Black Rain for Christmas [Paperback]

Scott Malensek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2001

An American spyplane mission goes awry, and a U.S. Marine pilot goes down. Once again, the United States finds itself stumbling into a war with China and North Korea. To make matters worse, the enemy has complete access to the new American MILNET communications network. The digital system had been sold to Congress as the ultimate "Force Multiplier." It is a computer network of real-time intelligence reports from airplanes, submarines, and even troops all over the globe. Every move that the United States makes is shown on enemy computer screens even while forces are being deployed. Every video and message sent between commanders is watched or read by the enemy. There is only one bug in the system-one saving grace for the United States. Unknowingly, American and other Coalition forces use the software glitch to pull off a few victories. Again and again the Chinese try to outmaneuver or overwhelm the Americans, but as time marches on, more countries join the Coalition. Even with the total intelligence coup, the communist advance slows. The war draws to a stalemate, and for one side, the nuclear card becomes a realistic option.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott Malensek is from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to his military and political interests, he is also an avid aviculturalist. He has worked all over the United States, but still lives in the Cleveland area.

Product Details

• Paperback: 410 pages
• Publisher: Firstpublish.Inc (July 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929925786
• ISBN-13: 978-1929925780
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,379,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great novel for a new era of post Cold War thrillers., August 16, 2001

By 

A. Donaldson (Bolivar, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Rain for Christmas (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. I love the mix of historic facts and people, and how they were tied into the storyline. The story of the young Marine Lieutenant really stood out to me. I really think that Clancy can get a run for his money from this author. Looking forward to more from him!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and engrossing!, December 28, 2002

By 

VanBrujah (Cuyahoga Falls, OHIO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Rain For Christmas - Illustrated 2nd Edition (Paperback)

This book was excellent! Mr. Malensek's book was an outstanding read. I found it every bit as entertaining and as much a "techno-thriller" as a Tom Clancy novel, but WITHOUT the annoying liberal-bashing and Ronald Regan worship that Mr. Clancy can't seem to keep away from lately. I found this to be refreshing. I literally could not put this book down. The diary style of narration, along with the "news clippings" really held my interest, and made it more fun to read. With the current events in the news of late, this book is starting to look frighteningly real. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys military fiction! I am looking forward to reading "The Xmas War" next.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Liked The Story But Had Trouble With The Book, June 19, 2003

By 

Benjamin Fitt (Williamsville, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Rain For Christmas - Illustrated 2nd Edition (Paperback)

This is an interesting entry in the military techno-thriller genre. The story focuses on a high-intensity Asian land war in 2011. The conflict made sense at the strategic and tactical levels, at least most of the time. The combat scenarios were exciting and apparently honed with war gaming (Harpoon perhaps?). Black Rain gripped me firmly enough that I stayed up waaaay too late one night to finish it. Now the bad news. Mr. Malensek's got a great imagination but the book was pretty badly written. I winced at howlingly obvious spelling and word usage errors just about every page. Black Rain badly needed a decent editor. Hire a good one before the 3rd edition! IMHO, the book should lose the illustrations too. They're just grainy little thumbnails of generic DOD photos of troopers, ships and jets.