The Ten Thousand

This new novel by the author of Trial by Fire reads like an extraordinarily complicated, high-tech chess game. Sometime in the not too distant future, Ukraine refuses to relinquish its nuclear arsenal to Russia, and a state of anarchy sweeps over most of Eastern Europe. American troops, led by enormously likable General ``Big Al'' Malin, are sent to restore order; with Russian help, they snatch the nukes from the Ukrainian silos. But vengeful German Chancellor Johann Ruff, embittered since the waning days of WW II when allied bombs blew up his family, traps the American troops passing through his country with the Ukranian weapons and flexes some nuclear muscle of his own. In the cat-and-mouse game that follows, every strategic move by the Germans is either anticipated or countered by the Americans, who employ a clever plan devised by ``Big Al'' to make the Germans think he's an out-of-control warrior. Coyle describes complex weapons systems in minute detail--indeed, hardware and strategy are the real heroes of this novel; character development plays second fiddle to frequent tactical descriptions. (May)