Peacemaker

This fireball of a military thriller will send those new to the author racing to get Rules of Engagement, the sleep-erasing debut novel by Kent (the pseudonym of a father/son writing team). Few authors integrate multiple plots in such dazzling 3-D realism and technical accuracy,; here, Kent pits the stalwart Rules heroes against viperous villains on three continents. Naval Lt. Alan Craik is resigned to sitting out a Washington office job while his wife, Lt. Comdr. Rose Craik, prepares to direct the shipboard launch of Peacemaker, a top-secret military satellite, in the Gulf of Sidra off Libya. Thrilled when a high-level shakeup lands him the post of information officer on the launch support flagship, Alan had barely established himself onboard when a report comes in that his best friend, Harry O'Neill, a black rookie CIA agent, has been kidnapped by Hutu rebels backed by a sinister, hawk-nosed Serb terrorist known as Zulu. Setting out with a tough navy SEAL, Alan rescued the gruesomely injured O'Neill, and the three attempt a near-impossible escape across Africa, pursued by cold-blooded mercenaries. Meanwhile, Rose learns that her duplicitous American superiors are concealing crucial peacemaker information, and faces down not only a Russian nuclear submarine but also an attack by the Libyan and the French right-winger Lascelles, Zulu's main backer. Harrowing shipboard battles, nail-biting emergency plane flights and riveting action in Sarajevo, central Africa, Washington and France drive this turbocharged thriller. A tour de force with near hypnotic pull, Kent's second outing scores a bulls-eye and saves rocket fuel for a sequel. (Apr)