CIA Counter Terrorism Center In SPYMASTER, one of Reed Carlton’s most highly regarded achievements is having helped to establish the CIA’s Counter Terrorism Center (CTC). In real life, the CTC was established in 1986, “to prevent and disrupt terrorist threats” around the world. NATO/ Article 5 Brad opens SPYMASTER with a passage from the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty. Later in...
BURNING MAN FESTIVAL A week-long summer solstice festival held in the Black Rock Desert outside Reno, Nevada, Burning Man draws a crowd estimated at more than 70,000 “burners.” The over-the-top gathering is designed to celebrate “Ten Principles,” or cultural values, and extend them throughout the world. In USE OF FORCE, the festival serves as the backdrop for the dramatic opening...
Col de la Traversette In the opening pages of BLOWBACK, we find an archaeologist who has made a triumphant discovery near the Col de la Traversette. This treacherous Alpine mountain passage marks the border between France and Italy. Historians have proposed that the Col de la Traversette is where Hannibal crossed the Alps. USAMRIID The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute...
The Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin A Cold War era Russian spy ship plays a key role in helping Scot Harvath achieve his mission in STATE OF THE UNION. The flagship of a fleet designed to monitor satellite communications from the open sea in support of the Soviet space program, The Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was named for the first man in...
Macau Palace Casino In PATH OF THE ASSASSIN, we first encounter Scot Harvath at the Macau Palace Casino, known by locals as “The Boat of Thieves.” The original casino, which closed and was moved in 2007, was an old double-decker ferry anchored in the South China Sea. Abu Nidal Terror Organization The Abu Nidal Terror Organization, or Fatah Revolutionary Council,...