Pandora's Legion: Harold Coyle's Strategic Solutions, Inc.
In this promising first of a new series about the resurgence of the second oldest profession, the mercenary, in the guise of PMC (private military contractors), bestseller Coyle (They Are Soldiers) teams with aviation historian and novelist Tillman (Warrior) to chronicle the exploits of one such PMC, Strategic Solutions Inc. An eclectic assortment of ex-military action junkies and civilian specialists, the group is headed by a retired admiral who has the trust of certain elements of the current administration. When an American convert to Islam turns up at London's Heathrow Airport with a lethal and highly contagious disease, epidemiologists backtracking his itinerary uncover a jihadist plot to send biological time bombs among the infidels to spread disease, death and disarray. Problem: the plot's source is in a sensitive region of Pakistan where American troops can't go. While the characters never really come alive as in other Coyle novels, the description of how a PMC operates, with all its strengths and limitations, is engrossing and believable.(Feb.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.