Hunter Killer

Patrick Robinson's Hunter Killer is another bomb-the-bastards ripping yarn. He excels in creating dire yet plausible scenarios of truly global impact. The background to this story is a revolution in Saudi Arabia, backed by the French. Forget about political correctness, and you can enjoy the story. It is somewhat predictable plot however, and lacks a strong sense of suspense. I'd previously read Scimitar SL-2 which shares many of the same charaters (set 2 years earlier), and I thought overall a better read because it plays more on suspense. (In that story, nukes are in the hands of terrorists. It's a race to see if they can be prevented from using them to trigger a major earthquake and tidal wave). Hunter Killer does provoke some interesting thoughts, if you can see beyond the gung ho antics. Firstly, the complicity of France does bring you two question some entrenched and largely invisible prejudices. Bomb Bagdhad? Sure, civilian casualties are unfortunate but can't be helped in our fight against the regime. Bomb Paris, despite clear evidence that France is acting as a renegade state? We-ell, lets think about that a bit. Surely another solution is possible? Second, there's a fairly sympathetic treatment of the Saudi revolution. EM Forster's quote quickly becomes a key theme underpinning actions on both sides of the Atlantic: "If I was asked to choose whether to betray my country or my friend, I hope I'd have the courage to choose my country." Verdict: damn good airport read!