Clarke said he wrote the novel "to get a message to an audience that doesn't read policy books." He added, "You and I are wonks -- we go to a bookstore, we look for the latest policy book. But most people don't. Most people want a thriller for that long flight to California or London. This is a thriller. They're going to enjoy it as such, but they're going to learn some things in the process."
Charlie's reply: "The reason Tom Clancy's books have always been successful is that the readers feel like he does know something about the way things really work, in terms of the way the military works. And here you want them to view this with authenticity, based on experience, that says this is plausible because I've been there?"
Clarke: "There is a lot of detail in there that's true."
There's a bit more, but this was the part I thought most relevant. So is this why you're writing a novel? Because you feel it is a more palatable way to package the ideas that you'd like to make available?