The Age of Terror Author:David Plante Set in the seamy world of the Russian sex slave trade, The Age of Terror is the wrenching story of a disillusioned young American expatriate who searches for life's meaning in the Soviet Union on the eve of its disintegration. David Plante's illuminating fiction has always provided his readers with a vision of universal grief that has dra... more »wn comparisons to writers as diverse as Iris Murdoch and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Here, in The Age of Terror, Plante uses this remarkable ability to create a memorable trio of characters who struggle to survive the desperate days just before the collapse of communism. Joe, an impressionable young American, journeys to Leningrad and Moscow in search of a more satisfying world. Immediately drawn to a wistful young Russian woman, Zoya, Joe follows her into the dark underworld of the Russian black market, where his idealistic view of Russia is challenged by the venality and ethical depravity that confront him. There Zoya introduces him to Gerald, a cynical, dissipated American, determined to ruthlessly exploit the collapse of the Soviet Union. As Joe is ineluctably drawn into their barren, amoral world, he discovers the invidious secret that manacles Zoya inextricably to Gerald. Suddenly Joe finds himself the third player in one of the most intense sexual and emotional triangles in recent literature. As he struggles to liberate Zoya from Gerald's grasp, Joe must come to terms with his own helplessness and emotional inanition. In a surrealistic conclusion, Plante explores the complex ethical implications of the end of idealism. The Age of Terror, a disturbing novel with mysterious and unexpected twists, proclaims a universal theme of sacredness and ultimate redemption. Managing to evoke spirituality even under the harshest conditions, The Age of Terror is Plante's finest novel to date.« less