From Publishers Weekly SYNBATs (synthetic battle forms) are large mutant primates created by a secret genetic engineering project in rural Tennessee and, in the best thriller tradition, they escape, wreaking gory havoc on anything in their way. Massed against them are Special Forces Chief Warrant Officer Dave Riley and his troop of Green Berets. In lesser hands, the plot might seem tawdry, but Mayer, a Special Forces veteran and author of Eyes of the Hammer, keeps story and characters firmly under control. Even his scenario is chillingly plausible, given the fluid parameters of scientific ethics in a technological and political climate in which dollars must show immediate results. As the plot progresses, Riley and crew find themselves battling not only the vicious animals, but also government officials intent upon keeping their secrets (and funding) intact. The venal motives of the scientists and military bureaucracy are tellingly contrasted with the idealism of the soldiers--a treat for military fiction readers. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal This new Dave Riley novel (following Eyes of the Hammer, LJ 7/91) blends elements of war, horror, and science fiction. An elite special-forces team is sent to intercept biologically contaminated monkeys from an experimental lab complex in Tennessee. Led by Chief Warrant Officer Riley and accompanied by scientists from the mysterious lab, the soldiers eventually discover that they are in fact chasing genetically engineered killing creatures--Synbats. Tension mounts as the creatures leave a trail of destruction from Tennessee to downtown Chicago, where the action climaxes in an underground tunnel system. Mayer's personal experience in the special forces gives authenticity to the novel's military action. Recommended for public libraries, this book will appeal to a variety of horror and military fiction readers. - Jim Cunningham, Illinois Mathematics & Science Acad., Aurora Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.