Vortex - Television Tropes & Idioms

Vortex is a 1993 novel by Larry Bond. An entry in the Possible War genre, the novel was set in The Apartheid Era in South Africa. In this Alternate History, a successful attack by the African National Congress kills the moderate leaders of South Africa, enabling a reactionary government led by Karl Vorster to take power. Vorster promptly pulls a political 180, returning the country to strict apartheid, suppressing the media, and leading South Africa into a war with its former colony, Namibia, and her Cuban and Angolan backers. As the forces of Apartheid and Communism battle one another for control of the world's strategic minerals, and South Africa slips further and further into chaos, an American intervention may be the only way to salvage anything from the ruins of what was once Africa's most propserous country.

The novel has Loads and Loads of Characters. Some of the more important ones include:

South Africans

Karl Vorster and his henchmen Erik Muller and Marius van der Heijden.
Henrik Kruger, Kommandant of the 20th Cape Rifles and the main viewpoint character for the SADF.
Captain (later Major) Rolf Bekker, 44th Parachute Regiment.

Cubans

General Antonio Vega, Commanding officer of Cuban forces in Angola and the South African theatre. The primary Cuban POV character.
Senior Captain Victor Mares, 8th Motor Rifle Battalion. Serves as the POV character for Cuban field operations.

Americans

James Malcolm Forrester, Vice-President of the United States of America.
Colonel Robert O'Connell of the 1/75th Ranger battalion.
Lieutenant-General Jerry Craig, Commander of the Allied South African Joint Task Force.
Ian Sherrfield, an American reporter who leaks the truth about Vorster to the world at large.

The novel sold well and recieved good reviews. It was followed by Cauldron, Bond's third independent novel.

Tropes Appearing In This Novel Include:

Antivillain: Many of the South Africans and all of the Cubans.
The Apartheid Era: Set near the end of it.
Awesome Personnel Carrier: Averted. Both the South African Ratels and the Cubans BTR-60s are hideously vulnerable. From the Namibian perspective however, this trope may well hold true, as it's Cuban BTR-60s from Victor Mares' 8th Motor Rifle Battalion that defend the road to Windhoek against the oncoming SADF.
Badass: Rolf Bekker is an enormous badass, despite being an utter psychopath.
- Colonel Badass: Henrik Kruger and Robert O'Connell
- Four Star Badass: Antonio Vega, who defeats the South Africans, and nearly beats the Americans to Pretoria, using only second-line equipment like the T-62 and BTR-60.
Big Bad: Karl Vorster
Butt Monkey: The ANC. They're used by Vorster and his cronies, easily defeated by the SADF, looked down on by Vega. Many of them eventually try to defect from the socialist forces, and are imprisoned by Vega for their efforts.
Cool Plane: The Cubans have the MiG-29 "Fulcrum", the Su-25 "Frogfoot" ground-attack craft (think of it as the Russian version of the A-10), and the Mi-24 "Hind" gunship helicopter, which plays a vital role in destroying South Africa's border defences and then purusing them inland. The American have the F-14 "Tomcat" and F/A-18 "Hornet" launched from the decks of their carriers.
Deadly Gas: Vega responds to South Africa's nuclear attack on his men by using gas against particularly stubborn pockets of resistance. The effects on local civillian populations are not good.
Deadpan Snarker: Vega. To quote the book, "it was said that even Castro felt the edge of the general's icy sarcasm from time to time."
Depraved Homosexual: Erik Muller, South Africa's director of military intelligence, who enjoys beating up black boys and then having sex with them.
The Dragon: Rolf Bekker to Muller and later Vorster.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: After being defeated and preparing to head home to Cuba, Vega is randomly killed in an ambush by black guerillas still pissed off about his use of gas. Its a pretty lame way for a guy that cool to go down; it's as though the author suddenly remembered, "oh yeah, he's evil, I better kill him."
Even Evil Has Standards: Vega is a ruthless commander with only a limited regard for civillian casualties (and a Communist, which in Bond's mind makes him absolute scum). The South African regime absolutely disgusts him, however, and he finds their racism not only vile, but baffling. He honestly can't understand where they're coming from.
"Racism. What nonesense. Why he had black Cuban officers on his own staff, good men every one of them."
Eviler than Thou: How the Americans view the South Africa/Cuba part of the war.
Glass Cannon: The Rooikat and Eland armoured cars that form the core of South Africa's strike force are heavily armed but very lightly armoured.
Graceful Loser: Vega. When his last chance of beating the Americans to Pretoria dies, he just turns his columns around and quietly heads home for Cuba.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Calling Vorster "volatile" is putting it mildly.
Heel Face Turn: Henrik Kruger and the 20th Cape Rifles, and most of Cape Town (led by Major Chris Taylor) revolt against Vorster and his thugs.
It's Raining Men: Both the Rangers and Rolf Bekker's men are elite parachute troops.
Last Stand: Subverted. Victor Mares and the 8th Motor Rifle Battalion believe they're setting up for one, when The Cavalry, in the form of a column of GAZ-69 jeeps, BTR-60s, and truck-towed antitank guns.
Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Ian Sherffield's girlfriend, Emily van der Heijden is the daughter of Marius van der Heijden, one of Vorster's top henchmen.
Mêlée à Trois: Between South Africa, the United States, and socialist forces, led by Cuba.
Mighty Glacier: Thanks to the limited availability of antitank weapons in the region, Vega's T-54/55s and T-62s become this.
A Nazi by Any Other Name: The South African AWB, of which Vorster is a member. Their symbol is a three-armed swastika even.
Nuke 'Em: The South Africans nuke Cuba's Third Brigade Tactical Group when they realise conventional forces will not be enough. The American invasion is concerned chiefly with shutting down the South African nuclear weapons. Later, Vortster threatens to contaminate South Africa's mines with radioactive dust.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Vorster, and the rest of the villainous South Africans. The word kaffir gets thrown around a lot, as does Uitlander when referring to foreigners and South Africans of English descent. Vorster's essentially racist against anyone who isn't Afrikaner.
Sanity Slippage: Vorster's mental state deteriorates considerably as the book progresses. By the end he's ready to trigger national Armageddon, just so that he can spit in the faces of the Americans and the Cubans.
Secret Police: What the AWB becomes under Vorster.
South Africans With Surface To Air Missiles: More POV characters in the book are members of the SADF than any other faction. Since they're fighting on numerous fronts at once, this makes sense.
The Strategist: Vega, who's probably the smartest character in the book when it comes to conventional warfare. He's only defeated by the Americans because he lacks their superior firepower.
Suicide By Cop: Marius van der Heijden, one of Vorster's henchmen, and the head of the South African police. He tries to force Kruger—a friend who he had once hoped would become his son-in-law—to kill him, and when that fails, is shot by an American corporal while trying to shoot Kruger.
Tank Goodness: This being a war story, they appear, and play a pivotal role in Cuba's stalling of the South African offensive. Since the SADF has few tanks (with most of their striking power being concentrated in the heavily-armed/lightly-armoured Rooikat and Eland armoured cars) and little in the way of antitank capability, Soviet-made, Cuban & Angolan-driven T-54/55s and T-62s are able to take a serious bite out of South Africa's forces, requiring massive amounts of firepower from the SADF to stop.
Villainous BSOD: Vorster has one after his defeat. He recovers in time for his trial, then slips back into again once the verdict is handed down.
Villainous Valour: Many of the South African and Cuban soldiers display tremendous valour. Senior Captain Victor Mares and the 8th Motor Rifle Battalion provide a classic example, holding the road to Windhoek against all odds, despite the steady destruction of their unit.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: While the Russians are portrayed as greedy, conniving, fair-weather Communists, Bond's Cubans don't get much worse than this. All of them are genuine believers in Communism, who really think that they are going to make life better for South Africa's black population.