Robert Ludlum meets William Gibson in this dystopian spy thriller, the sequel to 2006's Echelon
. Five years after taking down the corrupt, world-controlling cabal known as Echelon, former intelligence agent Ryan Laing is faced with an even bigger task: stopping Alfred Krueger, a vengeance-obsessed bioterrorist who has turned Laing's ex-girlfriend, Sarah Peters, into an asymptomatic carrier of a deadly retrovirus that has killed thousands of innocents. Laing, a bioengineered marvel augmented with several eye-popping nanotech enhancements, is reluctantly drawn back into the clandestine world of operatives and assassins as he tracks down Krueger and tries to figure out whether Peters is a victim or a co-conspirator. Even worse, he finally has to confront the wreckage of his personal life. While the cyberpunk elements are somewhat formulaic and certain high-tech components a little far-fetched (antiproton guns, etc.), the Orwellian atmosphere, intricate plot lines and breakneck pacing make this cyberpunk/espionage hybrid a highly entertaining read. (Oct.)
