Novelist Greg Bear’s latest sci-fi thriller is Quantico, now available in the UK and exclusively in the U.S. through a few book clubs, including Science Fiction Book Club. Here’s how the novel is described in the SFBC literature:
“It’s the second decade of the 21st century, and terrorism has escalated almost beyond control. ... In North America, the FBI uses cutting-edge technology to thwart domestic terrorists. Sat-linked engine blockers stop drug-traffickers cold. Devices the size of Magic Markers test for bio-hazards on the spot. 3-D projectors reconstruct crime scenes from hours-old evidence, and sophisticated bomb suits protect against all but the most savage forces. Despite all this, the War on Terror is virtually lost. Now the FBI has been dispatched to deal with a new menace. Like the Anthrax threat of 2001, a plague targeted to ethnic groups — Jews or Muslims or both — has the potential to wipe out entire populations. But the FBI itself is under political assault.”
I’m unfamiliar with Greg Bear’s politics — “For me, politics is biology, biology politics,” he says — but Quantico sounds like another typical defense of Leviathan. Regardless, I love thrillers and my curiosity is roused. I’ve ordered a copy through SFBC and will file a report here eventually.
3 Comments:
I had the opportunity to exchange emails with Greg Bear a while back (while writing The Third Revolution). He said something to the effect that he'd traditionally thought of himself as a liberal, but found himself leaning more and more to the libertarian side. I'm curious to see if Quantico bears that out.
BTW, Middle America, the sequel to The Third Revolution, should be available sometimes toward the end of May. Keep an eye out...
I have enjoyed some of Bear's writings, others not. However, all the stories I have read show the state in a positive light. The "worst" case is that there are some bad people working for the government.
Really enjoyed "The Third Revolution" BTW.
Hmm, I don't think Muslims are an "ethnic group."
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