THEY don't come much tougher or smarter than British special agent and ex-IRA enforcer Sean Dillon, especially when he's up against Iraq's most feared terrorist Hussein Rashid, aka the Hammer of God.

Aided by Billy Salter, a reformed London gangster, Dillon engages in a slug-fest which leaves a trail of bodies across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Britain. It's fast, it's furious, it's immensely readable and it's also very puzzling, as the veteran Dillon must be old enough by now to be pushing a zimmer rather than toting a gun.