INDASAT (Industrial Applications Satellite) is a U.S. and European space project designed to utilize space technology for commercial applications. Following its orbit in space, a satellite splashes into the Arafura Sea. Planned retrieval of the satellite goes awry when a schooner manned by sea gypsies, members of an Indonesian mariner tribe, board the INDASAT ship, massacre the crew, and scuttle the ship. The satellite disappears without a trace.

U.S. Naval Intelligence targets the likely culprits as Indonesian pirate clans united and headed by a pirate king. This is not only an economic problem; it is an issue of the freedom of the seas. High level government and military discussions lead to a decision to appoint the Sea Fighter Task Force, led by Captain Amanda Garrett, to investigate the situation. Amanda is given authority to use whatever resources necessary in the operation.

After further examination, suspicions are raised that Makara Harconan, a fabulously wealthy Indonesian trader and commodities broker, may be secretly conducting criminal activities as the pirate king. The task force begins decisive action in the ocean off Bali, but the enterprise runs into unexpected complications. Amanda and Harconan meet socially and are strongly attracted to each other.

Set in the near future, the Amanda Garrett series is a techno-thriller with a twist on the standard formula: the lead character is female. Within the techno-thriller subgenre the rare women mentioned in the plot are usually consigned to very minor roles - in a traditional female occupation such as secretary (the hero needs someone to type his reports), as the helpless victim needing rescue (that’s what heroes do), or as an available body so that the hero can demonstrate his Y-chromosome is fully functional.

Target Lock is the fourth novel in the Amanda Garrett series. Since the first, Choosers of the Slain, Amanda has risen within the naval ranks and commands more even firepower. Many of the original characters have come along with her, and while it’s not necessary to have read the earlier books to appreciate Target Lock, knowing the character background is advantageous in understanding some of the relationships.

Introduced in Target Lock, Makara Harconan is one of those fictional arch-villains who rises to near-hero status. Over the course of the novel, his evil edges seem to soften slightly. Is it possible that the author, like Amanda, found Harconan so intriguing he couldn’t resist imbuing him with a little social value?

If you appreciate the advance technology and derring-do of techno-thrillers, you’ll find the Amanda Garrett series just as packed with weaponry and satellite imaging as any other book within the subgenre. Moreover, character development is not lost in the six-gun, shoot-‘em-up environment. This is a series well worth readers’ time, and Target Lock is a solid addition to it. Both the series and this individual title deserve this strong recommendation.

--Lesley Dunlap