Books in Brief: The Fifth Horseman

The Fifth Horseman, by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre (Simon & Schuster, 478 pp., $13.95). In their first novel, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, the well-known authors of such books as Freedom at Midnight and Is Paris Burning?, address themselves to a subject frequently in today’s headlines: nuclear terrorism. Skillfully blending fact and fiction, but carefully avoiding the curse of “faction,” Collins and Lapierre proceed to construct a scenario that is frightening in its plausibility. Muammar el-Qaddafi, Libya’s fanatical and probably deranged leader, has succeeded, by a variety of nefarious means, in constructing a hydrogen bomb. He has hidden it in Manhattan and delivered an ultimatum to the United States Government: compel Israel to dismantle its settlements and evacuate all occupied territories within 36 hours, or the bomb will be detonated. The President (who is not named, but has sandy hair and advisors with names like Harold Brown and William Webster) has basically two options: giving in and persuading, or forcing, Israel to accept Qaddafi’s terms; or finding and disarming the device. The bulk of the novel is concerned with the President’s attempts to stall the Libyan leader while the NEST (Nuclear Explosives Search Teams), the FBI, and a group of bewildered (like other New Yorkers, they cannot be told the real story for fear of causing a panic) New York police detectives attempt to locate the bomb and render it harmless. The characters in The Fifth Horseman, unlike those in many thrillers, are sharp and well-drawn, the situations believable and realistic. An admirable job in every respect.

JA

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John A. Barnes

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The Fifth Horseman, by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre (Simon & Schuster, 478 pp., $13.95). In their first novel, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, the well-known authors of such books as Freedom at Midnight and Is Paris Burning?, address themselves to a subject frequently in today’s headlines: nuclear terrorism. Skillfully blending fact and fiction, but carefully avoiding the curse of “faction,” Collins and Lapierre proceed to construct a scenario that is frightening in its plausibility. Muammar el-Qaddafi, Libya’s fanatical and probably deranged leader, has succeeded, by a variety of nefarious means, in constructing a hydrogen bomb. He has hidden it in Manhattan and delivered an ultimatum to the United States Government: compel Israel to dismantle its settlements and evacuate all occupied territories within 36 hours, or the bomb will be detonated. The President (who is not named, but has sandy hair and advisors with names like Harold Brown and William Webster) has basically two options: giving in and persuading, or forcing, Israel to accept Qaddafi’s terms; or finding and disarming the device. The bulk of the novel is concerned with the President’s attempts to stall the Libyan leader while the NEST (Nuclear Explosives Search Teams), the FBI, and a group of bewildered (like other New Yorkers, they cannot be told the real story for fear of causing a panic) New York police detectives attempt to locate the bomb and render it harmless. The characters in The Fifth Horseman, unlike those in many thrillers, are sharp and well-drawn, the situations believable and realistic. An admirable job in every respect.