The Enemy Within

Starred review from March 18, 1996
Remember how almost everyone jumped to the conclusion that Arab terrorists were responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing? Bond's compulsively readable new thriller (after Cauldron) takes that supposition and turns it on its head. In this up-to-the-minute suspense novel, America is under terrorist attack by agents of Iran, and the government is being led to believe that domestic racist and militarist groups are at fault. It's all part of a master plan cooked up by Iran's new military leader, the Western-trained General Amir Taleh, whose old friend and opposite number, Delta Force veteran Lt. Colonel Peter Thorn, is the chief victim of his deception. Stuck in a desk job tracking foreign terrorists while children are slaughtered, churches are blown up and race riots erupt across the country, Thorn uses his special relationship with FBI Agent Helen Gray to find out who is responsible for the growing chaos. As usual, Bond manages to make his story exciting, frightening and full of action. Like Tom Clancy, he paints a broad canvas filled with tight close-ups, a technique that energizes the narrative and gives it a wide-ranging, expansive feel. Unusual for this genre is the nuanced characterization, especially that of Helen Gray, which should broaden Bond's appeal to female readers. The topical plot is constructed for speed and action rather than polemic; while Bond makes frequent reference to freedoms that Americans allegedly take for granted, such background detail never gets in the way of his expert storytelling. It's a sure bet that this, like the author's previous books, will climb bestseller lists. Major ad/promo.

November 15, 1995
Technomeister Bond collaborated with Tom Clancy on the popular Red Storm Rising (Putnam, 1987) before making solo assaults on the best sellers lists (e.g., Cauldron, Warner, 1993). Here, he spins a tale about an America paralyzed by a wave of terrorism.

December 15, 1995
Just as Rambo went back to single-handedly win the Vietnam War, here Delta Force commando Peter Thorn--veteran of the Desert One fiasco--returns to Iran to avenge a rancorous defeat. But unlike the thick-skulled, pectoral-flexing Rambo, Thorn wins with his wits, as well as some high-tech help. Beneath the gadgetry, though, this is a story of man against man: Thorn versus the ruthless and strategically clever Iranian General Taleh. Taleh's grand plan is to succeed where Saddam failed and grab Saudi oil fields. The scheme depends on keeping American forces away; Taleh ties them down with a tremendous terrorist offensive in the U.S., using white supremacists disguised as the terrorists. Much of this cliche-ridden, techno-thrilling pulp describes the Bosnian Muslim agents Taleh recruits and the outrages they commit, such as igniting a Chicago race riot by murdering black schoolchildren. Thorn eventually decodes Taleh's communications with the real terrorists. From there, the cavalry takes off for Tehran in a raid planned almost exactly like that old failure at Desert One in 1980--except this time, the helicopters fly right. Bond's skin-crawling vision will attract attention, but don't bet he'll hold it beyond a few weeks after publication. ((Reviewed December 15, 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)