Greg Bear has written at
least a dozen SF novels in a variety of different genres all of which are
very readable. Quantico is a change for him in that this is set in
modern day America, and can only be defined as a thriller i.e there are
minimal SF elements. However, don’t let that put you off. The story concerns
three FBI agents who are trying to prevent a terrorist horror in the near
future. Technology is perhaps a bit more developed, but essentially the
major development is that nuclear and biological weapons are in the hands of
Islamic radicals. And there are rumours of a plague that could be targeted
against ethnic groups such as the Jews or Muslims. To make matters worse,
the FBI has been discredited and it is politically expedient for the FBI to
fail to close this threat down, and as a result be closed down itself.
Unfortunately for us, this
threat is all too likely at some point in the near future. This is a very
readable thriller that has a realistic plot that has a very prophetic hook -
what will doomsday be like. In this case, scarily, it will be painless and
instantly forgettable. Quantico is an enjoyable read which adds
another piece into the jigsaw of our understanding of modern day conspiracy
theories.