AllThingsThatMatterPress

They Plotted Revenge Against America by Abe F. March

Reviewed by Malcolm R. Campbell for PODBRAM

Terrorism frightens people because it operates outside the traditional rules of war. It's hard to combat because the attacks are no longer limited to people wearing military uniforms at well-formed battle lines: they can happen anywhere, at any time, and they may well target people who don't have anydirect knowledge of the peoples and issues involved. Part of the terror is the pervasive feeling that nobody’s safe.

This is the arena of Abe F. March's chilling novel They Plotted Revenge Against America. The novel is chilling, not because it's filled with “just more violence” in the Middle East, but because the story occurs on American soil as survivors of the American attack on Baghdad blend in to mainstream society to personally extract revenge against everyday citizens.

They Plotted Revenge Against America is a plausible, sobering, intricateand effectively plotted story about a group of well-trained, well-coordinatedteams who slip into the U.S. with forged papers and then painstakingly workthrough a plan that will infect food and water supplies with a deadly virus.

These team members are not the gun-wielding, grenade-throwing stereotypicalterrorists we see in most TV shows and movies. They are everyday people whohave suffered personal loss and who want to fight back. Once their mission iscomplete, they plan, if possible, to go back to their normal lives. As themission unfolds, they alternate between excitement and doubt while trying toavoid detection, and in the process, they discover while blending intocommunity life, that Americans are not the monsters they expected.

March’s story tends to humanize both the terrorists and their victims, showingAmericans as largely unconcerned and ill-informed about the agendas and issuesinvolved in the long-time conflicts between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Onthe other hand, the terrorists see themselves not as criminals but as soldiersresponding to what they view as acts of war taken against their communities.

Since the overall mission leader is a double agent working for Israel's Mossad,group members must not only avoid Homeland Security and other U.S. lawenforcement agencies, but the highly effective Israeli intelligence agency aswell. This subplot is a nice touch in a book that suggests we're morevulnerable than we suspect.

On a minor note, it’s a shame to see books from some of the newer publishersbeing printed in a sans serif body type. This is not only “not done,” but has been shown via many years of legibility studies to make blocks of type more difficult to read. That said, the book is not only a great story, butnourishing food for thought.

"The Last Testament" by Sam Bourne

This is an extraordinary book.  The plot evolves around the most controversial issues in the Middle East.  Although fiction, there is a whole lot of truth in this book concerning the perpetual struggle for territory and peace.  Sam Bourne does a great job with factual information and the politics involved. The reader is kept in suspense with a sought after prize leaving dead bodies in its wake.  The surprise ending provides a plausible solution to the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. 

Another book, “They Plotted Revenge Against America,” ends with a twist that is similar with respect to the greatest obstacle to peace in the Middle East.