The Art of War by Stephen Coonts

Published by St. Martin's Press on February 2, 2016

As he has often done, Stephen Coonts teams series hero Jake Grafton with series hero Tommy Carmellini in The Art of War. The strength of those characters and a couple of powerful moments sold me on the novel. The plot is standard for a modern thriller, meaning it approaches the outlandish. Fortunately, the book races from scene to scene with so much energy that it leaves little time to think about the story's improbability.

The Chinese navy is the bad guy in The Art of War. Chinese naval commanders want to control the South China Sea, but worry that Americans might interfere with their grand design. They take steps to keep that from happening. Big steps, on several fronts, calculated to disrupt America’s various intelligence agencies and, for that matter, the government and the entire country.

Coonts pushes the Chinese shenanigans rather far, to a point that nearly exceeded my generous willingness to suspend disbelief for the sake of a good story. Fortunately, The Art of War never became so ridiculously improbable that I lost interest in it. To his credit, Coonts recognizes and addresses some of the reasons that his imagined scenario is largely divorced from political and economic reality.

The good guys in The Art of War are in the CIA. One is Grafton, who takes over as the agency’s acting director early in the novel. His contribution to the story is told from a third person perspective. Carmellini, an all-purpose spook who is usually tasked with planting bugs in foreign embassies, is the novel’s action hero. He tells his part of the story in the first person.

Some of Coonts’ characters have obvious political biases but, unlike some thriller writers, Coonts doesn’t let them overwhelm the story. I appreciate that, since I read fiction to be entertained, not indoctrinated. At the same time, Coonts isn’t afraid to show the ugly side of America -- an “us versus them” ugliness that too many people eagerly embrace when they use race or ancestry to define “real Americans.” That’s refreshing, and it gives the story a realistic sense of balance.

The Art of War blends action with drama. As is typical of thrillers, the action dominates at the end, but unlike many thrillers, it isn’t mindless action. Engaging characters, a certain slyness of wit in the storytelling, and a satisfying conclusion make this a fun novel.

RECOMMENDED

Saucer: Savage Planet by Stephen Coonts

Published by St. Martin's Griffin on April 1, 2014

Stephen Coonts wrote two novels in the Saucer series, the last one about ten years ago, with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Flying saucers shaped like saucers are found on Earth, weaponized with "anti-matter beams." As everyone knows, the Air Force kept one of the saucers hidden in Area 51. That one was stolen by a Frenchman, only to be shot down over the Atlantic in the last novel by a second saucer that our hero, Rip Cantrell, dug out of the Saharan sands. The current novel begins a few months after the last one ends. Don't read it if you are looking for a serious work of science fiction. As the title implies, Saucer: Savage Planet is pulp fiction with a wink ... although it does advance a clever idea. While that payoff is small, the novel is a quick and undemanding read, the kind of book you might pick up if you are in the mood for a mindless diversion.

Savage Planet opens with the CEO of a pharmaceutical company salvaging the saucer that crashed in the last novel because he believes the ship's computers contain a formula for an anti-aging drug that will make him billions of dollars. The CEO has been sold on that premise by Adam Solo, who needs the CEO to salvage the saucer so that Solo can steal it. In the meantime, the media get wind of the anti-aging drug and the ensuing news stories convince the president that his party will control the government forever if only he can make the drug available to the public.

The story features an actual alien, who seems pretty much human apart from his telepathic abilities. The title Savage Planet refers to Earth as the alien sees it. Having survived a good bit of human history (including a stint with the Vikings), he has good reason to see it that way.

Savage Planet is more silly than funny, making this a novel I might recommend to younger readers. Its targets (primarily politicians, media "babes," and greedy capitalists) are familiar and easy to lampoon. A couple of things about the novel made me smile, including the president's continuing reliance on the advice he gets from a Chief Petty Officer (who, not being a politician, is the only person in Washington who bases advice on common sense), but none of the humor produced a belly laugh. The story has an oft-repeated moral -- life on this savage planet "is a grand adventure" and should be lived to its fullest -- but this isn't a philosophical novel and anyway, most of us don't have a chance to ride around in flying saucers. Ultimately, Savage Planet is a straightforward, moderately entertaining adventure story with a hokey ending that is occasionally amusing. When I was twelve, I would have loved it.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS