Any thriller that's advertised as "a fictional answer to Black Hawk Down
," claims to be "loosely based on Xenophon's The Persian Expedition
" and says that its lead character is "very much" modeled on Colin Powell would appear to be asking for trouble. But Dickinson manages to satisfy with a smoothly written and painstakingly researched story about an overage warrior suddenly plunked down into the middle of the war in Afghanistan. Jackson Monroe, the Vietnam sniper hero of The Silent Men
, is now a four-star general and political insider. He is forced into real action when a diplomatic trip is interrupted by the assassination of a leading Afghan warlord, and Monroe has to take control of his team's only remaining helicopter. Long unused, his 30-year-old survival skills click into place, but are they enough to keep the general and his men alive over—and in—enemy territory? The Special Forces troops with him doubt it—as the lone civilian along puts it, "You're a fancy pants general who doesn't know shit"—but a brutal kill wins their trust. Powell might not approve or recognize himself, but if no copies of Xenophon are handy, this timely and imaginative military thriller makes a good option. (Sept.)
Forecast:
The Silent Men has sold 130,000 copies in mass market paperback, and
The Warlord looks likely to match its success.
