SHARKMAN SIX

Former Marine West shows staggering insight into the demoralizing dangers of Third World police duty in this powerful debut chronicling the clash of Marine vets and armed warlords in Somalia. Lt. Gavin Kelly went from Harvard ROTC to Desert Storm success, but lost a Marine under his command and wants to assuage the guilt with his latest mission protecting Red Cross food distribution in Operation Hope. All goes wrong from the very beginning, when a team member kills an armed Somali who turns out to be a reporter's bodyguard. The reporter in question, Mary Thayer-Ash, is convinced the killing is not the accident it is claimed to be, but is diverted by brass. In the field, the going gets even rougher when Somali warlord Muhammad Farah beheads a woman for her ration just outside the food compound, but Kelly's men can't retaliate unless personally threatened. Locals who know the rules play to the media, and things get dangerously personal when the Marines become attached to Little Joe, a frail Somali teen orphaned by Farah who becomes their translator and gets street intelligence on plans to bomb the compound. The combat scenes and face-to-face battles are eyewitness-horrific, and Kelly is a compelling everyman, always comparing himself to his war hero grandfather and Vietnam vet father. The novel makes plain the complex no-win strictures of do-good, media-moderated conflict, and a perfect, stunning conclusion leaves the reader revved for more from this engaging author. Agent, Dan Mandel at Sanford I. Greenburger. (Oct. 10)

Forecast:This war novel's title makes it sound like a testosterone-stoked thriller, but West is aiming higher. His excellent battle descriptions will satisfy fans of conventional military thrillers, but his nuanced take on the moral complexities of modern warfare should broaden the book's appeal. Film rights have been sold to HBO, and West will embark on a five-city author tour.