MANHATTAN MORTAR ATTACKS

A mortar capable of hitting very specific targets is in the hands of terrorists taking aim at Manhattan in Diogenes’ novel. 

U.S. operative Sam Adams witnesses firsthand the damage that a mortar can cause while attending Dubai’s IDEX (International Defense Exposition) to peruse the latest weapons. The Chinese Super Rapid Automatic Mortar (SRAM) is even more sophisticated and precise than its Swiss counterpart, which is unfortunate because two units of SRAM have been stolen. Back in Manhattan, Sam tries to convince government officials that the SRAMs may be used in a terrorist attack, while Professor Edward Mossad, spearheading a covert operation, manipulates the media to shift the blame for impending assaults onto other political groups. The author (Reformers, 2011, etc.) excels at displaying the media’s influence, taking a rather cynical view: TV and Internet personalities respond to the mortar attacks with conjecture or simply misinformation, and press conferences are mostly useless. It’s fitting that Sam suggests acquiring control of the media as a maneuver. People’s behavior mirrors the media’s approach: the professor instigating the bombings asks students to sign a peace pledge and, in an amusing scene, marching pacifists attack hecklers. The novel is sometimes too obvious: Sam’s walk through a club of debaucheries is a transparent analogy for the corruption of political figures and a police command post named “Paris Hilton” (via a handwritten sign) is only introduced for a joke referencing the bunker’s “rear entrance.” The author fares better with more subtle nuances, such as the scene in which Mossad neglects the willing female lying in bed in favor of three TVs broadcasting news coverage. Strong action sequences round out the story, while drama is heightened by Sam’s missing fiancée, Mary—though she only has a brief appearance before disappearing. Mossad’s lady friend, TV reporter Roberta, proves to be more intriguing. Devastating mortar attacks, but it’s the planning and aftermath of those attacks that will hold readers’ attention.