‘Gideon’s War’ pits brother against brother

Rivaling siblings hold the fate of the free world in their hands in Howard Gordon's "Gideon's War," a frantic, action-filled drama that will leave the reader breathless as well as entertained.

One brother is known for his peace-making skills. The other brother is known for his violent fighting ways. Estranged for years, can the two brothers put aside their differences to prevent a war from breaking out, or will one have to sacrifice his principles in order to keep chaos at bay?

Gideon Davis is a skilled negotiator and has worked around the world on behalf of the United States. So when he is called upon by the president to bring home a rogue government agent from the small Southeast Asian country of Mohan, Gideon considers the request odd — until he is told that the agent is his brother Tillman, and he will only surrender himself to Gideon.

Tillman Davis was once a stand-up former Marine, but something has turned him into an unrecognizable extremist calling himself Abu Nadir. Leading a group of pirate-terrorists, Tillman has seized a state-of-the-art oil rig known as the Obelisk, taking hostage the crew and a delegation of diplomats (which just happens to include Uncle Earl). The terrorists threaten to blow the rig sky-high unless their demands are met, and the clock is ticking away.

Working with only the information supplied by family friend and national security adviser Earl Parker, and a deadline of 48 hours to complete the nearly impossible mission, Gideon sets out on a harrowing journey that will find him trying to stay alive while seeking answers to why his brother has turned to assisting an extreme jihadist faction.

“Gideon’s War” reads like an action-adventure made for television, which should come as no surprise as its author was the executive producer of the popular show “24.” But this is not a bad thing — the reader can picture just how the drama plays out, and the story clips along at a rapid pace, keeping the action going and suspense building to the cliff-hanging end.

(Hmmm, wonder if Keifer Sutherland’s available to play Gideon?)