The Twilight War

In Morgan's ambitious first novel, top CIA operative Daniel Robinson is beseeched by his close friend Miroslav Lhota to help apprehend one Emil Uzhok--who, having proved himself a beast during WW II, is planning a global catastrophe. Although Robinson and Lhota had been partners in many covert operations in Europe, Robinson turns a deaf ear to his friend's entreaties. When Lhota is murdered in Guatemala, presumably by Uzhok, Robinson is consumed by remorse and vows vengeance, to the serious detriment of his career, family life and personal safety. His crusade carries him to Czechoslovakia, Guatemala and the far reaches of the U.S. While the story is extremely well written and the author displays an instructive familiarity with Guatemala, by the middle of the novel the plot verges on the surreal, probably to camouflage Morgan's difficulty in ascribing galactic implications to the hunt for Uzhok. It is never made clear what Uzhok finally intends to do (only what he has already done); as a result this putative thriller leaves the reader underwhelmed. (May)