Customer Reviews

Against All Enemies

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For those who have enjoyed the works of Harold Coyle, Against All Enemies is a solid story that will not be a disappointment. Coyle sets the stage with a prelude that goes back to the period just before the Revolutionary War. Moving to current times, Coyle presents a completely plausible story of an analogous quest for independence where events spin out of control, ultimately pitting Americans against Americans. What stands out in this work from Coyle is his ability to portray the anxiety, turmoil and inner conflict experienced by the combatants of both sides as tensions escalate. Written in 1996 but just published, Against All Enemies presents Lt. Nathan Dixon as he graduates from VMI and begins his active duty, along with characters from previous novels, Scott Dixon, Nancy Kozak, and Jan Fields. All in all, this is a very strong effort from Coyle. Although not as good as The Ten Thousand (which I consider to be Coyle's best work), Against All Enemies is solid and worth your time.

Harold Coyle delivers his customary slam-bam military action thriller, but the experience is marred by the obvious lack of any sort of proof-reading (is that a lost art by now?) with many jarring typos that interrupt the pleasure of reading. Coyle makes several mistakes himself - the most obvious howler is his use, twice, of the word "marionette" when he really
wanted "martinet." That one's hard to forgive. Also, way too much of his dialogue consists of speeches and harangues that no normal person would ever actually deliver in conversation.

After bombing a federal building, a group of "patriots" from Idaho take credit for the bombing. When the army takes action against this militia, a battle is fought on US territory with the resultant loss of lives. Within the context of this battle is Lieutenant Nathan Dixon who lives in the shadow of his father, a decorated general. His stepmother, Jan Fields, is covering the war as an anchorwoman. These characters serve as an anchor around which the battles rage.
Harold Coyles has written nine military thrillers. He has seventeen years of service in the military which is reflected in the realism of the battle scenes, as well as, the military strategy. His novels are known for their realistic nightmare scenarios. This, of course, is no exception. Characterizations are not a strength of his as they are all quite superficial with average dialogue. He pacing is interesting in that the story starts out slow as the characters are introduced and the battle is set up. Then, chapters get shorter, the action jumps around and the pacing picks up as we head into war.

Although this novel about domestic terrorism and vigilantism was a little slow to get going, it was still as satisfying in the end as any of Mr. Coyle's other works.

Against All Enemies brings together several of Mr. Coyle's favorite characters; General Scott Dixon, the seasoned military officer; Jan Fields, his wife and famed TV journalist; and Nancy Kovak, a former heroine and now a "retired" member of the Idaho National Guard. Mr. Coyle even introduces a new hero, Nathan Dixon, a paratrooper (and son of Jan and Scott) who, along with Nancy, manages to center himself in the action -- while emerging wiser and victorious in the end.

Although domestic disturbances might not be nearly as exciting as regional or global conflicts, no one brings forth the realism of ground warfare better than Harold Coyle. True Harold Coyle fans -- like yours truly -- will still find the last fifty pages absolutely mesmerizing!

Is freedom really worth killing for, is it worth killing another American over which views of freedom are just?

The men and women of the Idaho National Guard, the 17th Airborne and the 4th Armored Division are force to answer those questions in this new book by Harold Coyle.

"Against All Enemies" opens with the bombing of a federal building by a gulf war vet the felt betrayed by the very government that he fought and killed for. After he was diagnoses with Gulf War Syndrome his whole life fell apart and he blamed the men up stairs. So he slap the US government in the face by blowing up a building and killing lots of people.

The FBI investigation into the terrorist attack leads to members of the 5th Brigade, a militant group in Wyoming that assisted the gulf vet who is now in a billion pieces. The FBI, the US Marshall and with the supported of the Wyoming National Guard move in to arrest the militants, but before they could do anything militants from Idaho ambush the FBI and US Marshall with heavy machine gun fire, killing dozens and allowing the 5th to escape, what is even more shocking is that the Wyoming National Guard dose nothing to intervene!

What dose that tell you?

Anyway the freedom of the militants is short lived and they soon face extradition to the 9th District Court in Seattle. However the State Government of Idaho, lead by Governor GO Thomas, whose ideas may have a revolutionary effect on the country, and his Adjutant General Orsborn, with an agenda of his own, feels that the Federal Government has been pushing more and more control into the states. So before the FBI can take the militants into custody, they are forced out of Idaho at gun point! Along with every federal employees.

Thus enters our heroes: General Scott Dixon, XO of the 4th Armored Division, his beautiful wife, Reporter Jan Fields covering events at Boise, their young son Nathan Dixon, fresh out of the Virginia Military Institute and now a platoon leader in the 17th Airborne, and Lt. Col. Nancy Kozack, once the first female to served in a front line combat position, now one the other side and the care taker of thousands of bullets of every caliber.

When Thomas renounce the federal government Nathan becomes the spear head to reestablish federal control in Idaho with a darling raid on an airbase and the very armory that Nancy is guarding. However the raid goes horrible wrong and out of control, and Nathan and his platoon find themselves alone in a hostile environment

Abound hearing that his son is MIA, Scott has the difficult task of leading an armored attack to smash the ING, mean while both Jan and Nancy both coming to a fearful conclusion that all might not be all that it seems to be and puts both there lives on a razor thin line, while all of this is happening in front of the eyes of the citizens of not only Idaho, but the whole nation as a Second Civil War unfolds.

This book terrified me, this is the perfect "what if" scenario of a modern day rebellion in America. One hundred and sixty odd years ago the Southern State split from the Union because they felt the Federal government had no business banning slavery. In "Against All Enemies" the State Government of Idaho feels that the federal government has abandon the original constitution and executing more control over the states and the people.

When it cones down to it. Its the defenses of the Constitution that our soldiers fight for, not for political ideologies, not for the President, but for the basic freedom that makes that nation what it is.

I found this book well written but it did have several annoying gaps in it. What ever happen to the CO of the Wyoming National Guard? Was he court marshaled? The book jumps from Climax to end with no resolution in-between, and Coyle dose have a problem of putting too much character detail, however, I don't see it as a problem, it makes the book more real to me.

The action is stimulating, the tactics interesting, and the story engaging, but the understanding of the Constitution and the Military Oath is confused, leaving this reader disappointed. I presume that the military technology, organizational details, tactics, and strategy are accurate in the book. But since Constitutional details are definitely not accurate, it does make one wonder.

The essential moral and political dilemma facing the professional military protagonists centers around the Military Oath, which, though never stated in its entirety in the novel is: ''I, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.''

Of course, this oath, to be taken seriously, requires each person serving to have actually read and understood the Constitution.

The issue over which the revoluation starts in the novel is the refusal of Idaho state leaders to allow Idaho citizens who have been accused of a crime in Wyoming to be moved from Idaho to be tried in Washington state.

What does the Constitution state about where a trial in such a place should be held? "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed ..." Sixth Amendment

So, what leaves this reviewer dissatisfied is that indeed the Constitution was being violated in the book in both an Idaho AND Seattle trial. The key characters in the book, despite their oath to defend the Constitution, and the central part that the oath played in what their actions should have been, never seemed to even care what the Constitution said.

Even more disappointing was the author's note at the end of the book, where he confuses an oath to protect the Constitution with defending his country (and means his governmental leaders). To me, defending the Constitution means understanding the actual words therein and the principles of liberty it was designed to protect. And governments that abuse the Constitution threaten the country, and should, when life and death decisions have to be made, be treated as the domestic enemies of the Constitution that they are.

I have always liked the authors books, but since the end of the cold war it seems the plots have been getting more manufactured and lack believability. This novel is the worst example so far of this tendancy. The idea of the Idaho National Guard taking on the regular army is ludicrous. Dispite these issues there are a number of well written action scenes.

I'm 10 pages shy of finnishing this novel and it's been a struggle. I wanted to like this book as I have read all of the Scott Dixon novels right up to The Ten Thousand (haven't read Code of Honour and not sure if I will bother). The book started out great but went downhill fast. Aside from the thin plot and over abundance of underdeveloped characters the book is rife with editing errors. I'm not sure if the errors are due to the publisher or the author, regardless of fault they detract from the novel in a most annoying manner and destroy any flow to the novel. I really enjoyed Mr. Coyle's previous novels, both the Scott Dixon ones and his civil war series and I can't believe he could pen such a poor sequel in light of his previous great works. I feel cheated and wish I'd spent my christmas gift card on a different book. I will be very reluctant to pick up another novel in this series.

Another winner by Coyle. He did an excellent job getting into the characters' heads as an armed confrontation between the Federal Government and the State of Idaho spins out of control. A very big role played by Nancy Kozak (now a LTC in the Idaho National Guard). More than in any previous book Kozak shows off her leadership abilities and smarts as she does everything in her power to resolve the crisis. I really liked the way Coyle handled young Lt. Nathan Dixon. Just a few weeks removed from training and he jumps with the rest of the 17th Airborne to secure an Idaho NG base, which was the best battle scene in the book. After Dixon and his platoon become lost, he struggles mightily to be the best leader that he can, though he is constantly plagued with self-doubt. Throughout the book you keep asking yourself is this the right course of action (for both sides)? How far would you go in a fight for freedom? You can even see valid points on both sides, but you also wonder is it necessary to kill fellow Americans in an armed conflict over them?

One thing Coyle could have done better, though, was give more detail into Idaho's problems over the way the Feds were handling the arrest and prosecution of the Militia members they believe responsible for the bombing of the Kansas City federal building at the beginning of the book. Besides that, keep up the good work, Mr. Coyle.

This is one of those "what-if" scenarios that gets you thinking.

The State of Idaho decides that it is tired of onerous Federal control and events are engineered to create a confrontation between a state's right to determine its affairs and the need to maintain the union.

In many ways the issues raised by the Civil War are re-examined, and the author makes a clear distinction that in this fight the bad guys might be the good guys.

Some people might suggest that it can't happen here, but since the start of the current century we have witnessed an attack on American soil and the destruction of an American City. WHile events might not unfold as Harold Coyle envisions, something like AGAINST ALL ENEMIES is not as far fetched as some might believe.

The book was written in 1996, in the aftermath of the OKC Federal Building bombing.

I think it is his best book to date.