Synopsis
Heroic U.S. pilot Duke James returns in a thrilling aerial combat adventure that pits him against Iranian religious fundamentalists who have gotten ahold of a cruise missile and are threatening to cut off the world's oil supply.
Reviews
Rizzi's newest military thriller finds Major General "Duke" James, stalwart hero of the author's Nightstalker and Strike of the Cobra, immersed in a dire Iranian-American conflict. When an advanced American cruise missile goes astray and lands in Iranian territory, Iranian engineers seize the opportunity to duplicate it for their own use. Fanatical military and government leaders attempt to ignite the patriotism of their countrymen by attacking American interests, beginning with the bombardment of U.S.-escorted oil tankers. The government officials of both powers bicker among themselves-and one especially bull-headed Navy admiral makes life difficult for the warriors. Aiding James's exploits are a brilliant Iranian woman engineer and the "humint" (intelligence data gathered by a person) produced by crafty agent Mark Collins. Though elaborate explanations for the various pieces of military equipment become somewhat intrusive, Rizzi's credible scenario and action-filled pace once again carry the day.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
In this jarringly anti-Muslim thriller, a US stealth cruise missile veers off course during the Gulf War and lands intact in the Iranian desert, giving the government a prototype from which to develop its own cruise missiles and to take up where Saddam Hussein left off. Bakhtiar, a fundamentalist in the Iranian government, arranges to have the prime minister and his right hand man murdered. Once in power, Bakhtiar gets the Ayatollah's blessings to hit a series of oil tankers in the Gulf, making it clear that he will cut off the flow of oil to the West until Iran's economy is resuscitated. Working against him are James Duke, the pilot hero of Nightstalker (1992) and Strike of the Cobra (1993), and an ensemble cast that includes Mark Collins, a CIA agent posing as a weapons trader who is sent in to reactivate communication with ``Zenith''; a female Iranian engineer who had been sending the Agency information; U.S. Vice Admiral Nelson Zachiem III, a politically ambitious career officer eager to prove the Navy can clean up this mess with minimal help from the Air Force; and Democratic senator Paula Jenrette, whose leaks to CNN are implausibly blamed for the outbreak of the war. Rizzi is at his best describing the different airplanes, radars, and weapons and how they all work together. His understanding of Muslim fundamentalism is superficial at best, racist at worst, and although he gives lip service to his female characters' intelligence, ``Zenith'' is a damsel in distress complete with chador, and Jenrette is a soft-headed liberal with blood on her hands. Only Duke and his fellow top guns end up looking good; as everyone else fades out of the picture, they conduct a high speed chase that pits complex US military technology against the Iranians chasing Collins and ``Zenith'' across the medieval landscape. Thin plot, thinner characterizations, great techno-speak and top-gun action. (Maps and diagrams, not seen) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
An off-course U.S. cruise missile captured by the Iranians during the Gulf War and reverse engineered is the engine driving this tense military thriller. In order to counter the peril of the new Iranian stealth technology, and to save an Iranian agent and her American controller, the U.S. must send in a navy carrier group and a commando mission to destroy the secret Iranian facilities. The combination of tomorrow's high-tech combat, traditional cloak-and-dagger, and political intrigue taken from today's headlines ensures an exciting story full of enough action to keep the keenest fans on the edges of their seats. Dennis Winters
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