God's Children
For those who went to war with an M-1 rifle, a carbine, or a Colt 45, and who don't know a BMP from an M-16, Coyle writes in a foreign language. But for professional soldiers, active or otherwise, wanna-bes, armchair generals, and general military buffs, Coyle wrote the book--this one and others--on land warfare. The God's Children of the title--peacekeepers, according to the biblical saying--are the Third Platoon of C Company, part of a NATO force in near-future Slovakia attempting to keep the lid on a boiling pot nobody seems to care much about. Coyle's main protagonists are First Lieutenant Nathan Dixon and Second Lieutenant Gerald Reider, fresh from West Point. The good news is that both young men survive the firefights that are part of their peacekeeping mission. The not-so-good news is that Coyle's story could be uncomfortably close to actual happenings in the year 2000 or slightly beyond. In any case, when it comes to military techno-thrillers, Coyle is as good as it gets.Budd Arthur