Call to Duty

January 4, 1993
This engrossing, character-based thriller by the author of Firebreak divides its time between the present day and WW II. In the present, a feared drug-smuggling organization kidnaps the daughter of powerful Sen. William Courtland, planning to use her as leverage against U.S. narcotics agents. Courtland, who cares less about his daughter than his career, pressures President Matthew Pontowski to order a Delta force raid on the smugglers' home base. Either way the senator wins: if his daughter is saved, fine; if she's killed in the raid, Pontowski loses face and Courtland is positioned to win the next presidential election. Faced with this dilemma, Pontowski reflects on his experiences as a downed RAF pilot making his way across occupied France during WW II. The two plots mesh well in a briskly paced narrative. Herman's characterizations are fluent and convincing; he depicts combat, both past and present, with involving realism, and his sparing use of gore makes those scenes which contain it all the more effective. The novel closes with two highly dramatic and satisfying climaxes.

December 1, 1992
A group of young Americans with important political connections is kidnapped in the Pacific, launching an odyssey of political and military action that involves a wide variety of characters, including the president of the United States. The author, a retired U.S. Air Force officer, demonstrates an impressive familiarity with his subject; both the writing style and the attention to technical detail are reminiscent of his other works (e.g., Firebreak, Morrow, 1991; Warbirds, LJ 2/15/89). The primary problem is that Herman has tried to write two novels in one: the main plot of the rescue of the youths is interlaced with another story of the president's World War II experiences. This, combined with the large casts of characters involved in both plots, makes Call to Duty confusing to follow at times. Still, the tale is well told and worth reading by military fiction buffs. Recommended for larger public libraries.-- Jim Cunningham, Illinois Mathematics and Science Acad., Aurora

Copyright 1992 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.