[close] Hold on tight, because bestselling author Nelson DeMille has combined three of his supersonically charged thrillers into one megasized edition. Each of the novels, Word of Honor, Cathedral, and By the Rivers of Babylon, is very different in plot, but clearly patented by DeMille's distinctive fingerprints: a fascination for 20th-century politics, a high level of human interest, and ongoing clashes of good versus evil.

In Word of Honor, Vietnam veteran Ben Tyson is accused of committing a heinous wartime crime. As his reputation and his inner spirit are battered, Ben must fight the biggest battle of his life.

Cathedral takes place on St. Patrick's Day, in New York City. A renegade I.R.A. group seizes a huge cathedral, along with the worshippers inside. As the hours pass and the tension mounts, the fate of the hostages does not look good.

Finally, the hotly contested Arab-Israeli conflict serves as the nucleus of inspiration for By the Rivers of Babylon. When two Concorde jets crash-land in the desert, the passengers (all peace ambassadors) must battle it out with an army of Palestinian commandos. The final showdown is an appropriately dramatic finish to DeMille's Three Complete Novels. --Naomi Gesinger [close]