Kriegspiel: A Novel of Tomorrow's Europe

In the near-future setting of this provocative techno-thriller, only token U.S. forces remain in a reunited Germany threatened by a neo-Nazi coup. Renegade Bundeswehr general Karl Blacksturm plans to consolidate his Fourth Reich by seizing the nuclear warheads stored at the Kriegspiel munitions depot. Col. Alexander Stern and Lt. Col. Mark Griffin lead the less formidable U.S. 195th Mechanized Brigade on a last-chance mission to stop him, but first they must fight their way past an elite Bundeswehr Panzer brigade. First novelist Stone fails to make his conspiracy plausible--a contemporary German right-wing movement will more likely stress generalized xenophobia than specific anti-Semitism--but he does effectively present the internal dynamics of a professional army facing massive cutbacks. The climactic confrontation between the U.S. and German brigades offers both page-turning action and a convincing run-through of what might happen at the tactical level should these longtime allies meet in battle. (Jan.)