This note contains spoilers for the book.

Mike is the one who turned us on to Anthony Price and I think of this as his Anthony Price novel. It isn't precisely, of course; such relationships are all rather approximate. But that's why I'm reading this one now; it struck me as a nice way to end my Anthony Price readthrough.

This is a novel of personal and national treachery and intrigue. It involves events in late WWII, in the present, and also in the time of Christopher Marlowe (and includes segments of an unpublished play discovered in the book). Some idiots were actually trying to start WWIII—to show how dangerous the automated systems were. I have two problems with the novel. One, I have trouble keeping track of the complexities :-). And two, I have trouble accepting the main conspirator actually doing anything so dumb. I may be missing a complexity that makes that more sensible, of course. But hey, it's great fun, the characters are human and interesting, and there's a wide variety of them. Highly recommended.