Customer Reviews

Bright Star

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

 

 

Bright Star, Harold Coyle's third novel and second in a continuing series following the careers of various Army officers, is an intriguing and very human look at the lives of professional soldiers both on the home front and on the field of battle.

Set sometime before the fall of the Soviet Union and after the events of Sword Point, Bright Star once again features Scott Dixon, Hal Cerro, Nikolai Ilvanich and Fay Dixon (Scott's wife) and introduces television reporter Jan Fields, a rising star in a cable news network and former colleague of Fay's.

The novel starts on a somber note as Major (promotable) Dixon sits at his home computer writing a letter of resignation from the Army he has served and loved for years. The war in Iran has left an emotional scar, and his wife's hopes for a return to her journalism career after Scotty's expected after-20-year retirement have been put on hold by her husband's deployment to fight the Soviets in the Persian Gulf. The strains of the conflict -- nightmares of battles for Scott, the sudden upending of long-made plans for Fay -- create a vast emotional chasm between husband and wife.

But Dixon is a soldier to his very marrow, and although he is listless and even resigned to accept whatever backwater job he's offered by his superiors, Scotty tosses the letter of resignation away and waits for new orders to be cut, much to Fay's discontent.

And when a UH-60 helicopter carrying Lt. Col. William Dedinger is shot down in Sudan by a guerrilla team, Scott Dixon, Medal of Honor winner, is assigned to serve as the chief of staff of the 2nd U.S. Corps (Forward) in Cairo, Egypt. There, he's to assist in the expected prepositioning of Army equipment in that cautiously friendly Middle Eastern country, in addition to other, more classified tasks. It's a mostly desk-bound assignment, very much the opposite of the combat-geared armored task force command he declined around the same time he was contemplating leaving the Army.

Naturally, Scotty's new posting and promotion to light colonel don't do anything to help heal the growing rift with his wife, who is forced to cancel her acceptance of a job with CBS to accompany Scott to Cairo. And although she does get another job with her former college roommate and friend Jan Fields, the sojourn to Egypt will have unhappy consequences.

Meanwhile, the ambitions of Libyan Col. Nafissi will soon lead to another conflict that will once again pit the United States and the Soviet Union against each other as the superpowers go to the assistance of their client states -- Egypt and Libya. Soon the desert sands are littered with wrecked tanks and dead soldiers as fierce battles are waged on the air, land, sea....and the hearts of combat veterans such as Scotty Dixon and Capt. Hal Cerro.

Bright Star is a sequel of sorts to Sword Point. Here, the aftereffects of a US-Soviet war is explored two years after the shooting has stopped. The horrors of the war deeply affect both countries: in the US, a war hero becomes congressman and hopes that the mistakes in the last war won't affect Americans in the next one. In the USSR, veterans of that war are treated without respect (probably not unlike those who went through Afghanistan) even by other members of the military. The title Bright Star refers to the US-Egypt joint military exercise. A war between Egypt and Libya erupts when it is found out that Libya is behind an assassination attempt. Egypt attacks Libya in retaliation. The war snowballs and threaten to escalate into another war between USA and USSR. This book also puts the character Scott Dixon into a even more major character. We'll see that the horrors of the last war threaten to ruin his wife and kids. And suddenly another woman from the past enters into his life, news reporter Jan Fields.

I'm glad to see writer Harold Coyle become more comofortable with the characters he created. It's also neat to read additional tales and misadventures of the American and Soviet characters faced in the last US-Soviet war. If you've read Sword Point, you'll even appreciate some of the feelings and motivations of some of the characters in this book. This book also shows a fact: America cuts back its military after a major conflict.

However, Bright Star does suffer from a love affair that is too sappy for its own good and at some points just too convenient. The battles also lack the tension I felt in the previous book. Perhaps because America fighting the Russians again is rather old hat in this book. After all, the US president in the story is not afraid to attack Soviet airbase like he's not afraid to bomb Yugoslavia. It also appears there's not much to be expected of Egyptian attack on Libya.

Anyway, I'm happy I got the book with a painting of an M1 tank on its cover rather than the ugly foil cover you see at the top of this page.

Captured the tension apparent at the time from those making the policy to those carrying it out. I especially enjoyed the Green Berets romp in the Horn of Africa. If you read Waller's "The Commandos" and recall the real-life Gulf War aviation attack on Iraq and compare with a similar aviation attack in "Bright Star" you see some 'coincidences.'

Sword Point starts off a bit slow, but once you get into it, you will want to read it twice. The book is full of many twists to add to the plot. You really get to know the tactics that both sides of the conflict use. These tactics seem real enough to actually be used, in fact, you start to wonder why they haven't been use yet. If you love Tom Clancy style novels, then I suggest you pick this one up.

Harold Coyle has written another classic. After reading THE TEN THOUSAND, SWORD POINT and CODE OF HONOUR, I stumbled across this in a London bookstore and once again was not disappointed. The story of a Middle East conflict involving Egypt and Sudan occupied by US forces, and Ethiopia and Libya occupied by the Soviets might seem a little out of date now, considering events in the Gulf began to occur just after this book was wriiten, but it is still a brilliant read.Coyle's descriptions of the military hardware and their capabilities are well researched and the characters are much more three-dimensional than most other books of this genre. Particularly Scott Dixon's crisis-ridden marriage to Fay, and his comfort in reporter Jan Fields, which comes to a head right in the thick of the fighting. The maps are a good guide, as with all his other books, on how the action scenes take place on the ground with tank and mechanised battalions, and there's also action at sea and in the air. Also very plausible is the SS-18s converted to carry nerve gas warheads, made all too realistic by Saddam's recent (presumed?) developments in that field! The locations, particularly Egypt, are authentically portrayed, having travelled to the Middle East(and returning there again in a couple of weeks!) one can imagine oneself being there witnessing it all. All in all, essential reading. If you're an aspiring writer such as I am(I'm working on my second manuscript now), Harold Coyle's books come highly recommended! I read this one in one sitting until the early hours.

As with all of the books in this series on modern military historical fiction, the events in this book could have really happened, and it is a realistic description of the actions of the US and other militaries as they were planned, trained for, and envisioned to play out in the 1990's. This book is best read in sequence after the preceding books in this series, as Bright Star has excellent character development which continues plot lines from prior books, it intertwines multiple plot elements, and keeps a reader thoroughly engrossed in the non-stop action. Although the scenario is based on a historical situation which did not actually happen, recent events in that part of the world make one wonder if they still might happen. Even more important to readers than the places and events, the themes addressed throughout this book, as is the case throughout the entire series, are timeless in their exploration of personal values, moral and ethical dilemmas, and how each individual must make choices based on their unique combination of experiences and insights. How each character, or reader, answers those challenges, is essential in determining their future path in life. The realities described in this book, which include many aspects of life and death which are not frequently seen by those who have not served in the military during wartime, should be a real eye-opener to America, who has largely grown disconnected from the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women, both in the past and in today's conflicts across the globe.

It's a bit outdated now (US helping Sudan and not bombing it...), but possible in early 90s. I found annoying that aouthor explains military terms (I know what SAM stands for and probably anybody else who reads military books). Maybe it lacks Israeli intervention, as they would surely have some part in it.

I enjoy Harold Coyle. He is my favorite author but I have to admit this book was slow and dreadful. He tried to be a Tom Clancy and failed. It took me 2 full years to finish it(usually 2 days). If you buy a book on size alone than this one is the one to buy other than that, leave this one on the shelf and pick Team Yankee, Sword Point or any of his other Awesome books. This is his only slip up out of all the books.

Harold Coyle demonstrates the benefit of many years previous military service in this well thought out and accurate description of the problems of middle eastern politics.

Hard to fault.

I love Harold Coyles books. My favorite so far being Team Yankee. Bright Star, however, was rather slow in comparison to his other "Modern Warfare" books. I felt that there were not enough of those intense, realistic battle scenes that he's known for. The points of view from the different characters would have been more interesting, if there was more action to refer to. At times, I was only able to pick up where I left off of by referring to what stage the love relationship was at!!! Unfortunately, this book was easy to put down, and harder to pick up to resume reading. Don't let this book stop you from reading his other GREAT books, though!! He is otherwise, one of my favorite authors for techno thrillers !