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| Date first published | 21 Oct. 2004 |  |
| ISBN Number | 0 75285 771 1 | |
| Page Count | 409 h/b | |
| h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback | ||
The Lazarus Vendetta
Storyline
Colonel Jon Smith is on secondment to the Teller Institute, learning and monitoring the advances in NANO technology as part of his USAMRIID duties when a terrorist strike apparently unleashes a torrent of killer NANO bots on a semi peaceful demonstration against technology.
As the affair blows up into a major international incident, with America vilified from all fronts, Jon Smith is called on to look into the matter.
His first task is simply to monitor the investigation being conducted by the FBI and CIA, to ensure that it is properly conducted and that all avenues are checked, rather than simply pinning the blame on the organization known as Lazarus. However all is not as it seems, when Jon uncovers a joint black operation being conducted by both the CIA and FBI.
With matters spiraling out of control across the world, Jon with the help of Peter Howell and CIA agent Randi Russell is in a race against time to save mankind from Lazarus.
Review
This book, the fourth in the series, and written by Patrick Larkin is an excellent read. Tightly paced, and being very on topic at the time of the review it enters the world of the radical environmentalist. Those that see mankind as a plague who should be destroyed as soon as possible. (Interestingly as I write this review BBC television is showing Spooks which is also dealing with the problem of radical environmentalists)
I am not sure how far in reality that NANO technology (its not an area that particularly interests me) has moved on, but the threat that this technology brings is quite frightening, and so as all good books should do it latches on to peoples fears and exaggerates them to bring a frightening mix of fact and fiction.
The book takes an interesting turn when it becomes obvious that the TOCSIN operation is government sponsored, in an attempt to bring down the Lazarus movement. However the operation has become compromised and is being manipulated by the very people that it had set out to destroy.
The terrorists care nothing for people, and this is graphically portrayed in the manner chosen to kill them. No nice painless death from gassing, but simply releasing millions of NANO bots that eat their victims alive from the inside out.
This series of books has now taken on a life of there own. the idea of a lone warrior battling against the forces of evil has been around for a long time. One thing that marks this series out is the Peter Howell character, which is unusually well written. Many English characters that appear in American books are all two often Cockneys, or some empty headed Upper class twit. (Both of which are quite rare in the UK -really). Howell comes across as a man who has seen it all done it all, and life shouldn't be taken to seriously unless someone is trying to end it. His status is ambiguous, as is Jon Smiths' of course.
A good solid read bringing the techno/eco terrorist bang up to date.
As an interesting aside the dust jacket on my 2004 print mentions Marty Zellerbach who doesn't appear in the story, and mentions Randi Russell being lost in the field. Well if she were lost Jon soon found her! I think the dust jacket wording has been copied from 'The Paris Option', which is where Smith meets Marty for the first time.
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