perhaps that’s the mark of a great book.” That’s this reviewer’s comment about Bell’s The Great Game. Quite effortlessly you will become more aware of world financial operations and America’s fiscal folly over the past several decades. I expect that a great many readers will hear about this book and enjoy it immensely. I hope that, very soon, our nation’s leaders will put it on their “must read” lists. The story is frightening and believable and takes place only a few years hence, the year 2022. —Jack Godwin, Member, Space Technology Hall of Fame

10 people found this helpful

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Mark1068

A thought-provoking book with a few problems

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2014

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What started as a run-of-the-mill action novel quickly morphed into an international geo-economic thriller. The author did a masterful job of weaving real-world events, political theories, and economic theories into a fictional story that, on the surface, was a solid thriller. However, the author also presents an all-too-real scenario in the near future (2022) in which the United States is crumbling politically and economically due to its poor economic choices and policies.

As engaging as the story was, I felt that the main characters, David Ferguson and Maggie Sappin, were underdeveloped to the point of feeling like they were mad of cardboard. It was obvious from their first meeting that they would end up together, despite their initial mistrust of one another. Also, some of the dialogue had a stilted, formal feel, rather than a conversational feel. Finally, there were some editing issues – nothing major – but enough to be distracting.

Bottom line: The Great Game, despite a few flaws, is a solid, thought-provoking book that paints a disturbing picture of what possibly lies ahead for the United States, a country wracked by political in-fighting and negligent overspending.

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Frank Dees

tThe great Grame , byDR.bell

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2014

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This is a frighteningly scary read, and all too plausible. I thank the author for a wonderful story and wake-up call. I only wish I could afford to send a copy of this to each of our elected officials, the Fed Board, some other of our "financial watch dog"agencies and a selected few "experts" in the media. We'll written, with believable scenarios and characters. A pretty tight plot line and an almost too good to be true supporting cast. This book pushes you to read others and dig for insight and understanding. Probably the best free read you will get in a long time - a real page turner.

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2014

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Thought provoking story with good characters. It should be read by everyone who cares about the direction our country is going. The only criticism is the editing. In some places it looks as though some of the text may have been cut and pasted to a different section for a better read. Unfortunately they left part of it in place. You would be reading and come across a sentence that belonged in a previous section. it was a little disconcerting. Please don't that stop you from reading. It is a very good story with a timely message. If you want to ignore the warning then just enjoy the story.

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il y a du jus

Reviewed in France on March 13, 2016

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Normalement, je lis de la sword and sorcery ou de l'uchronie, ou encore des polars du XIXe siècle mais je suis tombé sur le premier tome en chargement gratuit (The metronome) et bien que le thème de la trilogie soit loin de mes goûts habituels, comme j'ai trouvé que c'était très bien écrit, j'ai suivi sur celui-ci qui est le deuxième. Le talent de l'auteur fait que bien qu'on pressente que tout va mal finir, et que cela puisse faire baisser l'intérêt du lecteur, on continue quand même, un peu comme si on visitait un bâtiment d'une grande qualité de construction, mais dans lequel on se sentirait mal à l'aise. Pour ce que j'en sais, et ce n'est pas du tout ma partie, c'est très bien documenté comme pouvait le faire Clancy à l'époque. Donc, pour toutes ces raisons : chaudement recommandé

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Symmba

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on August 19, 2014

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Vert good story well write

joanne

Clever manipulation

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2015

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Highly provocative constantly looking over the shoulder at shady dealings of the influential world leaders

Brian the Brisbane Lion

When America crumbles, who is the winner?

Reviewed in Australia on June 30, 2014

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I had high expectations of this book, as I loved the premise. The book was really good, but didn't meet my high expectations.
A action packed journey through multiple identites, countries and cities as they track down who profited from America's demise.

VB

A clever second in series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 3, 2021

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This is the second book in the series, and is set 'in the near future' - it was written in 2013, but is set in 2022, so it is now 'current'. It makes for some interesting reading, such as the comment that most cars are electric or hybrid - not yet they aren't - but the 'sunscreen pill' making sunburn a thing of the past would be great! It's also strange to read a book set in 2022 which doesn't mention Coronavirus / Covid!
There was some unpleasant language used in the early pages, but this soon ceased. There are a few instances of poor grammar and misspelled, missing or extra words, the most notable being James' claim to being in the 'Royal Welch Fusiliers' (Welch is completely different to Welsh)! There are a lot of characters, especially when the main protagonists are given new identities, and once again the Russian names require some concentration. The complexities of using and hiding files within a computer and systems / networks also require concentration to follow the plot.
This book is just as thrilling and entertaining as the first, I am going straight on to the next.

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