THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 21, 1995 TAG: 9506210064
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY JEREMIAH CRONIN
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
THE PENETRATION of a secret neo-Nazi camp, the violent suicide of a street person in the middle of a French theater and the assassination of a U.S. deep-cover agent just in from the cold begin ``The Apocalypse Watch'' (Bantam, 645 pp., $24.95), the latest novel by Robert Ludlum, grandmaster of the international thriller.
Ludlum, who recently had a brush with his own mortality during a heart-related illness, usually ties his novels into what he feels are pressing issues of the day. In this case, he takes on the growth in right-wing fanaticism and chooses the Nazis as antagonists. The plot is believable enough to make you wonder.
Ludlum's base scenario is that the Nazis, losing World War II, carried on underground. A special SS breeding program produced Lebensborn, who were spirited around the world as war orphans to be raised by the hidden faithful. The ultimate in moles, they acquired positions within government and industry to be used when the glorious Fourth Reich emerged. This new world order is to be created when catastrophic events and acts of mayhem lead the industrialized world to clamor for order that only the totalitarian Nazi state can provide.
Helping to bring this about is the Brotherhood of the Watch, zealots who have kept the organization alive since Hitler ended his days with a bullet in the bunker. Standing in the way of their plans is Drew Latham, agent for a hybrid agency somewhere between the State Department and the CIA. The Nazis kill his brother after he ``escapes'' from deep cover bearing a list that names the followers of the movement who are in governments and industries throughout the world. Drew assumes the identity of the slain Harry Latham and starts a deadly charade, drawing the Nazis out. He is helped on his way by Karin de Vries, a Belgian woman who knew his brother and falls in love with him, and an assortment of veterans from the deadly Cold War games of spy vs. spy.
Ludlum is definitely formulaic in his approach to writing, and ``The Apocalypse Watch'' is no different. Hero Drew Latham fights against a foe that embodies universal evil, aided by a woman who loves him and understands what he must become to get the job done. Of course, the hero cannot know whom to trust because even the highest levels of society are suspect and treachery abounds. He is joined in his cause by old respected friends in the trade, and together they force the evildoers' hand, with a few twists of plot for effect. Ludlum is a a master at creating a fast-paced tale, and as usual, the formula works.
Ludlum obviously had fun writing this novel. One of his characters alludes to this all being like ``a John le Carre novel,'' and he joyfully skewers Oliver North and those who pandered to him. Even the Mafia, a perennial Ludlum favorite, makes a cameo appearance and heaps disdain on the facists, while taking its money for ``handling a problem.''
The novel could have been better edited. Sometimes sentences do not internally agree with themselves. Given the tempo at which Ludlum drives his stories, having to reread a paragraph just to realize it is undecipherable is plain annoying, especially when you are caught up in the tale and desperately wanting to find out what happens next. Fortunately, this does not happen often, and the reader is swept past these disturbances by the intensity of plot.
``The Apocalyse Watch'' is a fine thriller; like most of Ludlum's works, it effectively draws you into the story and doesn't let go until you've burned through all of its 645 pages. MEMO: Jeremiah Cronin is an environmental consultant who lives in Norfolk. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Robert Ludlum's latest thriller is ``The Apocalypse Watch.''
by CNB