cover image Gideon's War

Gideon's War

Howard Gordon, Touchstone, $24.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-4391-7581-1

This loosely plotted thriller, Hollywood screenwriter Gordon's first novel, lurches unpredictably from backstory to frenzied present-day action, employing a 24-hour ticking clock for suspense. The U.S. president dispatches professional peacemaker Gideon Davis, whose career as a special envoy has taken him around the world, to the sultanate of Mohan, a small Pacific island nation, where a rising Islamist insurgency under the leadership of terrorist Abu Nasir threatens to overthrow the local, American-friendly government. That Gideon's beloved brother, Tillman, is caught in the deadly conflict raises the personal stakes. Gideon ends up on a giant deep sea oil rig, the Obelisk, where he must battle insurgents bent on destroying the platform. Frantic action featuring miraculous escapes isn't enough to compensate for a silly plot, grandiose characters, and unbelievable twists, though fans of the TV show 24, of which the author is the executive producer, may be satisfied. (Jan.)