Title: Diversions: America Under Attack
Author: Frederick Nathan
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 9781543477771
Pages: 348
Genre: Thriller / Adventure
Reviewed by: Dave Bishop
Pacific Book Review
Today, millions of people are anxious by what they know about terrorism. Imagine how much that angst might increase if they were given access to everything our government knows about terrorism but never shares. Then imagine how they might feel if they became aware of all the things terrorists themselves were actually planning. That’s the increasing level of emotional involvement that builds as you read Frederick Nathan’s Diversions: America Under Attack. You’ll likely be thinking to yourself more than once, “Thank Heaven this is only a novel.”
The majority of the action in this action-packed story takes place in New York City. It involves a number of different characters with very different motivations. There is a scheming terrorist who wants to bring about death and destruction in America that will eclipse the horror that transpired on 9/11. There is another terrorist, both psychopathic and lethal, whose main objective is to bring down deadly revenge not only on U.S. government officials, but also on the aforementioned evildoer. There is a team of Anti-Terrorist Task Force members intent upon finding and stopping the perpetrators of any and all individuals engaged in terrorist activities. There are even some high school kids who start out as innocent bystanders but wind up right in the middle of murder, mayhem and more, brought about as the terrorists’ activities begin to move from strategy to execution. With so many characters sharing page space, it would be easy to lose track of who’s who and why this person is doing whatever he or she is doing to that person. But Nathan keeps a firm hand on the tiller and navigates seamlessly from one character to the next. He also provides enough backstory on the major participants so that the reader is emotionally invested in each one.
The plot is particularly intricate and frightening in its seeming credibility. Readers may find themselves wondering just how much of this narrative is fiction and how much isn’t. To his credit, the author makes both the potential catastrophes and the efforts to avert them feel equally authentic. Pace is swift from the beginning and doesn’t let up even as more and more layers are applied to the puzzles that must be solved if the country is to avert disaster.
Nathan’s prose is more practical than lyrical and his attempts at levity are occasionally heavy handed, but his ability to create compassionate characters, suspenseful sequences, and a compelling storyline, makes this adventurous thriller exactly what readers of the genre are looking for – a ripping good tale.
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