Customer Reviews

Battle Front: USA vs. Militia: #3

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you like Clancy, run away!

A planned attack by one sort of aircraft turns into an attack by another sort of aircraft - why?

An officer taken prisoner is found, just two pages later, leading a counter-attack - how?

A column that suffers almost no losses becomes, somehow, combat ineffective - when?

I bought this book looking for a new author. If I liked this one, I'd have gone back and ordered the lot, as I did with, for example, Harold Coyle.

Not this fellow. He's off the list.

Slater churns out about one good adventure story per year, and _Battle Front_ qualifies. He doesn't know us (Americans, Westerners, Washingtonians) as well as he thinks he does, but he writes an entertaining yarn.

He also has some rather appropriate ongoing mild revenge against us in the area of vocabulary and slang. As American authors have been butchering Canadian and Australian argot in novels for quite some time, we should not complain when Slater has rural Americans using British Columbia slang such as 'Holy!' and referring to one another, Aussie style, as 'cheeky bastards'. I reside in the eastern part of Washington and we don't sound like that, plain and simple. _Battle Front_ is not particularly well researched, but it is useful in that it shows us ourselves imagined through Canadian eyes not far across the border: stereotypically ignorant, bigoted and blindly fundamentalist. (He is right that we have such; he is wrong that they are in the majority, and he is also wrong that pro-militia sentiment is dominated by them. The reality is that to get together the militias in such numbers as Slater postulates, they could not help being leavened by a good number of intelligent, reasonable people who know better than to blame Jews or Japanese or whomever for the bungling of the Federal government.)

His understanding and concept of the National Guard in the US is also flawed. _Battle Front_ perpetuates the Slater tradition of portraying our Guardsmen as clueless, timid dorks unwilling to take any real risks and insubordinate to their officers. While it is true that discipline and military bearing are more relaxed in the Guard, they are not a bunch of cowards and fools. Just because a Guardsman said "F*** you, Lieutenant, I only do this on weekends!" in the movie _First Blood_ does not mean that one could expect that from Guardsmen as regular behavior. The Guard has performed well virtually every time it has been called upon, come peace or war. In researching his next book Slater should spend some time on maneuvers with them and form an educated picture.

I recommend _Battle Front_ not only as an action-packed adventure story, but particularly to my fellow Washingtonians and Americans as a glimpse of a new truth: as genuinely unaware as typical Americans are of Canada and indeed most other countries, people in those countries know us no better than we know them. Perhaps a bit more research is in order, eh?

Ive read most of Ian Slaters WWIII and USA vs Militia for those of you saying his characters are to thin go back and read all his books from the start he tells very in depth details into there lives such as the Brentwood family there are very good story lines behind his characters i wouldnt recommned just jumping into the series or you will get lost.

weakest of his works

ok there are militias out there and they could probably do soem major damge look at OK City but even if they got together a squadron of f-16 could blow the hell out of them throw in how ever many tanks batalions and special forces we have and even a guy with an rpg and an ak-47 in a pickup truck won't be able to do much but the book is a good book but it really never explains a major reason the militias revolt in the first place. ok a militia member was killed but why would all the militias in america basically comit suicide by challenging the US army

"The story started in "Showdown: USA vs. Militia" continues in this thrilling war novel from the author of "WW III" series."

I would hardly call any of Slater's works a "War Novel". His works are pure fiction and nothing less. I have read as much of his WWIII series as I could stand and his "USA vs Milita" series also. It is obvious that he has not done his homework properly as other authors of his type have. His numerous errors not only detract from the story line but also add to a sense of ignorance to the overall storyline. I have read Ian Slater's works in the past and probably will in the future if I cannot find anything else worth reading at the local 1/2 priced book store.

Ian Slater pulls you into the action in the greatest war book ever. You take part of both sides. The Militia, a secret army with the power that will try to take over the country. The Federals, armed and ready fighting for the US. You will never want to put this book down wanting to know who will win the next battle. This is the greatest book on war ever written. I didn't find one flaw with this book. I can't wait to buy more books from Slater. If you don't read Battle Front, you will miss the time of your life!

The Ian Slater books are fantastic. I have read them all, many times, and find they are at the fore front of their genre'. Slater's technical as well as injected materials ar eright on the mark. As war books go this author knows what to type and how to keep serious readers in his corner.

This is poorly written: the characters are cardboard and stereotyped, the plot is thin, and I don't think this author has any clue what reactive armor is or how it works (putting explosives on a thinly-skinned "armored pickup" -- clearly has never heard of spalling, either.) The tactics are unbelievable, not only from a technical standpoint, but also because the US troops are always portrayed as green and the militia are always battle-hardened veterans.Find something else to read.

I have read every written book by Dr. Ian Slater. His knowledge of the Northwest is astounding. His style is easy to read, and he seems to do indepth research on weapons and tactics prior to writing his novels. I love his main hero, a guy named General Freeman. Keep them going Dr. Slater.