State of the Union

An original, well-conceived hero and some inside knowledge of politics and the defense establishment give this thriller an edge--despite the usual suspect crew of heavies and a plot about a military plot to take over the government that owes a lot to Seven Days in May. The hero, Lt. Zach Turzin, a recent recipient of the Medal of Honor for leading a raid that destroyed a munitions plant in Iraq, is recruited by his personal hero, the legendary Admiral Jeff Forsten, now vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. At a dinner given by maverick billionaire and presidential candidate Douglas Sherman, Admiral Forsten attacks the current liberal president's defense policies and asks Zach to join his staff as a special assistant. We realize early on that Forsten and Sherman are hatching some dirty deeds, but we also understand why Turzin would be attracted to such people. He's seeing a therapist, and through these sessions we learn why this young intellectual is basically anti-liberal and very pro-military. Callahan, a resident scholar at the Twentieth Century Fund who has written about defense and foreign policy issues, provides enough credible detail to keep the usual wave of plot-induced disbelief at bay for a while. But in the end, the escalating body count of murders made to look like accidents or suicides is too much to bear, and Turzin's original qualities disappear beneath the fake armor of cartoon heroics. U.K. and translation rights: Raphael Sagalyn. (June)