Godless Icon — Gordon Thomas

In a world ripped from tomorrow's headlines, we once again meet David Morton, the intelligence agent who emerged as the James Bond of the 1990s in Deadly Perfume . After the collapse of the Soviet Empire, a military troika is in power. Suspicious of the West and fearful of the Muslim fanatics in the East, the troika plans to ensure that the Republic of Russia emerges as a military superpower. In Rome, a very different plan preoccupies Pope Nicholas VI: to unite all the faiths and bring to the world a peace and stability it has never known. But Nicholas is dying from a brain tumor. It is to Julius Enkomo, South Africa's first black cardinal, that Pope Nicholas turns, entrusting him with a crucial, secret mission. In California, the pastor of the Church of True Belief, the reverend Edward Kingdom, uses his satellite to spread global hatred. But the threat of Wong Lee is the most sinister of all. Head of the world's largest conglomerate, he is powerful beyond belief. Using a mosaic of shard-like details, each meticulously exact, this extraordinary novel explores the dark, turbulent forces that Morton must overcome if he is to destroy the cynical alliance around him. Already compared to Ian Fleming and John le Carr, in Godless Icon , Gordon Thomas confirms his reputation as a novelist of stature.