Review by Simon Barrett of Blogger News Network

My book reading habits are odd, I will be the first to admit it. I reviewed Paul’s latest book Prophecy, and subsequently interviewed him. He explained that the characters in Prophecy were created in his first novel Category 5. I was hooked, and Paul was kind enough to send me a copy.

Paul was involved with meteorology for many years, and so it should not surprise anyone that the title Category 5 refers to a very dangerous type of hurricanes. Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans was, in hurricane standards just a toddler, a mere Category 3. If it had hit land as a category 5, the destruction and death toll would have been cataclysmic.

OK, enough of the weather lesson, lets move on to the book. I really like Paul Tag’s style of writing, there is never a dull moment. From page 1 you are propelled into a story of intrigue, old grudges, high technology, and terrorism. The heroes are heroic, and the bad guys dastardly. This is exactly what you want in an adventure story. Our heroes are Dr. Victor Mark Silverstein, the preeminent meteorological scientist for the US Navy, and his assistant Dr. Linda Kipling. Silverstein is the cool thinker, a man that can think outside the box. As Sherlock Homes once said “Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.

Dr. Kipling on the other hand is a lady of action. This is one lady that you would not want to try and ‘mug’ in a dark alley, she would beat the living daylights out of you!

The ‘bad guys’ are equally entertaining, a Middle Eastern who goes by the single name of Ghali, and has ties to a murky organization called The Blade. Joining him is Cameron Fitzby, a frustrated scientist, a man with a brilliant brilliant mind, and a theory that cost him his PhD years ago. A theory of weather modification, specifically hurricanes.

To tell more about the plot would spoil the story. This is a must read book. This is adventure and high technology at its very best. And interestingly enough the technology is is not unbelievable. We are already taking small steps toward controlling the weather, cloud seeding, and I am sure that the scientific ‘Geeks’ are exploring other options. As it is we seem to be inadvertently changing our environment through Global Warming, although, in my mind Calgary, Alberta, which is where I live, is experiencing Global Cooling, last Wednesday we set a new record for snowfall!

You can pick up your copy of Category 5 from Paul’s web site. Great book, and one that I can recommend without reservation.

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“Non-stop action with some of the best storm images I’ve ever read. Paul Tag’s action adventure novel is a real tour de force. 
 
“Mark Silverstein is a great character and Tag makes him come alive as a real person. Sure hope there will be more books about him in the future.”
 
Arline Chase, author and publisher
 
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“…An action-packed adventure, ‘Category 5′ is a whirlwind of a thriller that whisks the reader into the very eye of the storm. Thoroughly entertaining, you won’t be able to set the story aside until this storm blows over.”      
    
Bob Walch, Book Reviewer, Monterey Herald, Monterey, California    
  
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“I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a compelling, suspenseful thriller, set mostly in the United States against a backdrop of international terrorism. Will the good guys succeed in saving Washington, D.C., from a terrorist-controlled killer hurricane? For me, the outcome was touch-and-go right up to the end of the book, and the pages practically turned themselves till I got there.   
  
“I love authors who educate as well as entertain me, a la Clancy or Michener. In Category 5, Paul Mark Tag not only entertained me with an intriguing story, he also taught me more about hurricanes than I ever would have known. One result was that I was ready to believe that an evil genius could create and steer hurricanes using a powerful satellite-borne laser.   
  
“I also appreciate well-drawn characters. Category 5’s characters came alive for me because they act, think and speak as real people do. I predict that one day soon we will all have the pleasure of seeing “real people” tell this story in an action-packed Hollywood blockbuster as we cheer the good guys on from the edges of our seats.”   
  
J. M. Guy, Amazon.com Review