cover image Event

Event

David Lynn Golemon, . . St. Martin's/ Dunne, $23.95 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-312-35341-4

Former Special Ops member Golemon puts his military experience to good use in this promising debut sure to satisfy fans of The X-Files . Maj. Jack Collins, whose career was jeopardized after he testified truthfully before Congress about a debacle in Afghanistan, is given a new lease on life after he's drafted into the Event Group, a covert organization that hides behind the facade of the National Archives. The group's shadowy leaders reveal to Collins that they have secretly served every U.S. president since Lincoln, tracking down artifacts like Noah's Ark in the interest of national security. Collins receives a baptism of fire when the downing of a military aircraft appears to be the work of the same kind of UFOs responsible for the legendary Roswell incident in 1947. While the climactic scenes may be a bit too reminiscent of the parody horror film Tremors for some, the plotting and hair's-breadth escapes evoke some of the early work of Preston and Child, and the author's premise offers a rich lode of materials for the inevitable sequels. (Sept.)