BEFORE Hannibal Lecter extolled the virtues of fava beans and a nice Chianti, Thomas Harris wrote a frightening little novel titled "Black Sunday."

Far removed from the subject matter of Harris' later efforts, "Black Sunday" is the chilling story of a terrorist plot to detonate plastic explosives from a blimp during the Super Bowl. The mastermind, Michael Lander, is an American, a former Vietnam POW whose brutal experiences there severed the fragile bonds of his already fractured psyche.

Lander is aided by a pair of terrorists from a violent Lebanon-based group called Black September. Dahlia Iyad, who brings Lander together with the guerillas, quickly pinpoints his weaknesses and uses sex to manipulate him and encourage his madness.

Dahlia's partner Muhammad Fasil is as cold and twisted as Harris' later killers, most notably Lecter:

Harris

"He had a certain amount of surface passion and a range of visible emotion that was wide and not deep. But he was deep, all right, and cold, and those cold depths held sightless, savage things that brushed and bit one another in the dark. He had learned about himself very early. At the same time he had taught his schoolmates about himself and then he was left alone. Fasil had splendid reflexes and wiry strength. He had no fear and no mercy, but he did have malice. Fasil was living proof that physiognomy is a false science. He was slim and fairly good-looking. He was a monster."

Lander and the members of Black September are pursued by Israeli Mossad operative David Kabakov. The Israeli government, fearing an Arab terrorist attack on American soil would jeopardize valuable aid and weapons deals with the U.S., sends Kabakov to stop the plot at any cost.

In many ways, Kabakov is as dysfunctional as his adversaries. Like Fasil, Dahlia and Lander, he is a veteran of bloodshed and political intrigue, and he is also deeply committed to his cause:

"Kabakov did not think in terms of bravery and cowardice. When he thought about it at all, he was a behaviorist. His citations credited him with various virtues, some of which he believed to be nonexistent. The fact that his men were somewhat in awe of him was useful in leading them, but it was not a source of pride to him. Too many had died beside him.

He had seen courage. He would define it as doing what was necessary, regardless. But the operative word was necessary. Not regardless. He had known two or three men who had been utterly without fear. They were all psychotic. Fear could be controlled and channeled. It was the secret of a successful soldier."

Perhaps it is this careful unearthing of his characters' motivations that sets Harris' story apart from the typical adventure/political thriller. Readers are not simply assaulted repeatedly with bullets and car chases, but are given a glimpse at creations more substantive than the characters that populate most mass-market fiction. This careful attention to character development and dialogue also contributed to the success of Harris' later novels featuring Hannibal Lecter -- "Red Dragon," "The Silence of the Lambs," and "Hannibal."

"Black Sunday" was originally published n 1975. Viewed today through the lens of Sept. 11, its plot is particularly alarming and its themes resonate among a new generation who has seen first-hand the effects of an attack similar to the one Harris wrote about 28 years ago.

To contact Regina C. Davis, use e-mail or call 348-7936.