The Shadows of Power

June 3, 2002
With gadgets, gizmos, guts and buckets of testosterone, Huston's latest military-techno thriller leaps into the already crowded subgenre that pits American good guys against Islamic terrorists. Huston (The Price of Power) introduces super-hero Kent Rathman, aka Rat, a versatile navy SEAL doing undercover spook work for the CIA and the National Security Council in this predictable mishmash of car chases, shoot outs, jet plane dogfights, secret terrorist plots and Washington, D.C., conspiracies. Navy Lt. Ed Stovic shoots down an Algerian jet fighter in an aerial confrontation over the Mediterranean Sea, killing the Algerian pilot. The pilot's brother, Ismael, a student in Washington, D. C., vows revenge against Stovic, the U.S. and Stovic's vaunted navy Blue Angels flying demonstration team. Rat and Stovic are old navy buddies, so Rat sees this threat as an opportunity to protect his friend and knock off another terrorist. Too early in the book, Huston reveals the villain, his motive and his deadly scheme, and there is not much left for the reader to do but follow Rat and his thick-necked pals as they chase, gun down and torture a surprisingly inept group of Algerian terrorists. Side plots involving geopolitics take a distant backseat to the chest-thumping, rah-rah bravado of Rat, Stovic and the rest of the gunslingers who think nothing of slicing up a prisoner to make him talk. There is plenty of action, but Huston forgot to add suspense and credibility, which makes this story a two-dimensional orgy of violence.

Kent Rathman (aka "Rat") is on a mission is to track down the Algerian who is planning a terrorist attack to avenge the death of his brother, a pilot, who was killed by Rat's old roommate at Annapolis. Political intrigue is rife, and the plot takes many twists and turns before delivering an exciting climax. There are a few graphic scenes of torture that might turn off some listeners. Christopher Price turns in a performance that for the most part enhances the book. Most of the characters' voices are well drawn; the French and Algerian accents are quite good, but the South African voices are not as successful. However, mispronunciations of some words by American characters ("pitture" for "picture") should have been caught by the producers. Nonetheless, this story moves along at a brisk pace, grabbing the listener from the outset with an overall good reading. S.S.R. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine