Virus

In 2014, Iraq's president makes plans to occupy Kuwait by Christmas. The president in this case is Hussein Kamal al-Tikriti, the son-in-law of the aging Saddam Hussein (or, as Buchanan spells it for inexplicable reasons, ""Hessian""). With the aid of a mole with ""copper skin and oily hair"" at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, the Iraqis have developed a computer virus that both endlessly reproduces itself and can identify and combat any attempts to annihilate it. The aim is to destroy Allied aircraft; and Major Linda Scott, piloting ""the fastest aerospace plane ever built,"" is assigned to save the West. The personalities of Buchanan's stereotypical characters are conveyed by having them watch CNN, plan Disneyland vacations, drive Hondas and attach sensitive listening equipment with Juicy Fruit gum. The reader is presumed to know (or to want to) a great deal of aerospace and weaponry jargon. Also, Buchanan could have given some background on the Iraqi ruling family (a much more terrifying thriller than this could ever be) to avoid inevitable reader confusion between his character Hessian Kamal and the son-in-law Hussein Kamal who was bumped off in March. (Feb.)