ROGUE FORCES

Brown's latest political thriller seems ripped from the headlines upon first glance. When a new president takes charge of the volatile situation in Iraq, his predecessor becomes heavily involved in the world of military contracting, specifically a company called Scion, a fictional version of Dick Cheney's Halliburton. Of course, the situation escalates to catastrophic proportions when Turkey is drawn into the conflict through the actions of Kurdish terrorists. As interesting as the story is, narrator William Dufris makes little attempt to up the ante with a colorful performance. Instead, his narrow delivery sounds confined and a bit flat, and the story suffers because of it. L.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]