The Triangle is a military-thriller with a futuristic, science-fiction spin.

I'm not a usual reader of military- or science-fiction, but something about the description of this book intrigued me. It turned out to be well worth the chance, and I thoroughly enjoyed Gary Wilson's debut novel.

The Triangle opens in the year 2025 with military dogfights between American defense forces and a band of allied aggressors trying to topple the American/World Council domination. The main character, Robert, is an ace with several kills under his belt and a lovely wife and family at home on the base. His archenemy is Rico, a former American fighter pilot who defected to the enemy forces with his American-issue plane. The two tangle in the skies and taunt one another on secret radio frequencies.

Shortly into the action, however, the world changes drastically. Both the Americans and the aggressor forces get sucked into a vortex in the Bermuda Triangle, causing them to travel through time, forward 200 years, to the year 2217. The politics (and scientific and technological reality) of the Earth have changed greatly in two centuries. Former enemies find themselves on the same side, defending the Earth against alien attackers. The former enemies want to help the future of the human race on Earth, but they also desperately want to return to their families back in the year 2025 ... and will they be able to settle their differences once they return?

For anyone seeking fast-paced action, intrigue and double-crosses, this is your book. It isn't without its flaws, however. Women are exceptionally weak in the narrative, and female fighter pilots are overcome with emotions as they underperform their male counterparts. Also, the story is tied up a little too neatly, with a few too many coincidences and inter-linked lives. Wilson resorts to cheap escapes to explain major plot twists (such as Rico's defection to the enemy forces). Despite my nit-picking, I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a compelling thriller novel. The science is realistic, and the politics, while futuristic, aren't too hard to imagine happening in the next few decades.

by Jessica Lux-Baumann
Rambles.NET
27 May 2006