State of the Union

As the date of the president's State of the Union address approaches, former Special Forces commando Zach Turzin begins to suspect that his boss, Admiral Jeff Forsten, is the mastermind behind a diabolical scheme to eliminate the entire government in one blow. A first novel. Simultaneous."

From Kirkus Reviews

Clunky Clancy-esque government insider tale of an attempted Washington coup d'etat and the brooding Green Beret who stops it, by a former US foreign-policy analyst. After a well-received biography of Cold Warrior Paul Nitze (Dangerous Capabilities, 1990) and a foreign policy primer (Between Two Worlds, not reviewed), this fictional turn from Callahan, resident scholar at the Twentieth Century Fund, suffers from tediously predictable plotting and prose that begs for a salvo of editorial smart bombs: The desirable gal Friday of one of the book's half-dozen villains ``slung barbs with pursed lips and responded to attacks with either slashing wit or feminine pouting. Everything about her was inviting.'' Special Forces Lieutenant Zach Turzin, having just won the Congressional Medal of Honor for leading a commando raid into Iraq, is recruited to the staff of Admiral Jeff Forsten, the blustering, right-wing vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff whose spirited lust for combat during the Vietnam War cloaks a history of covert heroin smuggling and arms trading. Forsten introduces Turzin to Douglas Sherman, a wealthy, failed presidential candidate whose shadowy relations with Hong Kong businessman Donald Chen and terrorist chieftan Sheik Abdul Tabrata would make any remotely intelligent American officer quit the corps. Persuading himself that these just might be decent fellows, Turzin, who gets nightmares about his best buddy's tragic death back in Iraq, beds Justine, Sherman's barb-slinging mistress, while, in Oman, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs is murdered in an apparent terrorist attack. Hoping to disprove nasty rumors about Forsten's complicity, Turzin finds Forsten and company heading a complicated conspiracy aimed at wiping out most of the executive and legislative branches of government by blowing up the Capitol during the State of the Union address. Cautionary, ineptly written Pentagon procedural weighed down by flabby characterizations, limp dialogue, and a pile of mangled corpses. (Film rights to MGM) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

A theatrical assassination plot against the president activates this coup-in-Washington intrigue, which only Medal of Honor recipient Lieutenant Turzin can foil. Because of his award, earned in Iraq, Turzin is the toast of the town; Joint Chiefs head Admiral Forsten taps him to be an assistant. Big mistake, Admiral: your new aide likes to trawl through your shady Vietnam past of war crimes and drug trafficking. Turzin's curiosity naturally agitates strangers of uncertain allegiance--to the president? Forsten? Forsten's confederate, a Perot-type presidential aspirant? Forsten eventually tips his hand by court-martialing Turzin for lying to get his medal; in the brig (the prelude scene for the inevitable Stallone-style escape), Turzin realizes Forsten's plan and busts loose in a frenzy of high-caliber weaponry, just in time to save the entire government, assembled for the State of the Union message. A plot with the heart-pumping pace that action lovers savor Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In his first novel, Callahan, a resident scholar at the Twentieth Century Fund, gives added punch to the scenario of an underground right-wing group subverting an elected administration it considers weak on defense by adding Tennessee militiamen, Hezbollah mercenaries, and Congressional Medal of Honor winner Army Lt. Zachary Turzin to the mix. Recruited by defense industrialist and presidential contender Douglas Sherman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Jeffrey Forsten to join their band of true believers, Zach is soon working for Forsten, smitten with Sherman's girlfriend, and being courted by the FBI in its investigation of the pair. There is some nasty business here (assassination, torture) and a growing body count before a cinematic finish and the delivery of just deserts. Callahan's characterizations and prose style are merely serviceable, but his plot will keep readers of political-military thrillers turning pages. And you can just picture this on the big screen.-?Michele Leber, Fairfax Cty. P.L., Arlington, Va.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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