Moscow 5000

Moscow 5000 was the first of two books written by Craig Thomas under the pseudonym of David Grant. Though he didn't use his name, his style is certainly evident. Like his previous novel, Snow Falcon, Thomas uses a large cast of characters and a very involved plot, this time centered around the 1980 Olympics that were held in Moscow. A group of Ukrainian Separatist radicals, who call themselves "Do pobachenya", (Ukrainian for goodbye), plan to set off an FAE bomb (Free Air Explosion device, or sometimes called Fuel Air Explosion weapon), and they plan to do it at the Moscow Olympics. Oleg Kazantsev and his KGB team try tracking down the group and have to deal with their smaller assauts on Moscow before they strike at the Olympics. Arkady Federenko is an Olympic athlete for the Soviet Union, but his sister is girlfriend to the leader of "Do pobachenya". And ex-British agent David Allardyce is sent to the Olympics under the cover of his real-life reporting carrer to help get out a Russian double agent, Anna Akhmerovna, who just happens to be the girlfriend of Captain Gennadi Leonov of the KGB. There's a few other subplots, which probably makes this the Craig Thomas novel with the largest amount of characters, none of which are characters from Craig's previous novels or one's he would later re-use, which may be a reason why he pubished it under a pseudonym, although there is a subplot of a later book that mirrors one from here. In the end, despite having a very busy plot with a lot going on, this is actually a really great Craig Thomas novel. Definately worth a read.

David Grant is the pseudonym of a British author whose suspense novels are known for attention to detail and authenticity. Recent world events compelled me to reread this book which has languished in my library for more than 20 years. The setting is the XXll Olympiad, Moscow, 1980; the scenario one horribly relevant today. Terrorists have planted a devastating bomb in the Olympic Stadium, crowded with spectators for the ultimate althletic competition, the "Moscow 5000". The story is thrilling. We follow the runners as they train and compete for the Gold. And we follow the CIA and KGB agents united for the most crucial race of all, to find and difuse the bomb before thousands are killed. The plot is plausable enough for a modern nightmare. The only thing which smacks of improbability: the identity of the terrorists. In Grant's novel, Ukrainian Nationalists of the Narodny-Trudovoy Soyuz concoct the scheme of destruction. This is far-fetched, even for those Soviet times, during which Ukraine strugged under Communist oppression. During the WWll era, the Banderovtsi had alligned itself opportunistically with the Nazis, to fight against Polish and Russian occupiers of Ukraine. But that its successors slaughter unsuspecting sports spectators, including numerous innocent foreigners, is too great a stretch of the imagination. Either then or now. The author chose his villains on the basis of Banderovtsi persecution of the Jews, because religious (rather than political) zealotry would motivate such a heinous act. If this long out-of-print novel were republished -- and it really should be! -- it would benefit by an update. al-Qaeda allied Islamist fanatics, such as those connected with attrocity in New York, Moscow, and of course the Munich Olympics, would provide more realism for readers already reeling from international terrorist trauma. Or would that be too offensive for the anti-religious-defamation police? The film, "The Sum of All Fear", which contained a similar storyline to "Moscow 5000" had to be rewritten (pre 911 PC, obviously) with neo-Nazi instead of religious terrorists. Ironic, isn't it?