From Publishers Weekly Engel， billed by his publisher as a "renowned physician，" has written a medical thriller crammed with often daunting clinical detail. Nobel-hopeful and neurobiologist George Mulligan receives an urgent message to consult with other medical specialists in Paris on a case of progeria， a rare disease that prematurely and rapidly ages the human body. Dr. Mulligan's controversial theory about the genetics of human intelligence may explain his command performance at the autopsy of a Russian child who has died of progeria in France. Mulligan's lifeand that of his French counterpart in the case， Dr. Irene Saillandsuddenly becomes endangered as KGB agents try to cover up the situation. Thrust into an international medical scandal， Mulligan discovers the dead boy is a product of deliberate mutation designed by the Soviets to create a new breed of soldiers. This species of variants is based， ironically， on his own idea that simple enzyme changes in the embryo may have profound results. Though engrossing from a medical point of view， this novel may be of less interest to the casual reader trying to muddle through the medical verbiage. Mulligan's romance with Sailland has its diversionary moments but takes second place to the complex genetic background. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information， Inc. From Library Journal In this medical thriller， two prematurely aged Russian boys travel on foot from Leningrad to Paris in nine weeks. When one of them dies， and the KGB is caught trying to steal the body， American biochemist George Mulligan is summoned by the CIA to investigate the feat of genetic engineering that produced these superintelligent and superstrongbut very illchildren. Mulligan and his French pediatrician lover finally meet the Soviet researcher who is the culprit， and Western officials confront the disturbing implications of modifying DNA to produce a master race of soldiers. Though lacking the smooth slickness of Robin Cook's novels， this has solid and clearly presented medical background， and the story is compelling. Joyce Smothers， Monmouth Cty. Lib.， Manalapan， N.J.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information， Inc.