Moscow Venture

The year is 1991. John Baran is shocked at the sudden and enigmatic death of his friend and coworker David Chernov. A CIA agent attempts to recruit John; though John refuses the offer he gains some vital information. For starters, David was a CIA collaborator while working at their place of employment, Cellcomm, an international cellular communications services firm. Lastly, there are Soviet hardliners who want to re-ignite the Cold War. It was David’s snooping around in the hardliners’ plans that led to his demise. John, determined more than ever to find out the details behind David’s death, convinces his boss to let him complete David’s assignment at the Sovcell facilities in Moscow. Although he feels equipped with his Special Operations background and fluency in Russian, John has no idea that he is about to walk into a tangled political web.

Celer offers a blast from the past with an added twist in this debut. Celer will have seasoned American readers (those around prior to 1991 and old enough to remember) reminiscing about old James Bond movies like From Russia With Love or The Spy That Came in From the Cold, and TV series such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Avengers as they dive into his Iron Curtain spy plot. Those caught up in the literature of that era may have turned to Ian Fleming’s books–the creator of the original James Bond–or Frederick Forsyth’s inimitable spy collections, such as The Fourth Protocol or The Devil’s Alternative. While these old-time TV and story plots were consistently filled with espionage and tense scenes sprinkled with a bit of romance, they offered a form of entertainment–the perfect escape, if you will–during a time of strained political relations that lasted more than forty years (1947-1991). Celer’s plot has all those old nuances but with an added element–the inception of cellular communication.

Celer’s storyline is well thought out according to historical timelines: the events moving toward the direction of the Soviet Union’s collapse coincide with the rise in international cellular technology. This concept of cellular technology is something Cold War writers couldn’t effectively incorporate into their plots, even with the occasional token secret agent devices. Breathing life into the archaic, Celer certainly will get the attention of a wide audience, including both seasoned spy aficionados as well as newer enthusiasts looking for a change of pace.