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THE ALTMAN CODE is the final book by Robert Ludlum. THE ALTMAN CODE is in a similar vein to his previous thrillers, which include THE HADES FACTOR and THE BOURNE IDENTITY. Col. Jon Smith is a doctor for USAMRIID as well as an agent for Covert-One. Covert-One is a special organization run by Fred Klein, which handles incidents that the CIA and State Department know nothing about. Smith is in the middle of a medical conference, when he is asked to pick up a manifest from another agent. Thinking nothing of it, Smith abandons his conference to go to the rendezvous. This manifest is vitally important because it shows that The Dowager Empress, which left China, is carrying biological weapons to sell to Iraq. Things do not go as planned; Smith's contact dies and the manifest returns to the enemy. Before his death, the agent tells Smith that there are rumors that a political prisoner held in the countryside is in fact the President's real father. Smith backtracks his contact's trail in order to find another copy of the manifest. Each agent that helps him along the way ends up murdered. Smith must find the manifest, see if the political prisoner is the President's father and prevent an international incident without losing his own life. THE ALTMAN CODE lives up to the standards of Ludlum's previous books. There is enough action, suspense and politics to keep any fan satisfied. Although the action does tend to be violent, the book is not gory or nauseating to read. No bloody body parts appear within the text. Unlike some thrillers in this vein, there is very little bigotry or xenophobia. China is not automatically the bad guy. In fact, officials wonder if China is even aware of the true cargo of The Dowager Empress. Yes, the book does reference events from China's history that is less than ideal as well as not so historical events; however, the book gives the idea that change is in the near future. China is presented as any other culture would be; some of the characters are peaceful and concerned with positive relationships while others are the stereotypical bad guys. This realistic presentation of non-American peoples is impressive.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, August 2003
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