The Hunt for Red October (1984), Tom Clancy: Summary

The 544-page novel was published by Harpercollins in 1993 and the originally printed in 1984. This novel was in cinema in 1990 and was starring by Sean Connery but unfortunately I don’t see the movie yet. This political techno-thriller delivers the reader to high level of imagination. Soviet just launched Red October, a high technology submarine with nuclear reactor. An undetected vessel is hunted by British and American, but the Russian wanted to destroy her. The late Clancy introduced his main character Dr Jack Ryan, an intelligence analyst, to locate the vessel. It was only him and Mr. President knew his undercover mission beneath the cold Atlantic waters to get Red October. No doubt, the author did detailed studies on nuclear submarines for this book. This is the third Clancy’s novel that I post.

The Hunt for Red October (1984), Tom Clancy: Summary

First Rank Marko Ramius of the Soviet Navy was dressed for the Artic conditions normal to the Northern Fleet submarine base at Polyarnyy. Marko’s father, Aleksandr Ramius, had been a hero of Party, a dedicated, believing Communist who had served Stalin faithfully and well. Aleksandr had been a true Soviet hero- and Marko was deeply ashamed to be his son. His mother’s health had been broken during the endless siege of Leningrad. She died giving birth to him, and he was raised by his paternal grandmother in Lithuania while his father strutted through the Party Central, awaiting his promotion to Moscow. By choice Marko became individual in his thinking.

Grandmother Hilda told him bedtime stories from the Bible, each with lesson of right and wrong, virtue and reward. Roman Catholicism had been brutally suppressed in the Baltic States. As a boy, Ramius sensed more than thought that Soviet Communism ignored a basic human need. He at once fell in love with submarines and at the same time submarines were the only offensive arm that the navy had, and from the first Marko wanted to be on the cutting edge. He graduated from the Nakhimov School first in his class, winner of the gold-plated sextant for his mastery of theoretical navigation. By the time Marko’s father was a candidate member of the Presidium, as the Politburo was then called, and very proud of his son.

By the thirty, Marko had his first command and a new wife. Natalia Bogdonova was the daughter of another Presidium member whose diplomatic duties had taken him and his family all over the world.  She was a pretty, delicate woman, sophisticated by Russian standards, who polished her husband’s passable English with American and Britain books- politically approved ones to be sure mainly the thoughts of Western leftists, but also a smattering of genuine literature, including Hemingway, Twain, and Upton Sinclair. Natalia had never been a healthy girl. They had no children. The fine woman killed by an incompetent fool of surgeon. Marko was soon known as a very hard man to please as a junior quality control inspector. He became an expert in nuclear engineering, spent two years as starpom, and then received his first nuclear command. It was men like Ramius who went out to challenge the Americans and the British.

Captain Second Rank Victor Alexievich Tupolev the driver of the V.K Kolonov waited for the Red October to arrive for the beginning of Exercise October Frost. The Konovalov had been built with the best sonar systems the Soviet Union had yet produced, copied closely from the French DUUV-23 and a bit improved, the factory technicians said. Tupolev had served with Marko Ramius, the Schoolmaster, for two years. He called Ramius as a fox, and an old grey-whiskered fox. He now in his third year of command had been one of the Schoolmaster’s star pupils. His current vessel was a brand-new Alfa, the fastest submarine ever made. The exercise was arranged by Admiral Korov. The mission orders were sealed. Admiral Korov, commander of the Northern Fleet, was an honorable man and old friend of Marko. Marko was a fox to him and Tupolev planned to be new master.

He had already passed through three separate security check, when he walked down on the top floor of Langley, Virginia, headquarters of Central Intelligence Agency. Dr Jack Ryan was physically unremarkable. His life, he judged, was already as complicated as it needed to be. It included a wife he loved and two children he doted on, a job that tested his intellect, and sufficient financial independence to choose his own path. The path he had chosen was in CIA.

He brought the photographs of the new Soviet missile boat, Red October. Ryan believed that it was only an engineer could analyze the photos. Oliver Wendell Tyler aka Skip Tyler lost his leg in auto accident and was up for command of the Los Angeles. He has a doctorate in engineering from MIT. Dr Tyler was a former naval officer who was now associate professor of engineering at Naval Academy and paid consultant to Sea Systems Command and an expert in the analysis of Soviet naval technology. Skip Tyler concluded that the doors of Red October were the intake exhaust vents for new silent propulsion system.

Jack Ryan found the sub driver was Marko Ramius, the best sub driver Soviet had. The day Red October sailed, Caption Ramius evidently posted a letter to Admiral Yuri Ilyich Padorin. Padorin was a chief of the Main Political Administration of Soviet Navy. It began to happen not hours after that letter was opened.  Fifty-eight nuclear-powered submarines and twenty-eight major surface combatants all headed away. Dr Jack Ryan studied Russian’s submarines were all heading southwest towards the US coast. He suggested to Mr. President Red October to locate and sink her. Based on evaluation of intelligence data, Red October was attempting to defect to United State.

Red October was very large vessel, about 650 feet long, a beam of roughly 85 feet, and an estimated submerged displacement of 32,000 tons. She carried twenty-six missiles instead of our twenty four. Operating a twin-screw missile boat on one wheel would probably be tricky. She was a fitting named for a Soviet battleship. The Soviet fleet ballistic missile submarine Red October, photographed by a British agent in her dock at their sub marine base at Polyarnyy, near Murmansk in northern Russia. Red October carried twenty-six SS-N20 Seahawk missiles, each eight 500-kiloton multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle- enough to destroy two hundred cities. The only mission of Red October was to evade detection by anyone. They wanted to teach Americans a lesson about Soviet technology that they would not soon forget. American coast to challenge and defeated their newest and best hunter submarines.

Russians would proceed all the way to their socialist brothers in Cuba. Comrade Captain Borodin Engineer. The political officer abroad Red October was Ivan Yurievich Putin, a faithful Party member. Petrov the Comrade Doctor declared the death of Putin at the Red October was an accident, but Admiral Yuri Ilyich Padorin, the chief of the Main Political Administration in Kremlin, accused this death as Ramius’s treason. Meanwhile Comrade Melekhin as Comrade Reactor found a major problem- a sabotage. He believed an imperialist agent has sabotaged Red October. A skilled work, whoever did it was no amateur had disabled the radiation monitor instruments, then he probably, arranged a low-level leak in hop piping.

The USS Dallas, a 688-class attack submarine, was forty miles from the coast of Iceland, approaching her patrol station, code named Toll Booth. She was two days there and participated in the NATO war game. It was yet another top performance for the Dallas and her skipper, Commander Bart Mancuso, one of the youngest submarine commanders in the US Navy. Southwest of Iceland the Russian boats would race down underwater highlands pointing to the deep Atlantic basin. Fourteen months before Dallas’s present patrol, the USS Los Angeles had been tracking a Soviet Victor II-class attack marine.

The sonar man Jonesy in Dallas made a contact to Skipper. He got the message, it was Russian sub. Two hundred miles northeast of the Dallas, in the Norwegian Sea, the Konovalov was racing southwest at forty-one knots. Captain Tupolev reread the dispatched he had received two days before. His emotions alternated between rage and grief. The Schoolmaster had done that. He was the former pupil of the traitor Ramius. He admitted to himself, Marko had been a good friend and a fine teacher. He had to kill him. Marko Ramius had pulled a trick on everyone, not just the Konovalov.

The British Sea Harrier FRS.4 appeared in a minute early. The pilot Tony Parker took Jack Ryan and landed on Invincible. The vessel seemed to be corkscrewing in following sea, in the north Atlantic winter. Vice Admiral John White welcomed Ryan and he was there for one mission; to locate Red October. The Invincible headed west and Kennedy was moving east at high speed.

The Soviet ambassador was interrogated in the Oval office. When the President US asked him about the currently nearly a hundred Soviet naval vessels operating in North Atlantic or heading in that direction, the ambassador said that his military adviser told him it was only a war exercise. Mr. President told him to report to his superiors in Moscow that US will deploy ships and aircraft to observe Soviet’s. It was believed the naval architect who was believed to have designed the Red October was supposed to have gone with her. A British agent had reported that detonators for the various weapon carried by the surface ships had been hastily taken abroad from their usual storage depots ashore.

Finally, there was an unconfirmed report that Admiral Korov, commander of the Northern Fleet, was not his command post; his whereabouts were unknown. The Soviet ambassador Arbatov was back to White House brought the latest report. He was instructed to convey the regrets of Soviet government that one of Soviet’s nuclear submarines was missing and presumed lost. A nuclear submarine posted on the greatest importance, and consequently those elected for it were among the best educated and trusted men In particular case, several members of the crew – the officers, were sons of high Party officials. President US offered the assistance and the resources of the United States in the search Soviet’s missing country men.

Vice Admiral Dodge, senior admiral the Los Angeles-class attacked submarines through their lenghty development programme. The USS Pogy was three hundred miles northeast of Norfolk, awating the arrival of two Soviet Alfa-class submarines. Commander Wood was on his first deployment as a commanding officer after a year of desk duty in Washington. Commander Wood heard whoosing sound. Skipper listened to direct sonar input and studied the sound as accidental diesel-powered submarine. The unknown submarine was flooding. The crews screamed. Men were dying, Russian, the enemy. Ramius announced to his crews that the imperialist spy sabotaged the vessel. They had lost and they needed assistance. He took full responsibility for that.

It was reactor accident made Red October had been detected by American and British ships. Ryan offered a rescue and they would be treated as guest. Jack Ryan heard a major leak in reactor system from Marko Ramius. Everybody already thought Red October has sunk, but few American crews could operate the vessel. She would be escorted by Dallas and Pogy. The V.K Konovalov fired Red October. The explosion had occurred in Red October and leaked the radio room. Tupolev wanted to kill Marko and prove he was the new master. The Konovalov was shot by Red October. In few minutes the submarine was upside down, half the crews were already drowning.  The contact with Red October ended, when the Konovalov’s flooded. The only marker on the Konovalov’s grave was a mass of bubbles.

The Soviet outdid themselves getting their men away from the US. A pair of mobile lounges drove from the terminal building two miles to the waiting aircraft. Inside them the crewmen of the Red October looked out the snow-dusted countryside, knowing this their final look at America. A major KGB interrogator asked Petrov and the Chief Engineer Melekhin. Melekhin said that it was Admiral Korov’s order to do so close to American coast but the KGB interrogator declared the commander of the Northern Fleet had died of a cerebral haemorrhage two hours into his interrogation in Lubyanka.

Eight hours run to Norfolk, Virginia, Red October sat alone with dry dock draining around her, guarding by twenty armed marines. Already a select group of engineers and technician was inspecting her. Ramius, his officers, and personal gears were taken to a CIA safe house and enjoyed the freedom air of the United States. Jack Ryan flew to his family.

******

Sekapur Sirih

Ini adalah ketiga kalinya membaca novel karya Tom Clancy yang sekaligus postingan ketiga juga. Novel setebal 544 halaman, pertama kali dicetak pada tahun 1984 dan telah difilmkan juga yang dibintangi oleh Sean Connery. Oleh kritikus Rotten Tomato mendapat pujian 86%. Buku yang saya bahas kali ini adalah terbitan tahun 1993.

Seperti biasanya novel Tom Clancy menyampaikan isu global, politik, dan persenjataan perang. Dalam buku ini, Red October, sebuah kapal selam perang handal  milik Soviet membawa reaktor nuklir membuat panik Gedung Putih Amerika Serikat. Kapal hebat tidak terdeteksi dan memunculkan kecurigaan pada pihak Amerika. Tokoh agen analis CIA, Dr Jack Ryan, dipercaya oleh Presiden Amerika mengejar kapal misil itu dalam sebuah misi rahasia dan hanya mereka berdua yang mengetahuinya.

Terjemahan dalam Bahasa Indonesia: the Hunt for Red Oktober (1984), Tom Clancy

Seorang kapten tangguh bersama kru-nya baru saja memasuki perairan Polynarnyy meninggalkan lautan Rusia. Ini adalah peluncuran sebuah kapal selam berteknologi tinggi bernama Red October. Marko Ramius adalah putra seorang pahlawan dan anggota elit Partai Komunis Soviet yang disegani. Marko kehilangan ibunya ketika masa persalinan dirinya, dia pun dibesarkan nenek dari pihak ayahnya. Nenek Gilda membesarkannya dengan nilai-nilai Katolik sejati, Marko terbiasa dihantarkan tidur dengan Kisah Alkitab. Nilai kasih dan Kekristenan telah tumbuh di dalam dirinya.

Jika ayahnya mengetahui hal itu tentu akan disambut buruk, Soviet sedang dalam perang dingin dengan Vatikan. Negara agama itu telah menguasai wilayah Soviet. Memasuki masa sekolah, Marko dikirim ke sekolah terbaik. Dia tertarik bersekolah di sekolah angkatan kelautan. Dengan kecerdasannya, dia pun menjadi orang yang tangguh, pintar, dan handal dalam penguasaan sains dan teknologi kapal torpedo. Prestasinya sangat membanggakan ayahnya. Pada usia awal tiga puluhan dia menikahi gadis cantik standar Rusia dengan kecerdasan luar biasa yang menggemari karya sastra seperti karya Hemingway, Twain, and Upton Sinclair. Natalia Bogdova beberapa kali mengalami keguguran dan meninggal di tangan ahli bedah yang kurang pengalaman atau kelewat bodoh ketika melahirkan. Marko tidak memiliki anak.

Red October merupakan kapal selam misil berukuran sangat besar dengan teknologi terbaru dan membawa reaktor nuklir. Pertama dan terbaru apalagi dia memiliki kemampuan tidak terdeteksi. Sebuah peluncuran uji coba. The V. Konovalov, kapal selam Soviet juga, telah menanti kapal yang lebih tepat disebut sebagai kapal perang. Kapten Tupolev yang merupakan mantan murid didik dari Kapten Marko mendapat perintah untuk masa latihan dengan Red October. Tupolev sosok handal, pintar dan terbaik sama seperti Gurunya Marko. Tetapi dia sangat berambisi memiliki reputasi Gurunya.

Seorang agen analis muda dan berperawakan menarik memasuki gedung CIA Langley, Virginia. Dr Jack Ryan menenteng beberapa foto hasil jepretan dari agen Inggris. Gambar kegiatan sebuah kapal selam besar. Oleh atasannya, gambar bukti ini pun membawa Jack Ryan bertemu langsung dengan Presiden Amerika di Gedung Putih. Setelah memberikan presentasi tentang gambar itu, Dr Ryan mengajukan pengejaran kapal berbahaya itu dan diiringi sejumlah kapal selam lainnya. Arah mereka menuju pantai Amerika, diduga Soviet mengajak perang. Sang analis menyarankan bila perlu menenggelamkan kapal torpedo itu. Sang Presiden memanggil Dubes Soviet dan sang Dubes menyatakan bahwa kapal itu hanya latihan perang saja. Presiden mengancam akan mengirimkan kapal selam Amerika untuk memantau kapal-kapal Soviet. Dalam keadaan marah Presiden berpesan agar memberitahu pihak penguasa tertinggi Soviet.

Sang Dubes kembali ke Gedung putih dan memberi pesan dari atasannya di Soviet. Tidak ada niat mereka untuk perang dan tidak ada perintah mendekati perairan Amerika. Seorang Kapten handal mereka tidak ada kabar, Kapten Korov, meninggalkan tugasnya dan Red October sendiri kehilangan kontak. Kapal mereka telah hilang dan tidak terdeteksi dengan membawa kru terbaik dan bahkan putra orang anggota partai terpandang di dalamnya. Presiden pun menawarkan bantuan untuk pencarian kapal itu. Dr Skip Tyler seorang mantan angkatan laut yang kehilangan kakinya akibat kecelakaan mobil, kini menjadi seorang pendidik, Profesor pada Akademi Naval (Angkatan Laut), dan ahli konsultan kapal. Dia sangat ahli dalam mendeteksi kapal selam dan mendeteksi mendengar teriakan orang dalam berbahasa Rusia dan sepertinya ada banjir dan ledakan pada sebuah kapal selam.

Presiden pun menugaskan Jack Ryan untuk pencarian kapal itu dalam sebuah misi rahasia. Hanya dia dan Presiden yang tahu. Agen Ryan ditanamkan dalam sebuah kapal perang Amerika dengan menyamar sebagai anggota angkatan laut. Dr. Tyler pun mengetahui keberadaan kapal itu, Jack dan timnya berhasil masuk ke dalam kapal itu. Laporan Tyler sangat cocok dengan keadaan Red October yang, air membanjiri beberapa ruang kapal besar itu. Kapten Marko pun menjelaskan bahwa reaktor nuklir bocor. Dengan keahlian beberapa kru Amerika, kebocoran nuklir  kapal teratasi. Menurut laporan Kepala Mesin pada Kapten Marko, kebocoran reaktor seperti unsur kesengajaan. Sepertinya sabotase.

Kapten Tupolev sangat kecewa dengan membaiknya Red October, ambisi ingin menghancurkan kapal itu semakin kuat dan tembakan demi tembakan dilakukan dan melukai beberapa kru termasuk Kapten Marko. Beberapa kapal selam Amerika telah mengawal Red October dan mendeteksi tembak-menembak antar kedua kapal. Ambisi sang kapten ingin membunuh Marko tenggelam seiring tenggelamnya kapal the V. Konovalov perlahan-lahan. Tak satu pun yang selamat. Red October dievakuasi ke pantai Amerika. Tim investigasi KGB mendatangi para kru. Insinyur kapal bersaksi menerima perintah dari Kapten Korov untuk mendekati pantai Amerika, padahal Kapten Korov meninggal dunia dalam masa investigasi akibat sakit. Sebagian besar kru telah berada di dalam sebuah bis dan siap terbang ke Soviet, namun Marko dan krunya menikmati udara Amerika dan ditempatkan di sebuah safe house. Red October berada di sebuah pelabuhan Amerika untuk diperbaiki. Jack Ryan pun terbang pulang menemui keluarganya.

******

The Bone Tree (2015), a Thriller Novel by Greg Iles: Summary

… the truth is not hard to find, if you are willing to get your hands dirty. Truth waits just under the surface for any man brave enough to scrape a little dirt away. But most of people are too afraid or too lazy to get dirty. They are afraid to ask the right questions. (page 742, the Bone Tree, Greg Iles)

This book is an unforgettable gift from a science  writer, a close friend, and a thriller book lover. A great thriller delivers in some extremely fine writing and comprehensive reading, but unfortunately in extremely small font. The Bone Tree is published by William Morrow and an Imprints of HarperCollinsPublisher in 2015. The book is very lengthy one and it contains 804 pages.

Greg Iles is an American bestselling thriller writer. Mr. Iles was the singer and guitarist in his own rock band, Franky Scarlet, after graduating from Ole Miss in 1983. Later, he walked out on rock and roll for a career in thrillers. The author announces the Bone Tree is the middle book of trilogy. Although I don’t read first book Natchez Burning, but I sense it must be a good book and I hope could enjoy the conclusion on third book. How Snake Knox and main character Penn Cage and his father Dr. Tom Cage at the end and want to learn how the writer finishing it.

The conversation dominated the pages and some of them in intellectual speaking and I found some brilliantly told. The antagonist is too extremely diabolical for me; character Elam Knox molests his own grand kid the way he has his young son. Praise for the robust plot and characters link dark history in sixties to the antagonist.

Of course, the book for the reader who wants to learn dark history in American soil back to forty years ago; slavery, assassination of JFK, and Ku Klux Klan and anyone who loves a beautifully constructed story. If you already have read good summary book on JFK assassination or at least watching Parkland movie so it will help you to understand this novel. Slavery, racial hatred, murder, love, parenthood, adultery, heroic act, and friendship are all combined together. I truly enjoyed every minute of this thriller.

The Bone Tree (2015), a Thriller Novel by Greg Iles: Summary

The paternal warmth Special agent John Kaiser felt toward Caitlin Masters, the publisher of a local newspaper, Natchez Examiner, reflected the conflicts he felt about overall case, and none was more complex than he felt about the Cage family. Penn and Tom Cage represented a unique problem for him. Penn Cage was not only Caitlin Masters’s fiancé, but also the mayor of Natchez, a successful novelist, and a former prosecutor from Houston.

Tom Cage was almost a relic bygone era. A former combat medic in Korea, Cage had gone on to practice medicine foe nearly fifty years in Natchez, where he had worked tirelessly for decades to treat the black community with no thought of recognition  or reward. Viola Turner, Dr. Cage’s sixty-five- year- old former nurse, had died in her sister’s home in Natchez. After living in Chicago for thirty-seven-years, the Natchez native was diagnosed with terminal cancer and returned home to die in the care of her old employer.

Turner’s son, a Chicago lawyer, had showed up at Natchez DA’s office and demanded that Dr. Cage be charged not with euthanasia, but with murder. Dr. Cage jumped bail after being indicted by a grand jury with lighting speed. The doctor had been aided in this task by an old war buddy, a former Texas Ranger named Walt Garrity. Worst of all, within hours of making their escape, either Gritty or Cage had killed a state trooper who’d cornered them near the Mississippi River.

Kaiser strongly suspected that the dead trooper had been working for Forrest Knox, not the State of Louisiana, when he’d caught up with the two fugitives, but sadly Kaiser could not prove that. Forest Knox was a son of the founder of the Double Eagles – a racist group. Frank Knox was suspicious linked in assassination of JFK. The Double Eagle group was tied to at least dozen unsolved rape, kidnapping, and murder cases. A founding member of Double Eagles, Glenn Morehouse- had been ruthlessly murdered by his old comrades, before the FBI even became aware that he’d opened talks with a crusading journalist named Henry Sexton.

Morehouse told Sexton that the 1968 kidnapping of two young blacks- Jimmy Revels and Luther Davis- had been anything but a racist attack by Ku Klux Klan as a part of a plan to lure Robert Kennedy to Mississippi to be assassinated. This plan had come into being after RFK announced his attention enter the 1968 presidential race, a decision that enraged mob boss Carlos Marcello, who’d been targeted for deportation multiple times by Kennedy, both as senator and as attorney general. He believed that if Robert Kennedy elected, he would be permanently deported and lose his criminal empire.

Brody Royal and Tom Page might possess information about the major 1960 assassinations. Before died Royal admitted some murders and gave the order, Snake and Frank Knox carried it out, and all this happened at the Bone Tree, a long-rumored dump site for Double Eagles corpses and a killing ground. Most of agents didn’t believe that thing even existed. Penn had an eleven years-old-girl. Annie’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and her treatment had failed. His mother, Peggy Cage didn’t come from money; she came from a dirt farm in central Louisiana, not far from the land that produced Frank and Snake Fox. She didn’t believe her husband has killed Viola Turner. Peggy had been married to Tom for fifty three years.

Caitlin Masters had been born into a family with money and her father was a media mogul. Her journalist Henry Sexton had saved her life and Penn Cage from multimillionaire sociopath, Brody Royal. Henry’s mother found a letter form his son’s bag that addressed to Caitlin. The letter had led her to crack the biggest mystery murder in history- the JFK assassination. It’s said Toby Rambin who promised could take Henry to the Bone tree. Agent Kaiser and Penn were meeting with Dwight Stone, the veteran of two wars: Korea and Vietnam, who had some conspiracy theory about the Kennedy assassination. The bedridden man said Lee Harvey Oswald only hit President Kennedy with one of them but he did not kill JFK. Frank Knox-the ex-marine from Ferriday and founder of Double Eagle group- fired the bullet that blew John Kennedy’s brain out.

Tom got shot by Double Eagles and came to Quentin Avery, his friend. The man on motorized wheelchair, Avery, realized the penalties for aiding and abetting a fugitive- especially one wanted for killing a state trooper. He would lose his law license but Tom had risked his family to help Avery in 1965. Tom needed a doctor so they called Dr. Drew Elliot, Tom’s partner and friend since kid and Nurse Melba Price. Caitlin had an employee following Melba and found Tom Page in the house of Quentin. The thirty-five publisher convinced Dr. Cage that Colonel Griffith Mackiever, the man he counted on couldn’t make it. The newspaper was reporting that a fourteen-year- old male prostitute claimed he was paid for sex by Colonel Mackiever on multiple times. The Colonel was about to be forced to resign over a scandal that was probably manufactured by Forrest Knox.

Forest Knox’s police obviously hope to kill Tom before he could get into custody. Viola admitted that Lincoln Turner was son of Tom. He took a pewter box that held a few baby teeth of Lincoln he took the night she died. The feds told Penn they might well offer his father protective custody in exchange for information about the assassination. Viola murdered Frank Knox in out of revenge and Tom helped her. Frank died on the floor of his office. Tom covered it for thirty seven years. They raped her two different times, gang rapes both times. Frank Knox ordered it first time, and Snake the second time. The night before Viola died, she told Tom one of her rapists that first time had been only a boy, Forest Knox. It was Ray Presley who rescued Viola from Knoxes.

Elam Knox was a preacher, both his two sons, Snake and Frank was war hero. Frank Knox had two sons; Frank Junior and Forrest. Junior was the incarnation of his father, a born soldier. Frank Junior had been killed. There was a talk a Medal of Honor, in the end they gave him a posthumous Silver Star. Frank started drinking and he didn’t stop, then a delayed letter from Frank Junior arrived, he had mailed it before he died. Basically, Frank Junior told his father that he had no intention of coming back home. He told Frank that Elam, his grandfather had been messing with him since he was little boy. Frank was a changed man then he gathered his gangs and his brother Snake headed to the Bone Tree. Elam was hanging in the tree and nailed him to the wood until died. He crucified old Elam upside down just like the Romans done Jesus. Frank said that was the only fitting punishment for a diabolical preacher like him. Elam molested his two sons; Frank and Snake and his two grandchildren; Frank Junior and Forrest. It’s only Billy, son of Snake Knox that was protected from that. He was lucky being born last.

Ray Presley had once worked for Marcello, when he was a cop. Tom hated being indebted to him, but once Viola’s life was on the line, he had no choice. Tom sold his soul to the Mafia boss. Mob needed doctors like anybody else. Snake went mad with rage after Frank died. He ordered Viola kidnapped. She saw her brother shot- wounded, not killed, and the tattoo cut off his arm. Forrest’s man, the duty officer of tech division got the phone records of City Hall of Natchez. The Double Eagles found Dr. Cage. The SWAT troopers brought Tom to their boss Colonel Forrest Knox. Melba was shot and lying motionless. Jordan Glass is Kaiser’s wife. A famous conflict photographer from Penn generation, she was one of Caitlin’s idols as a young woman. She and Caitlin sneaked down to Lusahatcha Swamp to hunt the Bone Tree. They flew around in a chopper with two men. Carl Sims was a former marine sniper and Danny McDavitt was a decorated chopper pilot in Vietnam.

Most of the Double Eagles were in jail but Forrest Knox remained free, as did his cousin Billy. Snake and Sonny Thornfield, a Double Eagle sent to cellblock using planted meth to pressure the Eagles like they did to Sheriff Dennis Walker. Sonny said it was Carlos Marcello’s show and Frank Knox killed JFK. Carlos knew Frank from the anti-Castro training camp. David Ferrie was the one who knew Oswald. Carlos was sick and Dr. Cage helped him and he knew Frank. The Eagles blew the agents cars and exploded the courthouse. Sonny sat frozen on his cot but contrary Snake escaped. Powerful hands seized Sonny’s neck. Snake killed him and named him as a traitor.

A boy of about nineteen admitted knew the map and knew Toby Rambin. He drove Caitlin to the Bone Tree. Harold Wallis, black boy, asked two thousand dollars. Caitlin found body at the swamp and they heard motor, probably hunters. Caitlin and Wallis scanned the darkness under the canopy of the trees.  She saw some bones, far more than she expected. Harold shot Caitlin. Though Caitlin has begged Harold to spare her life and the baby in her belly and she convinced him her father would pay him million dollars but Harold didn’t care of it. Colonel Forrest has promised to release his brother from twenty-year sentence in Angola jail. He’d recognized Caitlin the moment he saw her standing outside the service station and he called someone in the Knox organization. Caitlin moaned and the bullet was still in her chest. She fired Harold and tried to walk. There was a body lying facedown against the wall of the tree. Whoever that person was, he had to be dead. The moment the beam fell on her face, she recognized it was her future father in law, Tom Page.

Tom was diabetic and low blood sugar sent him into coma. The peppermint was saved Tom. He woke and tried to help her. The chopper was rolling right, picking up speed, but finally they saw Caitlin jacket. The team got Dr. Cage and Caitlin. The Bone Tree was set on fire, the burning Bone Tree like angry Crusader around burning altar, looked like trying to destroy the evidence. Special Agent Kaiser phoned Peggy Cage and he informed Penn and Cage was alive and well but Caitlin Masters had been killed.

Old Texas Ranger Walt Garrity helped Tom Cage ran away from hospital. He had failed so many things. He lost not only Caitlin and the child she was carrying, but also Penn. Colonel Griffith Mackiever wearing the uniform of Louisiana State Police came to agent Kaiser. He brought a video, the only evidence, to bring down Forrest Knox. Forrest was promoted twice by Mackiever. According to him, Forrest was the smartest man under his command, the best man in the field. He was pure sociopath. He’s more like a highly intelligent wolf than a shark, a thinking predator.

Jordan Glass flew to Cuba to meet Fidel Castro. The old dictator still remembered Jordan. She asked him about an American pilot named David Ferrie. He had no longer believed in a CIA conspiracy regarding Kennedy. It was Mafioso Carlos Marcello. A man who knew much of assassination told Castro that the pilot Ferrie had close dealings with Marcello’s people. As Virginia Sexton, Henry’s mother asked Dr. Cage to some  words at Henry Sexton’s funeral. The fed caught him. A recording message from Caitlin‘s cell phone. She told him everything; about the tie of Marcello to Frank, the president’s killer – to look for a letter written in Russia.

Penn Cage visited Valhalla Exotic Hunting Reserve belonged to Forest Knox. Penn listed Forrest’s crimes: Caitlin’s death, the raped Viola when he was sixteen, dozen raped cases. Forrest’s eyes had grown larger when Penn said Viola Turner killed his father, Frank. Two days after Forrest and his father’s crew raped Viola, Frank was hurt and brought into Dr. Tom’s office. Viola saw her chance and injected Frank with enough air to stop his heart. Dr. Tom just watched him died in terror on a cold tile floor like a dog. Forrest told that the black kid, Harold Wallis, killed her fiancée. She was pleading her life and pregnancy. Forrest told it was not him  but Alphonse Ozan did kill Wallis.  Penn never knew Caitlin was pregnant. It’s only his father knowing of the pregnancy. Forrest pushed him to go for gun. Penn killed Forrest and Walt Garitty shot Ozan.

The blood was still wet when Billy Knox walked into his office at Valhalla and saw his cousin lying dead with Alphonse Ozan. His mother and Annie ran out onto the porch as the deputies handcuffed Penn and forced him into the back of a cruiser. After calling the sheriff, Billy Knox got the idea of checking the deer cameras strapped to pine trees on the Valhalla property. Colonel Mackiever released Penn. Garrity dug Forrest’s pocket and found a key. He traced Forrest residence and checked every Chateau lock he could find, until that Knox’s key fit. He found two boxes that contained two items were particular interest: one was a US navy tattoo on a swatch of human skin and the other Lee Oswald Harvey letter to his wife Marina and it was dated November twenty first, 1963.

Kaiser also told Penn about independent confirmation of a tie between Ferrie and Oswald from Fidel Castro. Castro told his wife Jordan about a French Corsican who made an attempt on his life. Under torture, he told Castro that an American instructor at one of Cuban training camps killed JFK for Marcello. The man was former Klansman. Lincoln Turner visited Penn, his half brother. Dr. Cage had a DNA test done on some baby teeth of Lincoln. It was positive, Tom was his father. Snake Knox piloted a Cessna and his son Billy sat beside him, trying to hide his fear. It was in dangerous area to depart from regulation procedures. They headed to Toledo Bend, Texas.

11 p.m

February 4, 2016

Sekapur Sirih

Novel ini adalah sebuah hadiah yang tak terlupakan dari seorang penulis sains yang juga penggemar novel thriller. Terima kasih padanya, dengan hadiah ini berkesempatan mengenal satu lagi penulis berkualitas seperti Greg Iles, penulis baru bagi saya.

Novelis Greg Iles adalah penulis laris dengan empat belas thriller yang berasal dari Mississippi, Amerika. Penulis adalah lulusan Ole Mississippi pada tahun 1983. Iles meninggalkan grup rock band miliknya dan memutuskan menjadi penulis thriller. Menurutnya, buku ini merupakan buku ke dua dari trilogi. Walau belum pernah membaca seri pertamanya Natchez Burning namun saya punya keyakinan besar buku itu pastilah thriller bagus. Tentunya saja sangat penasaran akhir cerita dan kesimpulan pada buku ketiganya.

Walau penulis sendiri berkulit putih namun dengan jujur mengkritisi kebejatan pendahulunya terhadap budak mereka. Ini pertama kali menikmati karya Greg Iles dan menurut saya dia adalah penulis cerdas dan dalam beberapa tulisannya dalam the Bone Tree disampaikan dengan percakapan dengan bahasa kualitas tinggi. Setelah membaca seperempat bagian dari novel ini mulai membawa pada keseruan plot. Memang di awal agak membosankan karena dihujani banyak nama tokoh dan terlalu sering pengulangan yang dibawa-bawa ke masalah pembunuhan JFK dan adiknya Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, dan pembunuhan massal tahun enam puluhan.

Tokoh utama  Penn Cage seorang mantan jaksa (prosecutor), novelis sukses, dan  menjadi mayor (walikota) kota Natchez. Serangkaian pembunuhan, termasuk kasus ayah Penn sendiri, Dr. Tom Cage seorang buronan yang dituduh membunuh mantan perawat pada kliniknya dan seorang tentara. Kasus demi kasus muncul dan memicu membawa ke sebuah tempat sadis yang diragukan keberadaannya selama ini.

Tersiar rumor, ada sebuah area pembantaian massal empat dekade lalu dimana mayat-mayat dikubur di sana dan dinamai the Bone Tree (rawa penuh tulang). Tokoh jahatnya kelompok yang masih berkaitan dengan pembunuhan JFK. Kelompok Double Eagle bukanlah Ku Klux Klan tetapi kekejamannya tidaklah kalah sadis. Plot kuat dan pengembangan tokoh sangat berkaitan kuat karena mereka memang masih sekampung.

Buku ini memang tergolong sangat panjang hingga 804 halaman, bagi pembaca yang kurang meminati dominasi percakapan maka buku ini mungkin akan kurang cocok dan yang cukup mengganggu yakni font-nya, sangat kecil. Namun tentu saja, bagi pencinta tulisan bagus akan menepisnya karena memang karya ini dituliskan dalam kalimat dalam bentuk percakapan intelektual, berkualitas, serta kekuatan cerita yang bagus. Bila Anda sedang mencari bahan untuk skripsi atau sedang mencari thriller berkualitas tinggi dalam penulisan dan berplot kuat maka buku ini sangatlah tepat dijadikan pertimbangan.

Terjemahan dalam Bahasa Indonesia: the Bone Tree (Rawa Penuh Tengkorak), Greg Iles

Agen Khusus FBI John Kaiser sangat sibuk dengan penganiayaan reporter surat kabar Natchez Examiner, Henry Sexton. Hanya berselang beberapa jam dia diculik dari rumah sakit dan ditemukan meninggal di rumah seorang sosiopath millioner Brody Royal. Penn Cage dan tunangannya Caitlin selamat dari upaya penculikan dan pembunuhan. Henry memberikan nyawanya demi pasangan itu. Rumah sang millioner terbakar hebat, hanya Caitlin dan Penn yang selamat.

Banyak masalah telah terjadi apalagi serangan dan serangkaian kejahatan kelompok the Double Eagles, sebuah organisasi kriminal berbasis rasis mirip Ku Klux Klan yang meresahkan. John sangat tertarik memecahkan misteri tentang pembunuhan paling besar sepanjang sejarah yakni pembunuhan Presiden JFK empat puluh tahun lalu. Glen Morehouse, salah seorang pendiri the Double Eagle, sebelum meninggal mengungkap sebuah fakta baru yang layak diburu; jikalau Lee Harvey Oswald yang selama ini diyakini merupakan pembunuh tunggal JFK diragukan kebenarannya.

John Kaiser tambah dibingungkan oleh kasus pembunuhan Viola Turner. Seorang mantan perawat berkulit hitam yang sudah tua dan pulang kampung dari kota Chicago. Dia sakit dan ingin menghembuskan nafas di kampungnya Natchez. Lincoln Turner, putranya yang merupakan seorang pengacara di Chicago, telah menuntut Dr. Tom Page telah membunuh ibunya, bukan karena ethaunasia. Viola Turner  adalah seorang perawat yang dulunya bekerja pada klinik praktek  Dr. Cage semasa muda, sebelum wanita itu pindah ke Chicago. Tidak hanya itu Dr. Cage telah lari dari penjaminan dan telah membunuh seorang tentara negara dalam upaya pelariannya. Dia dibantu sahabat setianya, Walt Garrity, pensiunan Texas Ranger. Keduanya pun menjadi buronan.

Sangat membingungkan bagi agen Kaiser. Dr. Cage adalah ayah dari mayor (walikota) Natchez dan seorang novelis sukses, dan mantan jaksa dan juga tunangan dari Caitlin Masters, sang publiser dan pemilik surat kabar Examiner. Masters sangat mengidolakan istri John, Jordan Glass, seorang fotografer hebat pada masanya. Dr. Cage berusaha meminta perlindungan dari iparnya dan teman-temannya. Keberadaannya tercium oleh kelompok Eagle dan sempat tertembak. Quentin Avery seorang pengacara berkulit hitam membuka pintu baginya walau sang istri sempat menolak. Namun Avery tidak pernah lupa dan berhutang budi pada kebaikan sang dokter yang rela menolongnya walau sangat beresiko pada tahun enam puluhan.

Luka tembak Dr. Cage cukup parah, butuh perawatan serius. Perawat Melba Price, seorang wanita berkulit hitam pun dipanggil secara diam-diam menolongnya. Pesuruh Caitlin berhasil mengintai gerakan Melba dan menemukan Tom Cage. Setelah kematian jurnalisnya Henry Sexton, Caitlin mendapat sebuah surat yang isinya tentang the Bone Tree dan petunjuk baru tentang pembunuh JFK. Ibu Henry, Virginia Sexton menemukan surat itu dari tas anaknya. Caitlin pun ingin menanyakan Tom tentang hal itu.

Tom mengakui banyak hal dalam masa lalu tentang hubungannya dengan Brody Royal, Frank Knox, pendiri Double Eagles, bos mafia Carlos Marcello, dan pembuhuhan JFK. Frank Kox, saudaranya Snake, dan krunya telah memerkosa perawat Viola Turner. Pemerkosaan bergilir, perbuatan sangat sadis bahkan anak berusia enam belas tahun, Forrest Knox ikut memerkosanya. Dua hari setelah pemerkosaan itu, Frank terluka dan mendatangi klinik praktek Dr. Cage. Saat itu pula, perawat Viola menyuntikkan udara yang cukup menghentikan jantung Frank Knox dan Cage hanya memandangi kematian penjahat itu yang seperti anjing mati terkapar di lantai kantornya. Cage telah menyembunyikan pembunuhan itu berpuluh-puluh tahun.

Elam Knox adalah seorang pengkotbah dan kadang-kadang sebagai petani. Dia punya anak dua yakni Frank dan Snake, keduanya adalah pahlawan perang. Frank memiliki dua putra. Frank Junior melanjutkan jiwa perang ayahnya dan Forrest menjadi polisi. Junior mati terbunuh di Vietnam walau kurang jelas, dan dia pun dianugerahi medali kepahlawanan. Namun sepucuk surat tiba setelah kematiannya. Surat yang telah dikirimkan sebelum kematiannya. Anak muda  mengatakan pada ayahnya bahwa dia tidak akan pernah pulang, dia sangat sakit dengan perlakuan kakeknya Elam Knox. Sejak kecil dia dilecehkan seksual oleh sang kakek.

Setelah membaca surat itu, dia mengumpulkan anggota the Double Eagle dan saudaranya Snake dan membawa ayahnya Elam ke Bone Tree. Dia menyiksa dan menyalibkan lelaki bejat itu seperti tentara Roma menyalibkan Jesus. Hukuman sepantasnya bagi seorang pengkotbah iblis seperti Elam. Pembalasan atas kekerasan seks yang ia terima dan  Snake serta penyiksaan terhadap ibu mereka. Walau Elam sudah dia bunuh, Frank tetap tidak tenang atas kematian anaknya, dia pun mabuk-mabukan dan depresi hingga suatu ketika bergabung dengan gerakan anti pemerintah, pernah bergabung dengan gerakan rasis KKK, dan mendirikan organisasi rasis baru the Double Eagles. Dia pun akhirnya mengenal boss mafia Carlos Marcello dan dokter resmi anggota dan keluarga mafia yaitu Dr. Tom Cage.

Mendapati Frank mati, anaknya Snake pun bertindak gila dan menculik Viola dan menyiksa dan membunuh saudara Viola dan mengambil tato di lengan saudaranya hidup-hidup. Viola menyaksikan semua kekejian itu. Tom pun akhirnya meminta pertolongan Ray Presley, seorang polisi dan anak buah mafia Carlos Marcello. Ray menolong Viola di Chicago dan kelompok Eagle pun sempat mendatangi Viola di Chicago dan tidak membunuhnya dan hanya mengancam perawat tidak boleh pulang ke Natchez. Sebelum meninggal Viola berujar tentang putranya Lincoln Turner, adalah anak Dr. Cage. Sebenarnya dokter itu telah yakin perkataan Viola, wanita yang dicintainya, tapi sebuah kotak berisikan beberapa gigi bayi Lincoln dibawa dokter itu untuk memperkuat.

Tim teknologi dari kepolisian yang juga merupakan anak buah Forrest menemukan keberadaan Dr. Cage dan dia pun dibawa paksa sebuah helikopter dan ditinggal Melba Price terkapar dilantai. Dr. Cage pun disiksa dan dibawa ke sebuah tempat. Penn dan John Kaiser mendapati jejak pelarian Tom Cage. John Kaiser memberi harapan baru bagi Penn, jikalau mereka mampu mengungkap pembunuh sebenar JFK maka ayahnya akan dibebaskan dari tuduhan pembunuhan tentara itu. Tom sangat berharap dengan bantuan Kolonel Mackiever atasan dari Forrest semasa di kepolisian. Namun colonel itu telah dalam masa ancaman pemecatan. Surat kabar memberitakan seorang lelaki berusia empat belas tahun mengaku melayani seks sang kolonel. Caitlin tahu itu hanyalah sebuah rekayasa Forrest.

Hanya calon mertuanya itu yang mengetahui tentang kehamilannya. Dengan keterangan Dr. Cage, Caitlin semakin yakin dengan temuan Henry dan ingin membuktikan dan pemburuan pun dimulai dengan menemukan the Bone Tree. Dia pun mengajak Jordan dalam misi itu. Toby Rambin seperti dalam surat Henry satu-satunya yang bisa membawanya ke tempat yang diduga orang hanya bualan. The Bone Tree dirumorkan sebagai tempat penyiksaan dan pembunuhan massal dan pembuangan mayat dari kelompok the Double Eagle maupun Ku Klux Klan. Dengan sebuah helikopter mereka pun tiba di sebuah rawa yang dipayungi hutan gelap.

Pencarian pun agak sulit sehingga mereka beristirahat namun Caitlin nekat pergi sendirian ke tempat itu dengan tawaran seorang lelaki muda berkulit hitam bernama Harold Wallis. Rupanya lelaki itu telah mengamati pembicaraan Caitlin dari kejauhan dan segera menelepon kelompok Eagles. Lelaki itu meminta sejumlah bayaran dan bersedia mengantar Caitlin ke rawa the Bone Tree. Akhirnya tempat yang selama ini dianggap misteri adalah nyata. Caitlin pun mendapati mayat-mayat bergelimpangan dan banyaknya tulang mengambang. Sesosok mayat dia duga adalah calon mertuanya Tom, ternyata bukan.

Harold menembak dada Caitlin, lelaki muda itu menjelaskan semuanya. Dia melakukannya untuk menyelamatkan saudaranya yang tertahan di penjara Angola dan dijatuhi hukuman dua puluh tahun kurungan. Forrest Knox telah menjanjikan untuk membebaskannya. Walau Caitlin telah memohon agar tidak membunuhnya; ayahnya akan membayarnya satu milyar dolar dan memohon atas bayi di kandungannya, tetapi lelaki berusia sembilan belas tahun itu, menghiraukannya. Dia hanya memikirkan saudaranya. Dengan sisa tenaga, Caitlin pun berhasil menembak anak itu. Dia pun berusaha menjauh darinya, sesosok lelaki tua tertelungkup dan pastilah sudah mati menurutnya.

Dia membalikkan sosok itu dan rupanya dia adalah Tom Cage. Ternyata dia hanya dalam koma, akibat tekanan darah rendah, Tom penderita diabetes. Permen pepermin membuat dokter itu pun terbangun. Peluru itu masih bersarang di dada Caitlin, Tom sempat berusaha menolongnya. Beberapa saat kemudian, Tom kembali koma dan Caitlin menduga lelaki itu sudah mati. Tim pencari helikopter pun melihat jaket Caitlin. Forrest dan timya menemukan Harold dan menanyakan tentang Caitlin. Namun Ozan Alphonse, polisi korup itu, anak buah Forrest, menusuk mati Harold yang telah terluka tembak.

Suasana duka menyelimuti kediaman Penn, ibunya Peggy Penn sangat sedih menerima telepon dari John Kaiser yang mengatakan bahwa Caitlin Masters telah mati terbunuh. Kehadirian Caitlin pada keluarga itu membawa kehangatan terlebih bagi Penn dan putrinya berumur sebelas tahun. Kematian ibunya oleh kanker saat Annie berumur tiga tahun. Pernikahan Caitlin dan Penn seharusnya seminggu lagi dan sebuah rumah telah dibeli Tom sebagai hadiah pernikahan untuk wanita rupawan yang dicintainya itu. Tom Cage dirawat di rumah sakit namun kembali melarikan diri dibantu temannya Walt Garrity. Dia tidak sanggup menghadapi fakta, dia telah gagal dan banyak masalah. Dia gagal menyelamatkan calon menantunya Caitlin, orang yang sangat dicintai anaknya, serta bayi, calon cucunya, dan terlebihnya kegagalannya pada anaknya Penn.

Walau menyadari resiko seorang buron, Tom sangat menghargai pengorbanan Henry Sexton yang berani menyelamatkan nyawa anaknya dan Caitlin. Ibu Henry, Virginia Sexton memintanya memberi sepatah dua kata pada upacara pemakaman putranya Henry. Tom pun menyanggupinya dan saat acara itu juga dia ditangkap. Penn pun merelakan ayahnya dibawa. Seperti janjinya Kaiser meloloskan Tom atas tuduhan pembunuhan tentara namun masalahnya tuntutan Lincoln atas pembunuhan Viola belum ditarik. Tom memberi selular yang berisikan rekaman suara Caitlin sebelum meninggal.

Dari rekaman itu, Penn pun mengetahui semua gerakan kejahatan the Doule Eagle dan hubungannya dengan mafia Marcello, siapa pembunuh Caitlin dan kaitan dengan suruhan Forrest Knox, kematian Frank Knox dengan Tom dan Viola dan berpesan pada agen John agar mencari surat dalam berbahasa Rusia. Penn semakin geram dan mendatangi Kawasan Perburuan Terbatas Valhalla, milik keluarga Knox, kantor di mana Forrest Knox berada. Sang mayor datang sendirian dengan tangan kosong. Dia membeberkan semua pembunuhan dan pemerkosaan yang dilakukan Forrest Fox dan keluarganya tapi seolah semua itu hal biasa bagi Forrest. Mata Forrest membelalak ketika mengetahui ayahnya Frank dibunuh Viola Turner dan Dr. Tom hanya memandangi kematian Frank seperti anjing mati di lantai kantornya.

Tak kalah luka hati Penn ketika Frank  mengatakan mungkin saja bayi itu lelaki, Caitlin memohon-mohon pada Wallis agar tidak membunuhnya demi calon bayi. Penn pun sangat terbakar atas ejekan itu, kenyataannya juga dia sama sekali tidak mengetahui kehamilan tunangannya. Forrest telah memaksa Penn mengambil senjata untuk menghabisi penjahat itu. Dengan perkelahian sengit, lelaki sosiopat itu pun tergeletak dan mati. Saat Ozan Alphose hendak menembak Penn, Walt Garrity melumpuhkannya. Mantan Texas Ranger itu mengambil kunci dari kantong Forrest.

Darah basah masih mengalir ketika Billy Knox mendapati sepupunya Forrest dan Ozan terbunuh. Dia pun memanggil sherif dan terbersik ide di benaknya mengecek kamera pengintai rusa dan mendapati wajah Penn dan Garrity. Penn pun ditangkap dan masuk bui sama seperti ayahnya. Lincoln Turner membesuk Penn dan mengatakan hasil tes DNA telah positif bahwa dia adalah putra Cage. Kini mereka adalah saudara seayah, saudara separuh darah. Namun perlu waktu untuk Peggy Cage untuk karena dia tidak pernah mengetahui perselingkuhan suaminya. Walau sudah jelas dia putra Tom, Lincoln belum menarik tuntutan pembunuhan ibunya.

Tak berselang lama, pengacara Quentin Avery dan dengan bantuan Kolonel Mackiever membebaskan Penn. Kolonel itu membuat mantan ke dua anak buahnya itu pada sebuah rekayasa Ozan dan Forrest saling membunuh. Garrity diam-diam menyelidiki kediaman Forrest. Setelah mencoba ke berbagai lobang kunci akhirnya kunci itu pas dengan sebuah kotak. Ada dua buah benda yakni sayatan tato dari tubuh manusia dan sebuah surat dalam amplop. John Kaiser pun akhirnya yakin pembunuh JFK adalah Frank Knox. Surat dalam berbahasa Rusia dalah surat Lee Harvey Oswald pada istrinya Marina. Rencana pelariannya ke Havana dan sebuah janji akan membawa Marina dan putrinya ke Kuba.

Akhirnya terungkap bahwa Oswald hanyalah penembak pertama dan Frank-lah yang meledakkan kepala sang presiden, atas suruhan mafia Carlos Marcello yang merasa terganggu dengan presiden yang beberapa kali berupaya mendeportasi sang mafia, menjauhkan dari kerajaan kriminalnya. Demikian juga adiknya Robert Kennedy yang menghalang-halangi bisnisnya. Carlos mengenali Frank dari gerakan. Jordan Glass, istri John Kaiser terbang ke Kuba dan mewawancarai Fidel Castro. Sang diktator rupanya belum lupa dengan Jordan Glass. Fotografer itu berhasil menggali bahwa pilot Amerika Ferrie ada hubungannya dengan mafia Carlos Marcello tapi dia tidak bilang siapa pembunuh JFK.

Castro sendiri tidak yakin pembunuhnya adalah CIA, hanya saja dari sumber yang ingin membunuhnya dalam kondisi disiksa, dia mengaku bahwa mafia Carlos Marcello dan pilot Ferrie berhubungan kuat (Ferrie adalah perekrut Oswald). Pembunuh sesungguhnya bukanlah Oswald melainkan seseorang keturunan Prancis dan Corsican (orang yang bemukim di wilayah Perancis Selatan dan Utara Italia). Tanpa menyebut siapa namanya. Dengan bukti-bukti yang ada serta surat Oswald dan penggalian Jordan Glass, John Kaiser dan Penn Cage pun semakin yakin pembunuhnya adalah Frank Knox. Snake dan putranya Billy terbang dengan Cessna dengan melihat lautan api yang sengaja mereka buat pada rawa hutan the Bone Tree untuk menghilangkan bukti. Keduanya pun terbang  menuju Texas.

*******

4 Februari 2016

Identical by Scott Turow (2013): Summary

According to Mr. Turow, this novel is inspired by the most touching of the Greek myths, the story of Gemini, Castor and Pollux. The identical twins were said to have been born after their mother, Leda, Queen of Spartan, was raped by Zeus, who had taken the form of a swan to catch her unaware. The sole difference between the twins was Pollux was immortal, like his father, while Castor like his mother was not. After finishing Lastnight, the very next day I started enjoy this mystery book. This novel has two setting of time. It was 1982 and present day.

Identical by Scott Turow (2013): Summary

A wealth Greek family, the Kronon  held annual picnic party in honoring the church. The twin Gannis and their mother Lidia were at that house. Cass Gannis was in love to the beautiful daughter of Zeus Kronon and had mind to marry her. Cass, a cadet Police Academy, was different to his identical brother Paul. After graduation, in his twenty five summers, Paul work for law firm, started his career.

The oldest son of Zeus Kronon, Hal was owner of security ZP real estate Investment Trust. He ran his father business. Hal Koronon was demanded for a hearing before a convicted killer of his sister, Dita, was released.

Cass Gianis pled guilty killed his girlfriend. He had done twenty years sentence. His identical twin, Paul had propelled into a political career that had led him to become senator. He visited his brother weekly along twenty five years. Hal spelt out words accusing Paul had hand on Dita’s murder in front of the reporters. The senator sued him.

Evon Miller, fifty, senior vice-president for security at ZP Real estate Investment Trust, was former athlete. Miller had spent twenty years as an FBI special agent before taking this job. Hal put his trust to her and Tim, former homicide detective who first investigated Dita’s murder. The investigation had started from the evidences that kept 25 years in police station.

Tim was one of the investigators but now he worked for Hall. The invention of DNA had proved shocking truths. The fingerprints from 25 years ago showed many twisted fact. Hal was not biological son of Zeus. The twins had the same DNA to Zeus. Lidia never told Zeus and opposed Dita to marry his son Cass.

Lidia’s father disapproved Zeus to propose his daughter he smell mafiosi money at that family. They both marry and have own family. Lidia had two girls and the twins. Zeus was happy with his Greek wife Hermione, son Hal, and beautiful daughter Dita. The night of Dita’s murder, Lidia has already planned to hide inside Dita’s room. Lidia warned Dita to cancel her marriage’s plan.

She explained that the twin were his father’s son. That’ll be dangerous marriage. Zeus heard glass breaking from her daughter’s room. His heart clenched when he saw blood. Dita admitted that Lidia was there. Her daughter never mentioned that the twins were her brothers but she only asked that old man about his wild sex. He slapped her daughter and drove her skull back several times.

Dita was cut and lose blood. He only told his wife something happen to their daughter. He looked up as said that he killed his daughter. Zeus with his money sent Cassian Gianis sent to jail and cooperated with investigator Tim Bordie. His wife found that the real killer was her husband and arranged car accident to her husband in Greek. Her son, Hal was only the heir now. The twins had switched the whole years. Cass acted to be politician and Paul as a prisoner.

*****

2015

Sekapur Sirih

Sesuai catatan Turow, novel ini terinspirasi dari masa kecilnya dengan hadirnya saudari kembarnya dan mitos Yunani Kuno Pollux dan Castor. Putra Zeus dengan putri Spartan, si kembar memiliki perbedaan yang mana Pollux mewarisi gen ayahnya immortal sementara Castor adalah manusia biasa sama seperti ibunya.

Novel fiksi ini mulai dibaca tanggal sepuluh hingga lima belas Oktober tahun 2015. Buku setebal 414 halaman  merupakan edisi terbitan 2013 dan diputuskan masuk di keranjang belanja pada 23 Juli 2014. Seiring banyaknya kegiatan, buku ini baru bisa dinikmati pada minggu ke dua Oktober 2015. Setahun lebih, masa yang lama, namun buku ini setia menunggu di lemari. Setelah membacanya, teringat kembali karya Innocent milik John Grisham diangkat dari kisah nyata. Penemuan tes DNA yang telah membantu penyelesaian kasus dan mengungkap berbagai fakta yang menggemparkan.

Turow menggambarkan cerita dengan cara mudah dimengerti dan penyampaian masalah hukum dikaitkan dengan latar kekinian serta kehidupan dan budaya masyarakat Yunani. Tokoh Evon Miller sebagai tokoh lesbian yang masih kontaversial pada tahun 2008 di Amerika, namun, saat ini tahun 2015 sesuai keputusan  Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung) sudah dinyatakan legal.

Tokoh Tim pria berusia 82 tahun mantan penyidik pembunuhan di Kepolisian digambarkan lelaki penyayang keluarga namun tidak tahan dengan prestasi kenaikan jabatan hingga menjebloskan seseorang tidak bersalah ke penjara untuk tuduhan pembunuhan. Pusat masalah adalah pada keluarga Kronon dan Gianis. Karya fiksi ini disampaikan dalam dua latar belakang waktu. 

Terjemahan Bahasa Indonesia: Identical (Kembar Siam), oleh Scott Turow

Sebuah pesta tahunan piknik kumpulan keturunan Yunani di Amerika diselenggarakan di kediaman Kronon. Pengusaha kaya raya, pemilik beberapa supermarket besar, politisi besar, dan calon gubernur memiliki kekayaannya dari warisan ayahnya yang terkait dengan mafia Yunani. Usahanya pun berkembang pesat. Hal anak tertuanya akan segera mewarisinya dan putri cantik, dan satu-satunya Dita Kronon terkenal dengan mulut tajamnya namun sisi lain dia melakukan kegiatan sosial.

Lidia ibu si kembar merupakan sahabat akrab dari saudari Zeus sejak kecil dan mereka tinggal di lingkungan yang sama. Ayah Lidia telah menolak lamaran Zeus karena merasa tidak nyaman dengan kekayaan Zeus yang berhubungan dengan mafia. Perang Dunia Kedua pecah, Zeus diutus ayahnya ke Yunani dari sana dia membawa putri mafia Yunani yang cantik dan seorang anak yakni Hal. Pernikahan untuk kesepakatan bisinis ayahnya.

Lidia pun menikahi Michael Gianis, pria pulang dari perang dan memutuskan untuk membuka toko grosir. Namun dia menghadapi masalah ekonomi berbelit, kebiasaan mabuk-mabukan, dalam penyangkalan bahwa si kembar bukanlah anaknya. Teri, teman Lidia memberikan ibu dua anak itu pekerjaan pada usaha Zeus yang semakin berkembang dan hubungan mereka pun berlanjut. Di malam pesta tahun 1982, Dita terbunuh dan kekasihnya Cass menjadi terdakwa dan menjalani hukuman penjara selama 25 tahun.

Kini 2008, Hal Kronon diminta menghadiri sidang pelepasan terdakwa. Setelah dua puluh lima tahun tahun menjalani masa hukumannya Cass pun bebas di usianya yang lima puluh tahun. Saudara kembarnya Paul, seorang politisi sukses, senator yang sedang sorotan media sebagai calon walikota. Hidup bahagia dengan istrinya, seorang dokter bedah terkenal dan dua anak lelaki yang tengah kuliah di kampus ternama. Waktu pun berlalu. Lidia, ibu mereka tinggal di panti Jompo.

Evon Miller, wanita lima puluh tahun mantan atlet lari dan mantan anggota FBI yang telah bertugas selama 25 tahun pada biro itu memilih sebagai wakil presiden senior pada perusahaan Hal. Kini wanita lesbian itu dan rekanannya Tim Bordie menjadi andalan Hal Kronon. Tim Brodie, lelaki 82 tahun pensiunan penyidik kepolisian yang pertama kasus menginvestigasi kasus pembunuhan Dita. Di depan media, dengan emosi Hal Kronon menuduh Paul ikut terlibat dalam pembunuhan adiknya dan inilah awal dari permasalahan.

Paul dan tim kampanyenya telah menjadi bahan berita buruk di media dan merugikan kampanye pencalonannya. Paul Gianis pun mengajukan upaya hukuman atas tuduhan Hal. Untuk menangkisnya Hal pun meminta Evon dan Tim untuk mengusut pembunuh sesungguh adiknya yang diyakininya si kembar terlibat. Beranjak dari dokumen yang sudah 25 tahun sidik jari dari orang-orang yang diambil di tes ulang dengan penemuan teknologi tes DNA. Penemuan DNA ini telah banyak mengungkap fakta bahwa darah pada bukti adalah darah wanita bukan Cass. Namun setelah penyelidikan sempat mengarah kepada Lidia Gianis ibu si kembar.

Dengan keterbatasan pengingatannya beberapa fakta pun terkuat bahwa Lidia memang beradu mulut pada Dita dan intinya melarang rencana pernikahan gadis bermulut tajam itu dengan Cass putranya. Pada malam kejadian, wanita itu mengingatkan bahwa ayah dari si kembar adalah Zeus Kronon, ayahnya sendiri. Sebuah pernikahan yang berbahaya.

Dita sangat syok menerima kenyataan itu. Mengetahui ada keributan di kamar Dita, setelah Lidia pergi Zeus mendatangi putrinya. Ucapan Dita yang menyudutkan perilaku buruk ayahnya dalam kehidupan seksnya kepada setiap wanita termasuk pada Lidia dan fakta bahwa si kembar anaknya memancing kemarahan ayahnya dan memukul gadis itu hingga tewas.

Zeus pun kerjasama dengan Tim mengatur kalau pembunuh itu adalah Cass. Dengan kekuasaan uangnya Cass pun menjadi terdakwa. Hermione, istri Zeus, membalaskan dendam akan kematian putrinya dan menyelamatkan Hal, yang jelas bukan anak biologis Zeus. Istrinya yang masik keturunan mafia itu kuatir anaknya Hal tidak mendapat warisan.

Hermione, sang istri pun mengetahui jika suaminya telah membunuh putrinya, membuat sebuah kecelakaan yang menamatkan nyawa suaminya di Yunani.  Hasil tes DNA pada dua puluh lima tahun kemudian mengungkap fakta bahwa Zeus adalah ayah si Kembar dan Hal bukanlah anak Zeus. Paul dan Cass sering berganti menjalani hukuman dan berperan sebagai politisi selama masa tahanan. Mereka berhasil melakukannya selama 25 tahun.

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2015

Op-Center (1995), a Novel by Tom Clancy and Steve Peiczenik: Summary

The 387-page novel is published by Berkley Books, New York in 1995. This is the second time I post Clancy’s book. Global issue, terrorism, parenthood, patriotism, thriller, action, politics, and U.S. Army’s technology are twisted in conversational words. The book follows an explosion outside a hotel killed Americans and Koreans in Seoul. Paul Hood, Director of Op-Center and his teams cracked the terrorist by the satellite while Mike Rodgers and his teams and Korean Central Intelligence Agency on the field. This novel had been in TV mini series in 1995.

Op-Center, a Novel by Tom Clancy and Steve Peiczenik: Summary 

Kim Hwan was Deputy Director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA). Kim and his friend Gregory were at the celebration occasion in Seoul when an explosion blasted. Gregory Donald was Ambassador to Korea for twenty years ago. And not when he became the adviser on Korean affairs for Op-Center. Now, he was a president of the U.S/Korean Friendship Society in Washington. An explosion in Seoul outside the hotel at the celebration had killed numerous people included Donald’s wife Soonji. The people in the grandstand and the crowd standing but suddenly podium blasted in Seoul. Not only Donald, Soonji’s death also shocked Kim Hwan. He had always loved is his former assistant, but KCIA forbid relationships among employees.

Paul Hood was Mayor of Los Angeles. President offered him the directorship of Op-Center, a largely autonomous new agency that the press hadn’t quite discovered. But when he mentioned the offer to his family, his ten-year-old son and twelve-year-old daughter seemed thrilled by the idea of moving to Washington. President Michael Lawrence asked Hood focused on Korean situation. When he mostly was needed in Op-Center, his wife Sharon called him about their son. The boy, Alexander, was not only a typical asthma attack but an acute bronchial infection.

Monitors in Op-Center room showed the photos. The photographs of Pyongyang showed tanks and armored vehicles rolling from the city, with antiaircraft artillery being moved into the surrounding countryside. North Koreans were preparing for war. Political Officer Martha Mackall received a call on the secure line. The agent had fluency in ten languages and understanding of world economics made her more valuable than that. Martha had her heart set on the directorship, while Ann Farris set on the directorship. With her B.A in journalism and M.A., blue-blood Farrises expected her to work on Wall Street with her father.

But she went to work as a political reporter. Besides the two women, it were Liz Gordon, Operation Support Officer Matt Stoll, and Intelligence Officer Bob Herbert. Martha found that the caller on the monitor was in U.S Embassy in Seoul. On the phone Gregory Donald said they found some evidences; a water bottle and some boot prints, North Korea issue. They found footprints near the bomb site – the prints of North Korean military boots. For someone who frame North Korean military, they needed they’d needed the footwear from North.

Mike Rodgers was capable as hell. He was one of the Americans soldiers running to do their duty during his first tour in Viet Nam, and after getting his Ph.D in history from Temple University while he stationed at. Ft. Dix, he went back and led battalions of them in Persian Gulf War. For all his smarts and his often astounding skills as a mediator, Hood hated letting anything out of his control. And by going into the field, half a world away, Rodgers would be effectively out of his control. But above all, Hood was a team player: if it necessary for Striker team to go in and perform any convert action, the Director wouldn’t let ego stop him for letting the team and Rodgers do their job.

The U.S. Army base in Seoul was source of annoyance to many of the locals. Sitting on twenty acres of prime real estate in the heart of the city, it housed two thousand troops on four acres. The remaining fourteen acres existed for amusement of the troops. Its role was part political, part ceremonial: it signified enduring friendship with the Republic of Korea, and it provided Americans with a base from which to keep an eye on Japan. A DOD long-term study indicated that remilitarization of Japan was inevitable by the year 2010; if the U.S. ever lost its bases there, the base in Seoul would become the most important in Asia-Pacific region.

Op-Center monitored Pyongyang and Seoul by satellite. Unlike the military or NASA or any organization where the people were vague similar background or orientation, Op-Center was potpourri of talent, education, experience- and idiosyncrasies. After learning the real suspect, Gregory Donald, KCIA, and Mike Rodgers and his teams seized the terrorists to North Korea. Kim Chong, a North Korean spy lived as an undercover musician in Seoul. She might be a civilian, one of those North Korean who served who served against their will because they had a criminal record, were fighting to regain lost family honor, or because a sibling or parent needed money.

Chong’s brother broke into military hospital to get morphine for their ill mother. Chong helped him to escape. They arrested Chong and her mother. They were given a choice; remaining in prison or she could go to South and gather intelligence. But her mother had stomach cancer and died before she came to South. Ms. Chong’s brother was a fugitive and she learned he made his way to Japan. She helped KCIA under one condition- her brother.

Major Kim Lee was a twenty-year veteran with a justifiable dislike for North. His father had been a field general who was killed in Incheon during the war. His mother was captured and hanged for spying on the troops trains coming and going at the station Pyongyang. He was raised in an orphanage in Seoul and joined the army when he was eighteen. Lee was in charge of an elite counterintelligence group. He did a good deal reconnoitering in the North to help calibrate U.S. spy satellite and measuring objects on the ground.

Chong reported to KCIA that several boots, explosives, and handguns were taken from a truck and en route to depot four weeks ago. North Korean Colonel Ki-Soo had fought hard to overcome the stigma associated with his birth, obtaining a degree in cod joining the military, where he rose quickly. His father was a Japanese soldier and his mother had been a comfort girl during the Second World War. His friend Colonel Sun pointed pistol on his head and asked the code to change the launch coordinates. The missiles are aimed at Seoul.

Intelligence officer Bob Herbert concluded that Major Kim Lee was behind the attack. Major Lee attacked Donald with a knife and disappeared. He was headed into the area where the North Koreans had been known to have tunnels. Donald was led away from the South-side base intentionally. Lee was planning to use gas. Donald crawled into the tunnel. He tried to stop the poison gas but he died. North Koreans military didn’t believe that the group was acting alone. Rodgers and team shot Colonel Su. Colonel Ki-Soo was very cooperative and he did not know about the cancel code.

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Sekapur Sirih

Ini kali kedua saya memosting karya Tom Clancy. Novel setebal 387 halaman ini diterbitkan Berkley Book tahun 1995 di New York. Sudah menjadi kekhasan karya Clancy yang menyoroti masalah politik global, teroris, kecanggihan teknologi persenjataan Amerika, thriller, aksi laga, dan peranan ayah. Berlatar-belakang waktu setelah kepemimpinan Presiden Jimmy Carter. Novel ini disampaikan dengan percakapan yang sangat bernuansa laki-laki, bisa dibilang novel para pria. Buku ini telah dibuat dalam film mini seri pada tahun 1995 namun sayang sekali belum pernah melihatnya.

Summari/Ringkasan Novel Op-Center (1995) karya Tom Clancy dan Steve Pieczenik

Sebuah ledakan bom pada sebuah acara di Seoul telah mematikan dan melukai beberapa orang. Acara yang dihadiri ratusan hadirin dalam rangka penyatuan Korea Utara dan Selatan. Soonji istri dari Presiden Duta Persahabatan Korea Selatan (Korsel) dengan Amerika terbunuh. Gregory Donald dahulu merupakan duta besar Amerika untuk Korea Selatan dua puluh tahun sebelumnya. Dan saat itu pula dia mengenal Kim Hwan yang kini Direktur Deputy Intelijen Korsel dan asistennya Soonji.

Paul Hood dahulu adalah walikota dan dipercaya Presiden Michael Lawrence memimpin Op-Center, sebuah agensi intellijen rahasia dan tak satu media pun yang mengetahuinya. Op-Center  berkantor di Washington dan diperlengkapi dengan teknologi militer tercanggih kala itu (sekitar 1980-90an). Hood memiliki sejumlah anak buah yang tangguh dari berbagai latar belakang ilmu. Liz Gordon, Martha Mackall, Bob Herbert, Stoll dan Mike Rodgers sebagai militer lapangan. Walau semua tahu keadaan putra Hood yang kini terbaring di rumah sakit tapi Presiden tetap mengandalkan Paul Hood untuk situasi genting di Seoul. Hood pun memercayakan operasi lapangan pada Mike Rodgers, pahlawan tangguh, yang sudah handal dalam sejumlah perang luar negeri.

Kim Hwan dan KCIA (Intelijen Korsel) pun berhasil menemukan Kim Chong. Seorang musisi wanita yang merupakan mata-mata Korea Utara (Korut). Dari bukti ditemukan di dekat bom, jejak sepatu tentara Korea Utara. Walau mungkin bisa saja pihak tertentu memanfaatkan Korut namun setidaknya dari mana mereka menemukan sepatu militer itu, atau mungkin saja bahan peledaknya dari sana juga. Wanita itu pun membawa anggota KCIA masuk ke Korut.

Chong sebenarnya meragukan simpulan awal Amerika dan KCIA bahwa pelakunya militer negara Korut. Tapi hasil penyelidikan pelakunya adalah seorang Mayor Korsel yang bekerja sama dengan seorang kolonel di Korut. Mayor Lee pun diketahui dibalik serangan itu. Lee, seorang cerdas dan penyuplai informasi intelijen, sebenarnya sangatlah akrab bagi pangkalan militer Amerika dan KCIA namun dia menghianati negaranya. Donald Gregory pun diserang Lee. Seolah digiring ke perbatasan Korut, Lee berhasil lari lewat terowongan. Rupanya Lee berencana membuat gas beracun, selain ingin meledakkan Seoul.

Mike Rodgers dan timnya berhasil masuk ke tempat di Korut di mana Kolonel Su tengah mengancam temannya Kolonel Ki-Soo. Su ingin sekali kode peluncuran untuk memusnahkan Seoul tetapi dia berhasil dilumpuhkan. Rencara peluncuran misail pun gagal. Namun sayang Greogory Donald tewas terbunuh saat sedang berupaya menghentikan gas beracun akibat perbuatan Lee. Pemerintah Korut pun terkaget karena tidak menduga adanya kelompok yang bertindak sendiri di luar kendali tentara nasional Korut. Dengan Bantuan Kolonel Ki-Soo tim Mike Rodgers pun keluar selamat dari Korea Utara dan kelompok teroris berhasil dilumpuhkan.

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