The Vitacull - Chapter 2

About Christof Unterberger
Christof Unterberger is a cellist and composer born in Bregenz, Austria. He took his master’s courses under Phillipe Muller und Paul Tortelier and studied at the Conservatoire national superieur de musique in Paris with Klaus Heitz, and then again with Phillipe Muller. Christof has played Beethoven's Triple Concert under the direction of Fabio Luisi and has also performed concerts from Beethoven, Haydn, Vivaldi, Monn (Schönberg), Saint-Saens and Tschaikowsky. He is a solo cellist with the Viennese Chamber Philharmonic, the Viennese Schubert Ensemble, the Viennese Chamber Opera and with the Ensemble Reconsil Vienna. As a composer, he has collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Jeff Rona, and David Arnold. He has scored music for Apple Computer Inc., Feh, the United Nations , Filmhaus Wien, Bavaria Film and Visiontime. Christof is currently working on his debut Hollywood feature film.

About Terminal Rage, the Novel
When a mysterious man besieges an office tower in Manhattan, he threatens to execute his hostages and unleash terror if his demands are not met. He informs the authorities he will only communicate with Alexander Blackwell, a former FBI hostage negotiator whose stellar career had ended abruptly a few years before.

The FBI tracks Blackwell down on a tiny Caribbean island and he reluctantly agrees to negotiate with the suspect. As the clock ticks fast to the deadline, Blackwell soon realizes the only way to save the hostages and prevent catastrophe is to figure out who this enigmatic hostage-taker really is, and why he asked for him by name. But what he discovers is a chilling global conspiracy at the highest levels of government that threatens to destroy his life all over again.

Terminal Rage is an explosive novel set in the post 9/11 world, where terrorism is no longer defined by who the terrorists are, but the sophistication and impunity by which they operate.

About A.M. Khalifa, the author of Terminal Rage
A.M. Khalifa is a critically acclaimed and bestselling author based between Rome and Los Angeles. He writes up-market political thrillers and literary fiction with a focus on niche international stories that breach cultural taboos and provoke dialogue on sensitive issues. His debut novel, Terminal Rage, was described by Publishers Weekly as “dizzying, intricate, and entertaining,” while referring to its description of post-Mubarak Egypt as “among the best set pieces of the book, displaying a wry grasp of Egyptian mores and deft pacing.” Foreword magazine gave it a glowing five stars, noting that “Khalifa manages to pull off something that is often difficult to do in the thriller genre—he keeps the novel unpredictable and lays out a plot so twisted that the puzzle picture morphs as more pieces are added.”