SGAG Logo

PAUL MARCUS

marcus_paul_bk_tps marcus_paul_bk_d marcus_paul_bk_tjp
 
Full Name: Paul Marcus
Nationality: American
Organization: CIA
Occupation Other - Cryptographer

Creator: Tom Lowe
Time Span: 2015 - 2022

ABOUT THE SERIES

Paul Marcus is a cryptographer.

Paul Marcus grew up on a farm in Virginia. He was a gifted football player, as a young man he played for the University of Michigan. Academically, his high school college scores were extraordinary, especially in mathematics. He learned languages easily. His talents caught the eye of recruiters at the CIA where he worked for two years. Marcus, however, was more intrigued with breaking codes rather than catching spies, so he moved over to NSA. He broke an exceedingly difficult code that exposed some movements by al Qaeda."

What he discovered, and what he would later use in other fields, was that often a single symbol could mean an idea or a short message and his knack for finding these symbols and deciphering their meaning made him very popular.

When his young daughter was diagnosed with "heightened arterial fibrillation" Marcus quit NSA and joined a medical facility where he worked for three years until he "cracked a type of gene therapy that could be used to stabilize false electronic signals sent through the hearts of those suffering from a type of ventricular arrhythmia." He had found something that might save his daughter's life.

Unfortunately a horrible attack along the side of a road left his wife and daughter murdered and him nearly and two years later he still has not recovered and doubts he ever will. The fact that his code-cracking would prove highly useful gave him no satisfaction since he could not use it to save the one he wanted; the Nobel Prize for Medicine he was awarded was nothing he wanted to accept.

Marcus' presence in this compendium comes not from his previous work with the CIA or NSA but from the work he will be asked to do - new deciphering that he will be handed, along with a considerable number of people who would gladly kill him to stop his mind from solving these problems - starting with why Sir Isaac Newton may have mentioned him several hundred years ago and why the cypher he left with the note might change the world.

BOOKS

Number of Books:3
First Appearance:2015
Last Appearance:2022

1 Destiny Destiny
Written by Tom Lowe
Copyright: 2015

"When former CIA code-breaker, Paul Marcus, receives the call he thinks it's a hoax. He's asked to analyze a cache of papers found locked in an old trunk. They were the last manuscripts written by Isaac Newton. Using Newton's math and notes, Marcus begins to see a pattern leading to a prophecy so frightening that to reveal it will change world events.
At the time of his death. Newton was searching for ancient biblical codes that may open a locked window into future events. Newton helped explain gravity --- but could he do the same for human destiny?"
buy from Amazon

2 The Jefferson Prophecy The Jefferson Prophecy
Written by Tom Lowe
Copyright: 2018

"When an encrypted letter written by Thomas Jefferson is found hidden in the attic of an old farmhouse in Virginia, the information could offer a clue as to who killed a U.S. Special Forces soldier 220 years after the letter was written. Paul Marcus is tasked to see if he can unlock the secret Jefferson had originally meant for only one person. More the two centuries later, a relative of the first man to declare war on America--a nemesis of Thomas Jefferson, vows to fill a family vendetta. The encoded letter Jefferson wrote could offer a prediction for current events and a direct key to a new murder that threatens to tip the dominoes and start a global conflict. Paul Marcus has to find a way to decode the letter—and he has very little time to do it."

buy from Amazon

3 The Poppy Score The Poppy Score
Written by Tom Lowe
Copyright: 2022

"Paul Marcus is asked to decrypt seven mysterious pages first written 2500 years ago in China. The author was Sun Tzu who wrote The Art of War. Tzu’s encrypted pages, though, were never meant for Western eyes. It’s believed the pages could be the lost fourteenth chapter from The Art of War. The code was finally broken in China three years ago and kept secret. If Paul cannot crack the code before an ominous timetable runs out, America will face the deadliest global threat in history."
buy from Amazon

MY COMMENTS

I love stories with code-cracking experts. I used to 'pretend' I was good enough to do that sort of work and I am a whiz (at times) with cryptograms but ... well, most of my skill is wishful thinking. Hence my enjoyment of reading about characters who are actually good at it. And Paul Marcus is one of those fellows.

Mind you, even if I was in the vicinity of Marcus with regards skill level, I would not appreciate the sort of 'rewards' that he gets - namely having lots of people want very unpleasant things to happen to him.

Luckily the manner of these unpleasantries being explained comes in the form of pretty good writing.

GRADE

My Grade: B+

YOUR OPINIONS

Be the first to leave your own comments about this series.

Tell us what you think of the series. Give your grade and comments.

Your Grade:
Your Comments:

To give your opinion, you must be logged in.

Sign In

Register
Disclaimer
SpyGuysAndGals is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, and links with the Buy from Amazon button are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.