Able One

Able One is a timely thrill-ride by Ben Bova, one of science fiction’s most respected novelists.

When a rogue North Korean faction explodes a nuclear missile in space, the resulting shockwave destroys the world’s satellites. Global communication is thrown into chaos, and entire economies are crippled. United States military satellites, designed to withstand such an assault, relay a horrifying image—two more nuclear missiles are sitting on the launch pad in North Korea, ready to be deployed. Faced with the threat of a thermonuclear attack, the United States has only one possible defense: Able One.

ABL-1, or Able One, is a modified 747 fitted with a high-powered laser able to knock out missiles in flight. But both the laser’s technology and the jet’s crew are untested. What was originally to be a training flight with a skeleton crew turns into a desperate race to destroy the two remaining nukes. Will Able One’s experimental technology be enough to prevent World War III—especially when it becomes clear that a saboteur is onboard?