BLOOD OF PATRIOTS

Hoyt (Tyger! Tyger!, p. 160) shares his byline and series hero (James Burlane) with Congressman Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) in a gloriously over-the-top yarn about the mortal perils die-hard reactionaries with sociopolitical ambitions could pose to the US. Shortly after the turn of the 21st century, terrorists armed with automatic weapons gun down over a hundred lawmakers gathered for an important vote on the floor of the House. The evidence suggests that Latino druglords worried about decriminalization legislation are responsible for the Capitol Hill massacre, and there's enthusiasm for a punitive war against Colombia. But Thomas Erikson, the Republican whose successful 1996 campaign put him in the White House, isn't so sure. Concerned that American investigators may be pursuing fall guys, he calls in Burlane, a resourceful CIA dropout who does odd jobs for a varied clientele. With a carte blanche from Erikson (who faces tough reelection battles), the former spook springs a lissome computer hacker known as Cyberfox from the federal pen she's been languishing in. Burlane picks up a trail that leads him to Lamar Gene Cooper, a wealthy Perot-like industrialist and founder of the New American Party, and to a band of GOP extremists who hope to replace the incumbent Chief Executive with one of their own. With help from Cyberfox (who can follow laundered money to the ends of the earth), Burlane eventually realizes that both the affluent populist and the right- wing extremists have been using superpatriots with special-forces skills to do their dirty work. He sets loose several cats among these ideological pigeons, with only partially conclusive results. While virtually all the villains have paid with their lives at the close, the militia mastermind who may have played everyone for a fool remains at large. A tall millennial tale that could give Rep. Abercrombie's constituents some pause, albeit one that should prove right up the alley of Hoyt fans. (Author tour)