Code of Honor was Harold Coyle's last novel in the series that begin with Sword Point, a series of novels that focused on the effect war had on people's personalities. Before Sword Point, he had written one book, Team Yankee, set in a different history than his later books. Even his first book stood above most other war novels in its psychological take on warfare, a trend that would continue to build with his later works.
The plot of Code of Honor, which was written in 1995, deals with the United States Army getting involved in supporting the Columbian government in their war with communist insurgents. Unlike the works of Tom Clancy, Coyle treats the communist insurgents very sympathetically, even portraying them as the more just side in the conflict. The book is a detailed and thoughtful investigation of the social, political, psychological and other factors that go into a war, differing quite heavily from the usual techno-fetishism that marks war novels. The central characters in the plot are a meglomaniacal general who bullies the soldiers under his command, and the army officers who eventually stand up to him. The eponoumys code of honor in the title is the moral dillemas that the soldiers and civilians in the book must face, all dealing with whether to follow the letter or the spirit of the military code, all in the face of a growing, demoralizing military defeat to a guerilla army.
Along with this, the book is a fast, exciting read. Although Harold Coyle stands out above other military fiction writers, his books are still the type of books you can read in an airport. A recommendation for the military fiction fan.