Synbat

SYNBATs (synthetic battle forms) are large mutant primates created by a secret genetic engineering project in rural Tennessee and, in the best thriller tradition, they escape, wreaking gory havoc on anything in their way. Massed against them are Special Forces Chief Warrant Officer Dave Riley and his troop of Green Berets. In lesser hands, the plot might seem tawdry, but Mayer, a Special Forces veteran and author of Eyes of the Hammer , keeps story and characters firmly under control. Even his scenario is chillingly plausible, given the fluid parameters of scientific ethics in a technological and political climate in which dollars must show immediate results. As the plot progresses, Riley and crew find themselves battling not only the vicious animals, but also government officials intent upon keeping their secrets (and funding) intact. The venal motives of the scientists and military bureaucracy are tellingly contrasted with the idealism of the soldiers--a treat for military fiction readers. (Jan.)