The Spectrum Conspiracy


Fiction - Suspense
372 Pages
Reviewed on 05/12/2016
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

Author Biography

Craig Faris is a thirty-one -time award-winning author of fiction and plays, including four Best of Issue awards in the 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003 editions of the South Carolina Writers Workshop anthology. He has been published seventeen times. Five of his short stories have won the South Carolina Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Short Fiction, and his novel, The Spectrum Conspiracy won the 2016 Gold Metal for Best Suspense Novel in the Readers Favorite International Book Awards, and Best Suspense Novel in the 2016 Beverly Hill's International Book Awards. It won Best first Novel in the 2010 Carrie McCray Literary Award, was one of Seven finalist in the 2014 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Awards, and was a shortlist finalist in the William Faulkner/Wisdom Pirates Alley competition in 2012, 2010 and semifinalist in 2011.
Craig served on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Writers Workshop from 2000 until 2006. He was Vice-President of the Southeast chapter of the Mystery Writers of America from 2000 until 2005. He works professionally as an adjunct professor of digital design. In 1998, he completed his first novel. His second thriller, The Spectrum Conspiracy, was published in 2013 and has received 92% five-star reviews online. Ted Tally, who won the Academy Award for The Silence of the Lambs, called it, “A wild, white-knuckle ride, pedal to the metal right from page one, never letting up. A very impressive novel in ambition and scope, with intricate plotting, relentless pacing, action-filled, with technical and procedural details that bring real authenticity to the story. Bravo for writing this outstanding thriller!”
Craig lives in Rock Hill, SC with his wife, Deena.
AWARDS:
Silent Assault, 1999 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Short Fiction
Souls of the Abyss, 2000 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Short Fiction
A Pretty Good Year, 2000 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Nonfiction/Essay
Chaney’s Gold, 2001 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Short Fiction
A Special Place in Hell, 2011 Carrie McCray Literary Award, 3rd Place Nonfiction
Den of Rhyme, 2014 Finalist, William Faulkner/William Wisdom Short Story Competition, 2012 Semifinalist
House of Ruth, 2005 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Short Story
Fourth Place, (out of 11,800 entries) 80th Annual Writers Digest Competition 2011
Honorable Mention, (28th place out of 19,500 entries) 76th Annual Writers Digest Competition 2007
Shortlist Finalist, William Faulkner/William Wisdom Pirates Alley Competition 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
Second Place, York County Arts Council’s Literary Competition 2014
The Spectrum Conspiracy,
2010 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best First Chapter in a Novel
2010 Shortlist Finalist, William Faulkner/William Wisdom Pirates Alley Competition
2011 Semifinalist, William Faulkner/William Wisdom Pirates Alley Competition
2012 Shortlist Finalist, William Faulkner/William Wisdom Pirates Alley Competition
2012 Semifinalist, Killer Nashville Claymore Thriller Competition (11th place)
2012 Book trailer, 2nd Place, MARSocial International book trailer competition.
2014 Finalist, Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Awards
2016 Best Suspense Novel, 4th annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards
2016 Gold Metal for Best Suspense Novel, Readers Favorite International Book Awards

    Book Review

Reviewed by Sherri Fulmer Moorer for Readers' Favorite

The Spectrum Conspiracy by Craig Faris is a novel about your worst nightmares: weapons of mass destruction, terrorists, and political conspiracy. It opens with the assassination of the President of the United States during a speech, and progresses on a wild ride that involves the FBI, Homeland Security, Cabinet Level officials, scientists, conspirators, and even ordinary, everyday people with an ugly ax to grind with the government. The most interesting of these characters are Special Agent Dervin Crosby, who is struggling to salvage his career after a devastating error several years prior, and his friend Gerald McMullin, a reporter who thinks he's chasing a woman he met on a chance encounter, but is actually on the verge of something much bigger.

The Spectrum Conspiracy is by far one of the most intriguing political thrillers I've read over the past few years. While the cast of characters is expansive, they're tied together in ways that aren't too obvious or too complicated. Likewise, the plot weaves through these characters in an intriguing and interesting way. Directly or indirectly, it all works together perfectly in a story that's fast paced, thrilling, and keeps you guessing until the very end. Craig Faris did an excellent job not only with the research, but with keeping the book and the cast of characters moving together without making the end too obvious. There are plenty of surprises to keep you reading. I'm happy to give this thrilling, fast paced adventure a five star review, and I highly recommend it to anybody that enjoys adventure, suspense, or political thrillers.