Night of the Hawk

Set in the immediate future, this blockbuster demonstrates the exciting possibilities open to the techno-thriller in a post-Soviet world. Lithuania, seeking to remove the last traces of Soviet rule, plans to get rid of a secret research facility where scientists have developed a Stealth-type bomber--with the involuntary aid of none other than David Luger, presumed killed in Flight of the Old Dog . Luger has instead been captured, brainwashed and given a new identity, but somehow he has retained his professional expertise. Informed of his survival, the U.S. government mounts a rescue. But Gen. Brad Elliott, who led the Old Dog mission, makes plans of his own involving the EB-42 Megafortress, with its bristling array of missiles and electronics. Then the two operations become entangled in a Lithuanian uprising and an invasion from neighboring Belarus. While the rescue subplot is neither credible nor necessary, and while the Old Dog's frequently recycled crew is becoming somewhat shopworn, the Lithuanian story line sets the stage for dramatic high-tech adventure. (Aug.)