The Joshua factor

the long version

Challenging science-fiction thriller based on a very real scientific problem, from a real-life physics professor who knows whereof he speaks. Solar physicist Fred Cowan toils in an abandoned mine in the southwestern desert, where a tank full of dry-cleaning fluid should be detecting neutrinos from the sun--but in fact only a small fraction of the predicted number of particles is showing up. Then, in an apparent act of terrorism, Cowan is murdered and his laboratory destroyed. The CIA, FBI, Pentagon and the Israelis all intersect along the lines of a fairly tepid thriller. In the end, all the pieces come together, and the answer--in the form of severe solar disturbances--threatens everyone on Earth. The delights here lie in Clayton's scientific puzzles: lucidly set forth, logically and impeccably detailed, and convincingly extrapolated from known data and current hypotheses. For maximum enjoyment, though, you'll need to be on nodding terms with neutrinos and conversant with quarks. [adapted from Kirkus Reviews]