Mel Odom, Apocalypse Burning

Apocalypse Burning

Mel Odom

Tyndale, Sep 2004, $14.99

ISBN: 1414399336

The disappearance of millions of people around the globe which includes all the children under twelve years old fails to stop the latest Middle East flare-up. When Syrian forces attack the Turkish city of Sanliurfa, US Ranger Captain Cal Remington vows that this engagement will not derail his career so he eagerly accepts help from the soon-to-be-appointed Secretary General of the United Nations, Nicolae Carpathia, who sends his minion to abet the ambitious American soldier. First Sergeant Samuel Adams "Goose" Gander realizes that his friend has aligned himself with the forces of evil, but has no idea what he can do about this but he is not willing to give up on Cal.

Goose is unaware that at Fort Benning, Georgia fighters are skirmishing in a different battlefield. His son Chris is one of the children that vanished and his stepson Joey is nowhere around. His wife Meg, a post counselor is being charged with dereliction of duty for failing to inform an abusive father that his son was hospitalized; depriving him of their last minutes together. He plans to sue Meg and the Army in civil court if she is found guilty.

APOCALYPSE BURNING follows the trials and tribulations of Goose and Meg as they cope with war, the disappearance of their child, and forces that want to destroy them. Goose remains an admirable leader of soldiers especially in contrast to Cal who will use murder to further his career. Using two fronts and a global backdrop, Mel Odom has written an exciting war and legal thriller that focuses on two decent people trying to do the right thing in a world heading towards its final countdown.

Harriet Klausner