Quantico

Greg Bear's book is slightly misnamed since little of the action takes place at the FBI training center. The story is about an American's plan to unleash a biological weapon. It's the world of the near future, but little has changed. The weapons have improved, but politics and people are much the same. Jeff Woodman, who must have a roomful of Earphones Awards, is one of AUDIOFILE's Top 50 Voices of the Century. He does more than his share to keep this plot moving, giving voice to a developmentally disabled man, a woman with severe facial injuries, and at least a dozen characters of varying ages, races, and accents. Strong writing makes QUANTICO a cut above the average thriller. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

January 22, 2007
This thought-provoking near-future thriller from bestseller Bear (Dead Lines
) focuses on two young FBI agents: William Griffin, the son of a legendary FBI lawman, struggles through training; Fouad Al-Husam, who expects suspicion for his heritage and Muslim faith, finds himself instead sent on super-secret missions to the Middle East. Playing a minor supporting role is their Quantico classmate, Jane Rowland. When a quiet man with mismatched eyes starts telling certain fanatics that he can make gene-keyed anthrax to destroy their hereditary enemies, Griffin and Al-Husam form an unlikely team, headed by veteran agent Rebecca Rose, to handle the threat. Bear's near-future science is, as always, eerily plausible, and while he doesn't stint on sharp criticism of political infighting and its potential to hinder antiterrorism efforts, his would-be terrorists become surprisingly sympathetic as the complex details of their true plan are slowly (sometimes too slowly) revealed.