cover image Seal Force Alpha

Seal Force Alpha

Richard Marcinko. Pocket Books, $24 (339pp) ISBN 978-0-671-00067-7

Never let it be said that the Rogue isn't topical. During an attack on the Chinese equivalent of his own Navy SEALs, author/hero Marcinko finds top-secret American electronic equipment. This discovery leads him into the murky waters of American influence-peddling and bureaucratic incompetence (the latter personified by Marcinko's familiar nemesis, consummate Pentagon desk-driver RADM Pickney Prescott III). The foul-mouthed commando and his warrior band--Boomerang, Pick, Duck Foot and Half Pint--go about their business of killing people and breaking things by jumping from airplanes, crawling through underbrush and sneaking into palazzos, while Marcinko pauses the action every page or two to brief us on the tactics and mentality it takes to be what he calls a ""Marcinko SEAL."" Making further pit-stops for humor, Roguish philosophy and patriotic speechifying (none of them beyond the grasp of an intelligent fourth-grader), Marcinko leads a predictable, bloody mission against national threats located overseas and inside the Beltway. Author tour. (Feb.) FYI: On the Web, see www.simonsays.com/rogue/main.html for details on the Rogue Warrior, his books and associated merchandise.