book that starts with a plane exploding on take-off

[billy]

I hope you guys can help...what am I saying? I know you guys can help.

I read a novel (fiction) several years ago about some bad guys installing a virus(or other type of bad code) in the computer system of a StarWars Like Defense system. The system then shoots down every plane in the world and much trouble is had by the citizens of earth trying to find some way to regain control.

Anybody know the title or author of this book?

[don't ask]

Sounds like K W Jeter's Noir.

[billy]

Originally posted by don't ask
Sounds like K W Jeter's Noir.

Nope, that's not it. I'd add more detail if I'd thought it'd help.

Anyone else???

[chicksdigscars]

I am a bibliographer and I can help you find this book, but can you give me more info? Like was there a government agency in the book, like CIA? Do you remember the locale? I've found lots of books on computer viruses, airplane disasters, missile defense, etc, but your description is kind of vague so I'm not sure if one of these is your book.

[billy]

Originally posted by chicksdigscars
I am a bibliographer and I can help you find this book, but can you give me more info?

OK, I think but am not sure that the computer programming was done at Los Alamos. There were two, twin, orbiting laser based weapons. One was infected, the other was not. It was obviously in the future but the US was still around with no major political differences from now.

I read the book sometime bewteen '95 and '99 so was released probably near that time frame.

Sorry, can't remember anymore than that. Thanks in advance though for giving it a try.

[chicksdigscars]

I hate to admit defeat, but I am still not sure I found your book. Searching Los Alamos, I get tons of nuclear weapons subject books. Searching missile systems gets me Cuban Missile Crisis (plus others). Doing a general search on sci-fi/military fiction gets me too many books to mention. None though have subject categories for airplane explosions, so that must have just been an incidental part of the book. When I just search airplane accidents, I get books like Lord of the Flies.

Sorry I couldn't be any help. This is what I do for a living, so it is hard to admit defeat, but the information you remembered is vague. Unless someone here read the book and remembers the beginning.

[Stephe96]

I think this book is called "All Fall Down" by an author whose name I cannot recall...

Hope this helps!

[IrreverentTone]

Lee Gruenfeld wrote All Fall Down.

[chicksdigscars]

Based on the above reply, I did some digging. There is a book called All Fall Down by Lee Gruenfeld. Subject headings on that book are Government Investigators, Aircraft accidents, Extortion, and Detective and Mystery stories. No mention of any type of missile system, or science fiction.

There are, of course, other books with the same title, but not in your genre.

[audit1]

This could be THE SECOND VOYAGE OF THE SEVENTH CARRIER by Peter Albano. The IJN Konaga was suposed to be the seventh carrier in the Pearl Harbor attack. It was buried by a landslide by a glacier and the ship and crew survive for forty odd years by eating fish. A thaw finally releases the ship and in THE SEVENTH CARRIER (1983) the crew tries to complete its mission. In the second voyage , the Chinese have launced a sattelite defense system that malfuntions causing it to shoot down every jet aircraft. The result is jet fighters are useless. missles are useless. If you have a large supply of A6m Zeros you are not ruler or the seas. Rogue nations have cornered the supply of P-51s. spitfires and me 109s so the Konaga and Japan are now the
defenders of freedom. The novel opens with the shooting down of a 747 over Tokyo bay by the sattelite. There are 10 novels in the series.

1983 The Seventh Carrier
1986 The Second Voyage of the Seventh Carrier
1987 return of the Seventh Carrier

[audit1]

1989 Attack of the Seventh Carrier

[billy]

Thanks for your help guys but I guess I'm not meant to find out what it was.