The Silent Bomb by Charles Dodeman Paperback Book 9781612273198

Waranticipation stories began to published just before World War I reflecting the mood of the times During the war itself the archetypal thriller was likely to be a covert spy story featuring new gamechanging technologies and embryonic superweapons Once the subgenre was established it was maintained even in peacetime by its inherent melodramatic potentialit is still thriving todaybut its difficult birth took place in France and Charles Dodemans The Silent Bomb 1916 was one of its pioneers It is one of the earliest thrillers to be set during a war that was actually going on at the time of its publication without the benefit of hindsight In it Dodeman imagines a new revolutionary type of bomb that one that today we would call a quotdirty bombquot capable of spreading radioactive particles delivered through radiocontrolled miniature aircrafts ie quotdronesquot