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Customer Review  Cy B. Hilterman  VINE VOICE  5 out of 5 stars Controlling of weather for good or worse

"Operation Seeding" turns a very controversial subject of weather control into a very connected story. I loved the book and its characters. The author wasted no time in allowing the reader to start deep thinking as to how much control do scientists actually have over our weather here on earth and how much do we want them to have? From droughts to floods to way over average snow and rain and what it does or could cause on earth to all of the humans that live here. So many depending on crops grown, picked, and harvested and so many of those crops that could be ruined by weather extremes. Who would cause such terrible man-made horrific events to threaten our food supply and everything connected with it? Could it be individual farmers, scientists, or governments attempting to control God's weather domain? Starting in 1953 during the Korean War the rain and floods more or less controlled the movement or stoppage of military actions when torrential rains stopped movement of troops and buried many in mud and snow. All of this caused by the finding of chemical formulas to drop into clouds and cause terrible weather in one area and good weather in another nearby.

In years to come, the various controlling governments of the world had scientists working on ways to control the weather to benefit their nation for various reasons, be it war, sports, Olympics, droughts, hail, or any other cause as time went on. At first it was American top generals and officials that thought they had weather controlled but as time went on other nations military and governments "encouraged" their scientists to come up with weather control.

Forward in time, Clara and Justin Beach graduated from the FBI Academy. They were not related but they were very interested in each other. They were assigned in different areas but they still kept in touch and eventually worked together on the weather problem. The U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania had passed away and his replacement was appointed, an appointment that was strictly political. He knew virtually nothing about his duties and responsibilities but he now had authority to do what he wanted. A huge company named H.T. Wetco was still growing. The family running them had many under their thumbs in order to have them produce what Wetco wanted for weather control. Yes, Wetco had developed much of the materials to control weather and had much inner fighting as to who controlled what. Some military generals were hand-in-hand with the company and also in bitter infighting to control the company.

As the story continues so does the battle for control. Military men were planning on killing other military men as well as civilians, all determined by who was in control or whom they wanted in charge. Various areas of the world were involved with the battle for control and the killings occurred almost anywhere. If anyone thought another person knew too much, goodbye to him or her. Some that we thought were friends killed each other or had them killed but the killing didn't stop. Some of your heroes in the story might not make it through the book. And to think that this all was caused by humans trying to control weather. A real good story with many changing their minds and desires.

Weather control could be very good for the proper reasons. We have droughts that cause minimal growth of the crops. Rain in controlled amounts would benefit us all in those situations just as floods could be at least partially controlled. Cold climates of the world could be kept cold to avoid too much thawing. Snow could be controlled so it doesn't pile up over villages. But, who would control such a thing? Do we trust our world governments for that?

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BOOK REVIEW  Reviewed by Alice DiNizo for Readers' Favorite

Cloud seeding was developed, unbeknownst to many, in 1949, as rains fell for four months from lower Virginia to the Alabama Gulf Coast. Frank Benoit worked for that company, H.T. Wetco owned by Bob Thurston, which was contracted by the United States government. Frank could change weather patterns and create climate change around the world. Mostly, United States officials liked its capability of creating snow or rain, thus stopping wartime enemies from engaging our troops in combat in the Korean War. In the Vietnam conflict, enemy Viet Cong were drowned by this environmental modification in their underground tunnels. In 1983, President Reagan wanted to start a program that would control the weather but Bob Thurston and his workers had achieved this years before with their secret connection to government. Now, in the present day, Bob Thurston is an old man, Frank Benoit long retired and in failing health, and his granddaughter Clara an FBI agent, and grand daughter Tully a herpetologist who has worked for H.T. Wetco. Someone begins attacking people who might know of "Operation Seeding" and General Margate's longtime friend, West Point graduate Colonel Juan San Luis, is called upon to seek out the killer and find out who the mastermind behind all this is.

"Operation Seeding" is a well-written thriller that is guaranteed to keep readers turning page after page to find out who is next in line to get killed. The high level of suspense is kept throughout the story of a company's secret dealings with United States governmental agencies as well as members of Congress. Dialogue is often too long but could easily be divided into paragraphs interspersed with responses from the people being addressed. The characters of Frank Benoit, General Margate, Bob Thurston, Frank's granddaughters Clara and Tully, Clara's love interest Justin Beach, Clara and Justin's boss at the FBI, John Bloso and Colonel Juan San Luis, who is featured in other stories by author Michael Andrisano, are all totally believable. "Operation Seeding" is a book that should get into thriller lovers' reading lists everywhere.