Science and politics clash in Kyle's (Beyond Recall) feverish techno-thriller. Physicist Mike Ryder builds HARC (High-frequency Auroral Research Center), believing the Alaska-based project will revolutionize worldwide communications. But Mike's father-in-law, General Ben Crewe, has a different use in mind for HARC; he hopes to use it for missile defense and, with his daughter's aid, he covertly sponsors Mike's project and enlists an ambitious scientist to transform HARC into a weapon. Caught in the middle is a Native American community that the HARC researchers are trying to force off the land. Native American activist Dana James, Mike's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his illegitimate son, belongs to that community, however, and she's determined to protect it. As the sexual tension between Mike and Dana heats up, Mike begins to realize that there may be a deadly glitch in the HARC technology. After a trial run goes awry, Ben and Mike team up to bring down HARC before it wipes out everyone in the northern hemisphere. Kyle's numerous point-of-view shifts and abrupt writing style distance the reader from the action, but his insightful portrayal of the Native American culture and his sensitive exploration of the relationship between Mike and his son are the saving graces of this over-the-top adventure. (Mar.)
