Quantico: A Novel

It’s the second decade of the twenty-first century, and terrorism has escalated almost beyond control. The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem has been blown to bits by extremists and, in retaliation, thousands have died in another major attack on the United States. New weapons are being spawned in remote basement labs. No one feels safe. In North America, the FBI uses cutting-edge technology to thwart domestic terrorists. Sat-linked engine blockers stop drug-traffickers cold; devices the size of Magic Markers test for bio-hazards on the spot; 3-D projectors reconstruct crime scenes from hours-old evidence; and sophisticated bomb suits protect against all but the most savage forces. Despite all this, the War on Terror has reached a deadly stalemate. Now the FBI has been dispatched to deal with a new menace. Like the Anthrax threat of 2001, a plague targeted to ethnic groups-Jews or Muslims or both-has the potential to wipe out entire populations. But the FBI itself is under political assault. There’s a good chance agents William Griffin, Fouad Al-Husam, and Jane Rowland will be part of the last class at Quantico. As the young agents hunt a brilliant homegrown terrorist, they join forces with veteran bio-terror expert Rebecca Rose. But the plot they uncover-and the man they chase-proves far more complex than anyone expects.

Greg Bear is the author of more than thirty books of science fiction and fantasy, including Blood Music, The Forge of God, Darwin’s Radio, and Quantico. Awarded two Hugos and five Nebulas for his fiction, Bear is one of two authors to win a Nebula in every category. Bear has served on political and scientific action committees and has advised Microsoft Corporation, the U.S. Army, the CIA, Sandia National Laboratories, Callison Architecture, Inc., and other groups and agencies. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Astrid Anderson Bear, and his children, Erik and Alexandra.