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An eerily realistic political thriller by a military expert with extensive first-hand knowledge of the Russian military describes an all-too-plausible accidental nuclear war between Russia and the United States near the end of this century. 25,000 first printing.

In a scenario terrifyingly close to today's headlines, Harry's debut novel opens with a North Korean invasion of South Korea that leads, through a series of tragic errors and decisions, to a Russian nuclear attack on military bases in the U.S. Like techno-thriller master Tom Clancy, Harry offers a sprawling narrative that focuses on a small army of soldiers, politicians and their families, American and Russian. National Security Advisor Greg Lambert must keep and tell secrets that may lead to Armageddon; Reservist David Chandler must leave his pregnant wife in order to drive a tank; U.S. President Walter Livingston, eager for peace, must endure the ignominy of impeachment; Russian General Yuri Razov must deal with the consequences of his initial decision to launch nuclear missiles. Ground, air and submarine battles alternate with scenes of anarchy stateside as exhausted leaders are forced to make instant decisions that might snuff out humanity forever. With a masterful grasp of military strategy and geopolitics, Harry moves his characters through nightmares of blood and death; his intricately detailed scenes of nuclear devastation are particularly horrifying. Told through a series of rapid-fire climaxes, this novel, a political and military cautionary tale of considerable power and conviction, will keep readers riveted.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Harry's first novel is all gloom and doom, an appropriate tone for his World War III scenario. When US President Livingston receives a tip that Russia will bomb China, he informs the Chinese, who then bomb Moscow, where General Zorin, a zealous patriot, has temporarily overthrown the government. Believing the attack to be a US initiative, Zorin launches a counterstrike against US military bases. In the tense moments before the missiles strike, Livingston gives in to military pressure and retaliates, fueling a war featuring biological, chemical, and possibly nuclear weapons. Zorin's coup is ended by the Russians, but his firing plan remains in effect: If provoked, nuclear submarines will fire upon 304 American cities. Livingston, whose decency and common sense have become political liabilities, is impeached and succeeded by his ``California Enviroweenie'' veep, who has become an opportunistic warmonger. Livingston's last supporter among the White House staff is Greg Lambert, the bright young national security advisor who may be able to negotiate with the few peace-seeking Russian statesmen. The bloody, conventional land battles feature David Chandler, the weekend reservist who leads an armored battalion in an invasion of Moscow in his first combat experience; and Marine Lance Corporal Terrence Monk, whose squadron faces an opposed landing on the eastern Russian shore. Descriptions of the physiological responses to nuclear and chemical warfare are jarring, but the secondary effects are surprising, too. After nuclear devastation in some US locations, the government contends with an economic depression caused by fearful workers who have fled the cities and sit glued to CNN and the Weather Channel. A grim tale which so successfully evokes the bleakness and terror of an impending world war that it could depress contemplative readers while titillating those just out for techno- thrills. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Counterforce or countervalue? 'Tis but the chance of war, nuclear style. In this silly scenario, Russia nukes China, China nukes Russia, Russia nukes America, America nukes Russia. In MAD parlance, a "counterforce exchange" has just been conducted, leaving valuable cities intact. Although it's as stale an idea as any in the Armageddon genre, debut author Harry manages the atomic war competently enough, whitening the knuckles of even hardened military techno-junkies. After the thrill of ICBM countdowns and the obliteration of each side's military targets, Harry switches gears to the political struggle inside (or rather underneath, in a bomb shelter) the Kremlin and within the U.S. government. The latter impeaches and convicts its president, who has futilely maintained that a few million deaths is enough war for one day; his hawkish successor then prosecutes the war by invading Russia. (At this point, pure equipment nuts get their pound of flesh: drive on Moscow in an M-1 tank, and make an amphibious landing in Siberia!) By the climax, as the Russian general threatens to fire his remaining bombs at America's remaining cities, only one thing remains certain: this tale of doom has been, as the author notes, thoroughly "wargamed"--and thus will thrill military-minded readers. Gilbert Taylor