War in 2020

A plague sweeps out of Africa to decimate the world's population. An American expeditionary force is humiliated by South Africans armed with a new generation of Japanese weapons. Israel is destroyed in a nuclear exchange. These apocalyptic events are only background in Peters's ( Red Army ) latest page-turner. To aid a disintegrating Soviet Union being overrun by a Japanese-supported Islamic army, America intervenes with the Seventh Cavalry, commanded by living legend Col. George Taylor and equipped with the top-secret M-100 super helicopter. Japan responds with the Scrambler, a neurological weapon so horrible it frightens even its users. But the Seventh has an electronic surprise of its own in this high-tech thriller that verges on science fiction. Although Peters risks offense with his portrayal of Muslims as bloodthirsty savages, he keeps firm control of the story as it speeds from Africa to Mexico to the steppes of Russia, and his understated style effectively conveys the grim nature of soldiering in ``twilight wars.'' Military Book Club dual main selection; Literary Guild, Doubleday and Science Fiction Book Clubs alternate; major ad promo. (Mar.)