The Tenth Plague by Alan N. Levy; © 2019 Chickadee Prince Books, ISBN 9781732-913929, 210 pages, $12.99; to be released September 15.
By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – The animosity between Iran on one hand and allies Israel and the United States on the other comes to a suspenseful showdown in this debut novel by Alan N. Levy, a self-described “iconoclastic conservative” and former automobile service director now living in retirement in Florida.
Briefly told, it is the year 2028, and Iran is making fast-moving preparations to launch nuclear weapons against both Israel and the United States. Learning of the plan, Israel contemplates whether it should deploy an ultimate weapon, a plague that will kill everyone in its path except those who take an antidote pill. This plague is even more devastating than the Tenth Plague of Passover. Israel doesn’t want to use this biological weapon, but faced with its own imminent destruction, will it have another choice?
The United States is willing to join Israel in a last-ditch effort to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability, but there is more than Iran to be worried about. The Russian Federation has become Iran’s closest ally, supplying it with nuclear capacity, top-notch scientists, and some advanced weaponry that leaves even America’s behind.
So, this novel is the kind of thriller that we’re used to watching on television or in the movies, but in the telling, it makes some simplistic blunders. For example, it has Israel considering various Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan, to be in league with Iran, whereas in fact, all three countries are far more afraid of Iran than they are of Israel.
Additionally, the novel makes no discernable distinction between Iranians and Arabs, perhaps leading a reader to conclude falsely that all Muslim countries, be they Sunni or Shi’ite, are the same.
In reading this book, therefore, one has to suspend disbelief. The deadly chess game among U.S., Israel, Iran, and Russia will keep most readers’ interest until the final page. However, readers should think of this book more as a source of entertainment – like a horror movie – than a meaningful discourse on international politics.
*
Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com