The early nineties was an exciting time, a time of change, a time when controversial concepts suddenly lost their validity. Just before the decade opened, one of the Cold War's major symbols, the Berlin Wall, was reduced to a pile of concrete rubble. By late 1991, the vaunted Soviet Union had crumbled apart as well. Meanwhile, the United States showed its muscle in the Middle East by leading a coalition that saw Desert Storm stop Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his tracks.
It appeared to be a heady time for America and her allies, but problems rumbled beneath the surface like precursors of an earthquake. The break-up of the Soviet Union and the demise of communism in the Russian sphere stripped many autocrats of their power and left them searching for ways to reclaim their lofty status. The U.S. venture in Iraq, sending a large army halfway across the globe in record time, put strains on the budget, prodding Congress to call for slashes in military and intelligence spending.
Financial oligarchs, international bankers and corporate heads who felt their world view superior to the insular perspectives of most people, saw the disorganization of the former Soviet states as a hindrance to world order. Something needed to be done to assure the pieces of the puzzle would be assembled in the fashion they desired.
This outlook for the period of transition in the early nineties provides the backdrop for my trilogy of Post Cold War political thrillers featuring ex-FBI agent Burke Hill, his wife Lori, and a cast of colorful characters from around the globe. Here are the covers produced by talented artist Stephen Walker.
The first book, Beware the Jabberwock, shifts from Israel to Hong Kong to the eastern U.S., with much of it centered around a small island off the Florida Gulf Coast. The Poksu Conspiracy, second in the series, alternates between the Washington area and South Korea, with side junkets to San Franciso and Chiangmai, Thailand. The final volume, titled Overture to Disaster, involves two subplots that feature a Special Operations helicopter pilot and a criminal investigator from Minsk, Belarus.
Beware the Jabberwock is available here in paperback or ebook.
The Poksu Conspiracy can be found here as an ebook.
Overture to Disaster will be published in March.
No comments:
Post a Comment