Steve Alten speaks about doomsday

Published March 11th, 2008
By Skip Sheffield
STAFF WRITER

Steve Alten dreams big.

In his fantastic 1997 first novel “Meg,” he imagined a gigantic prehistoric Megalodon shark that surfaced from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to terrorize mankind.

In Domain (2001) he visualized the cruel, violent human sacrifices of ancient Mayans.

In “The Loch” he explored the possibility of a real Loch Ness monster.

Now Alten is deadly serious in “The Shell Game,” a thriller that tackles the large and looming issues of the end of oil, the next 9/11 terrorist attacks and ultimately the end of civilization. Alten will speak and sign his book at 7 p.m.

Wednesday at Murder on the Beach Bookstore, 273 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach.

“I hope people will read this book with an open mind,” said Alten recently at Boca Raton News offices. “It is difficult to accept that your own government may be involved in one of the worst disasters in history. My book just extrapolates on what has already occurred. I am concerned about what kind of world my two children and two stepchildren will face.

The pendulum has swung from the public outcry against the Dixie Chicks over the Iraq War. The media must accept responsibility rather than shirking investigative journalism.”

Set in the year 2012, “The Shell Game” begins in 2007 with a prologue referencing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 9/11 and the current volatile situation in the Middle East.

The action flashes forward five years. Ashley “Ace” Futrell is a petroleum geologist who works for PetroConsultants.

Ace’s wife, Kelli Doyle, is a CIA operative. When Kelli dies under suspicious circumstances, Ace decides to launch his own investigation. He uncovers no less than a plot to destroy a major American city with a terrorist’s nuclear “dirty bomb.”

There is a real Ashley Futrell. He is not a petroleum expert, but a friend and loyal reader of Alten.

“I name my fictional characters after real people who are readers,” Alten explains. “Ashley is a great guy. His dad is an editor at the Washington Times. The two leading ladies are named after women who died before their time.”

Alten knows the importance of teamwork and loyalty. He has a Master’s Degree in sports medicine from the University of Delaware and a Doctorate in sports administration from Temple University.

Alten’s favorite sport is basketball. At 48 he still returns to Boca Raton to play with old teammates (Alten moved to West Palm Beach several years ago).

“The Shell Game” is Alten’s most ambitious work. He researched conspiracy theories behind 9/11, doomsday reports on the imminent end of oil, rising terrorism worldwide, the ill-advised invasion of Iraq and misfeasance and malfeasance on the part of advisers to George W. Bush.

“A lot of 9/11 organizations are split by theories based on misinformation,” Alten declares. “Those who discredit official government investigations are smeared as wackos.”

Alten learned how a nuclear bomb could be made with readily available materials. He has been watching nervously the situation in Iran, and the very real possibility the USA could launch a preemptive strike on the pretext of nuclear warheads in Iran.

“This is real life and death stuff,” Alten warns. “The greatest crime in U.S. history was never thoroughly investigated, and the people behind those shortcomings were promoted.”

To a conservative, implying the U.S. government was somehow involved in a 9/11 conspiracy is like waving a red cape in front of an angry bull.

“I was in Washington, D.C. yesterday on Jim Bohannan’s radio show,” he recounts. “Jim is a real Republican’s Republican. The first thing he said is the problem with Iraq is that we don’t have enough troops there. He thinks we should re-institute the draft. We didn’t see eye-to-eye, but we got along.”

Alten will be traveling the USA to promote “Shell Games,’ which is the first fictional thriller published by Sweetwater Books of Springville, Utah.

“It a little ironic to have a Jewish guy published by a company owned by Mormons,” he muses. “I tried to sell the book for six months, and they were the only ones who got it. I hope it’s a success, for me and for them.”