THE SHADOWS OF POWER

With gadgets, gizmos, guts and buckets of testosterone, Huston's latest military-techno thriller leaps into the already crowded subgenre that pits American good guys against Islamic terrorists. Huston (The Price of Power) introduces super-hero Kent Rathman, aka Rat, a versatile navy SEAL doing undercover spook work for the CIA and the National Security Council in this predictable mishmash of car chases, shoot outs, jet plane dogfights, secret terrorist plots and Washington, D.C., conspiracies. Navy Lt. Ed Stovic shoots down an Algerian jet fighter in an aerial confrontation over the Mediterranean Sea, killing the Algerian pilot. The pilot's brother, Ismael, a student in Washington, D. C., vows revenge against Stovic, the U.S. and Stovic's vaunted navy Blue Angels flying demonstration team. Rat and Stovic are old navy buddies, so Rat sees this threat as an opportunity to protect his friend and knock off another terrorist. Too early in the book, Huston reveals the villain, his motive and his deadly scheme, and there is not much left for the reader to do but follow Rat and his thick-necked pals as they chase, gun down and torture a surprisingly inept group of Algerian terrorists. Side plots involving geopolitics take a distant backseat to the chest-thumping, rah-rah bravado of Rat, Stovic and the rest of the gunslingers who think nothing of slicing up a prisoner to make him talk. There is plenty of action, but Huston forgot to add suspense and credibility, which makes this story a two-dimensional orgy of violence. (June)