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While many critics feel that Ludlum's best work came early in his career, his latest
novel (published posthumously) shows that, despite failing health, his storytelling skill
was still at an all time high. His staging was international; complex parallel storylines
rooted in political intrigue that merge into a powerful whole were his trademark, and THE
SIGMA PROTOCOL provides no less suspense than his die-hard fans would expect.
The intrigue begins with an American investment banker on vacation in Switzerland who
suddenly finds himself the target of an assassin --- a man who had once been a childhood
friend. As Ben Hartman is thrown into a race to survive, he begins to uncover evidence of
a secret international group that turned the tragedies of World War II into profitable
ventures. Sigma was a cooperative of powerful men representing both Allied and Nazi
affiliations, and among the men pictured in a damning photograph stood Ben's father, a Jew
and a Holocaust survivor. Determined to uncover the truth about his father, Ben soon finds
that truth is a chameleon of many colors fading into the background and nearly impossible
to distinguish.
Simultaneously, US government agent Anna Navarro is pressed into service to investigate a
series of questionable deaths among several old men whose names all appear in an old OSS
file from the World War II era. Although there seems to be little connection between them,
Anna discovers that what appeared to be deaths by natural causes were actually murders,
and the thin trails of evidence all seem to lead back to Switzerland. Predictably, her
path eventually crosses that of Ben Hartman. They join forces, and the dots of evidence
begin to form a frightening pattern of current activities on an international scale. When
they ultimately follow the threads to their common source, the evil they uncover is too
horrific to comprehend.
At the core of Ludlum's writing, and often overlooked in light of the suspenseful drama
that unfolds, are his social and political beliefs. Every novel, THE SIGMA PROTOCOL
included, contains passages of philosophical expression that make his moral viewpoints
clear. In this story, he tackles the thorny contradiction between scientific research into
human intellectual and biological makeup and the sanctity of human life. When does the
sacrifice of some for the betterment of all cross the moral line? With every novel rooted
in both the past and present, he even dabbles into the current firestorm that surrounds
the use of fetal tissue to further our body of scientific knowledge.
It is a testament perhaps to Ludlum's literary skill that these philosophical moments have
never diminished the pure enjoyment of his thrillers. Indeed, in his long and prolific
writing career, his novels have continued to sustain their popularity while leaving
readers with something of substance to ponder long after the villains have met their
demise. One can only hope that future generations will continue to discover his marvelous
body of work, but for our generation, he is yet another outstanding storyteller that has
been lost.
--- Reviewed by Ann Bruns (BkPageWC@aol.com)
© Copyright 1996-2009, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
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