Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
We learned from a recent John Travolta movie that "broken arrow" is the military code for a stolen nuclear missile. Now we discover, in this sputtering first thriller by U.S. Air Force Major Stewart, that "shattered bone" is code for "the theft, hijacking or unauthorized flight of a B1-B bomber loaded with nuclear weapons." Stewart (who set world time, distance and speed records for B-1s in 1995) writes about flying with grace and power, but his prose stalls when it comes to character and plot. Battling the imperialist plans of a new Russian premier, Ukrainian leaders deploy one of their deepest moles, 29-year-old U.S. Air Force Captain Richard Ammon. The secret agent disappears after an apparent mid-air explosion, then resurfaces in Ukraine, where he is recruited to steal a B1-B and use it to destroy Russia's still-active missile sites. Feeling some (justified) distrust of Ammon, the Ukrainians take his American wife hostagesoon Ammon finds himself fighting to save her from her captors and the U.S. from nuclear war. A more sophisticated, experienced writer might have pulled off such a doozy of a setup; regrettably, despite wonderful airborne action scenes, Stewart's albatross of a narrative loses all its strength as soon as it touches the ground. (Oct.)Kirkus Reviews
The US is drawn by design into a potentially dangerous belligerency pitting Russia against Ukraine: a top-notch technothriller from first-timer Stewart, an active duty Air Force officer honored for his feats as a B-1 bomber pilot.Posted to America by the Soviet Union as Richard Ammon, at age 18, Ukrainian Carl Vadym Kostenko earns a from UCLA and becomes a USAF jet jockey. Eleven years later (during which time the USSR implodes), Kiev calls in Ammon (who has long since disclosed his deep-cover status to American intelligence authorities). Although puzzled by the postCold War summons, the F-16 pilot plays along. Once back in his nearly forgotten homeland, the Air Force captain learns that he's the linchpin in a fantastic scheme devised by Ukrainian armed forces to protect the newly independent nation from a Kremlin madman bent on restoring the Soviet Union. While the two neighbors get into a costly shooting war, then, Ammon returns to the States, accompanied by the dastardly Morozov, of uncertain loyalties. Covertly assisted by the White House and Pentagon, the crew—soon working at cross purposes, as Morozov shows his true colors—makes off with a Stealth bomber and heads for the battlefields of Eastern Europe. Ammon is gravely concerned about his beloved wife, who's being held hostage by Morozov's cronies, but he soldiers on nonetheless, carrying out a desperately risky, low-level mission that could precipitate a global holocaust in a Shattered Bone—USAF code for the unauthorized flight of a B-1B loaded with nuclear weapons.
An impressive debut, complete with suspenseful action, plausible geopolitical scenarios, and authoritative detail on the small wonders of advanced military technology.