Balance of Power
When a Brazilian submarine sinks with all hands on board, the world calls it a tragic accident.
CIA officer Harrison Kohl calls it sabotage—engineered by China’s Ministry of State Security.
In the aftermath, Beijing moves swiftly, parlaying the disaster into an exclusive minerals deal and a contract to supply Brazil with a fleet of state-of-the-art nuclear-powered submarines. And in a single stroke, China secures a strategic foothold in America’s backyard.
With the President’s reelection campaign in full swing and Washington determined to avoid a public confrontation, Kohl receives a covert directive: break Beijing’s grip on Brazil—without igniting an international crisis.
With a burned CIA asset, a known traitor to the US, and a naval officer whose career is on the line, Harrison masterminds a high-risk operation to undermine the new Chinese submarine being built in Rio de Janeiro.
Success makes him a genius.
Failure means the balance of power in the Western Hemisphere is altered forever.
David Bruns and J. R. Olson—authors of the acclaimed Command and Control series—deliver a high-stakes thriller packed with espionage, geopolitical tension, and military action. Perfect for fans of Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn.
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Praise for the authors:
“…compares with the best of the timeless classics by Tom Clancy, Dale Brown, and Stephen Coonts.” —Mark Greaney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Mission Critical
"With their background in the U.S. Navy, both Bruns and Olson have the right stuff to create a realistic military tale." ?Booklist
“These two guys have lived it. Now they’re writing it.” —Don Keith, author of Only the Brave and Final Bearing
“…some of the best combat writing I’ve seen since Tom Clancy.” —Jason Kasper, USA Today bestselling author of The Enemies of My Country
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David Bruns
David earned a Bachelor of Science in Honors English from the United States Naval Academy. (That’s not a typo. He’s probably the only English major you’ll ever meet who took multiple semesters of calculus, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, naval architecture, and weapons systems just so he could read some Shakespeare. It was totally worth it.)
After meeting Tom Clancy and reading The Hunt for Red October as a midshipman at the Naval Academy, he served six years as a commissioned officer in the nuclear-powered submarine force chasing the Russians in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. When the Soviet Union collapsed, David left the Navy for corporate life. For two decades, he schlepped his way around the globe as an itinerant executive in the high-tech sector, and did a stint with a Silicon Valley startup.
David is the author of more than twenty novels, including the six-book SynCorp Saga series about a corporate takeover of the solar system with co-creator Chris Pourteau. His short fiction has appeared in dozens of magazines and anthologies.
With retired naval intel officer JR Olson, he writes contemporary national security thrillers that look less like fiction every time he checks the news.
The Third Option
The Third Option consists of two books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
