David D. Ross looks at a near-term future. Written towards the end of the cold war, he envisions the United States is now Fortress America, an increasingly isolationist and technophobic state. Resting on its existing technological base, it innovates just enough to remain superior to the cunning Soviets. While certain high profile scientists are assassinated, a mysterious blight threatens the South American food supplies, and there's no reason why the blight shouldn't move across the border into the fortress.
David D. Ross's novels relies on a few too many hoary cliches, and it feels like he tries to throw in every science-fictional idea that he can think of, so a lot of it seems like overkill. But you can't go too badly with a plot that's this thick with assassins, intrigue, politics, core-taps, mega-corporations, and drug-addled saboteurs.
