The Black Tulip: A Novel of War in Afghanistan
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The Black Tulip is a provocative and suspenseful work of fiction that centers around the C.I.A.'s actual effort to kick perestroika into high gear by assisting the Afghanistan resistance with its struggles against Russia in the mid 1980s. Lucidly written by Milt Bearden, a C.I.A. veteran of 30 years who has spent considerable time in Pakistan and Afghanistan, The Black Tulip offers a fascinating and authentic insider's view of international espionage, and also packs a tremendous punch of exciting, fast-paced action and well-drawn characters.Publishers WeeklyThe craft of espionage, and the political clout needed to keep afloat in the game, are bared in ex-agent Bearden's promising debut, a valentine to late CIA director Bill Casey set in the late 1980s during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Hounded by eager mole-hunter Graham Middleton, Russian-born American agent Alexander Fannin opts out of the Agency, but Casey enlists him to freelance as his cat's paw in Afghanistan, supplying the mujahideen and planning sorties against the Russians. Capture of a Russian general's son pits Fannin against his KGB counterpart Anatoly Klimenkocoincidentally a cousin, who decides to defect and helps Fannin speed Russia's exit from Afghanistan barely a tense step ahead of a KGB official with a grudge against Klimenko. Bearden soft-pedals the horrors of the war and concentrates on the stringpullers from both sides as KGB and CIA field agents dodge each other and their own hierarchies as they maneuver Afghan and Russian pawns to win the game. Deft twists and battle scenes, crisply lucid technical details, hair-trigger tension and strong characters drive the plot, but the too-sparse dialogue slows the read. Still, the mechanics of Cold War espionage have seldom been so tangible. Author tour. (May)
