FICTION

PATRIOTS by Steve Sohmer (Random House: $20; 422 pp.). If author Steve Sohmer had picked a more timely subject for “Patriots,” the ink would have rubbed off on our fingers: The successful conclusion of Desert Storm is the focal point. When President Sam Baker launches First Step, a sweeping agreement with the Russians aimed at eliminating both countries’ nuclear capabilities, the rumbles of dissent in the military are overwhelming, and the conspiracy to torpedo the agreement is off and running. An awesome amount of research about international fail-safe strategies has gone into “Patriots,” and the fact that they’re both fallible and untested gives this novel a razor-sharp, scary immediacy. Apparently, random murders and not-so-random political assassinations are the order of the day, and while, one by one, the key conspirators are unmasked, the big question remains unanswered until the very end: Who is the mastermind behind all of this? You like surprises? You’ve got ‘em!