Scorched Earth
by Will Murray
His name was Remo and he was trying to make liver pâté.

From Russia with Love

A single superheated zap from an invisible object in space literally vaporizes the Biobubble habitat scientists. More sizzling attacks are followed by eyewitness sightings of giant Cyrillic letters in the sky.

As the White House and Pentagon hastily cover up in reflective tinfoil to ward off the deadly rays, Remo and Chiun are dispatched to Russia to stop these stealth attacks before World War III really scorches the planet.

But clandestine Russian forces are ready, lying in wait. They have their own red-hot agenda to find the culprit, even if it means going back to the wild and crazy Cold War days--when the Party was really happening....

Review: Now I know why I drew a complete blank on this book, absolutely nothing happens here. The plot, such as it is, concerns a dangerous scientific device in the hands of a soulless corporation, the device has a glitch and accidentally fries the biosphere. Hilarity is meant to follow. It doesn't. Remo and Chiun travel the world playing detectives and not really doing much else. Remo goes into space in the end, in another scene which should be more exciting than it is.

Scorched Earth is lukewarm .