All Our Tomorrows

Although Allbeury ( The Man with the President's Mind ) has been overtaken by the leaps and bounds of glasnost, this what-if thriller written in 1982 is still hard to put down. A lazy, divided, decadent and very weak Britain is forced into a ``Treaty of Neutrality and Cooperation'' with Russia, effectively making the U.K. an occupied country. The tale revolves around actions of the British Resistance, headed by ex-SAS Col. Harry Andrews, and the Soviet underground, led by a mysterious, charismatic Russian. Allbeury effectively portrays the grim, Orwellian life under the Russian boot: consumer-goods shortages, artistic and media repression and--after the Resistance becomes effective--brutal reprisals. If the author has an anti-French bias (the French President betrays the English) his pro-Americanism may surprise: the winning Resistance aims to establish a U.S.-style system. While most characters are stereotypical, and Allbeury flirts with sentimentality at the end, the book is still great fun, action- packed and a real page-turner. (Sept.)