Customer Reviews

Chains of Command

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Another great thriller from DB. In this one you have a bit of a change from the normal Patrick McClannahan story and you meet Mace as well as the "Iron Maiden". The world has changed and many of the fighter pilots are now part of the reserves, and a huge percentage of them are women. See what they have to do to become fighter pilots.

You will also learn a lot about photon bombs and their destruction of life etc. In this story you will cover a lot of ground from the Ukraine, Turkey to Plattsburgh NY as well as Iraq. It is a fast paced story with the normal plethora of detail on military actions as well as equipment from DB. I really enjoyed this story but I think Fatal Terrain is my favorite so far...

Great book! It keeps the reader glued as to how the invasion of the Ukraine and Moldova is happening and how the Soviet Union is rising again. Col. Tychina, Lt. Col Mace and Maj. Furness are in-depth characters. I personally had the privledge of actually meeting Dale Brown and getting my copy of this book autographed by him. Great author and another great work!

The overall book is good. However the end is not as good as the rest of it. It is not as convincing as the beginning and feels like it was written in a rush to print. Too much Technical data that will appeal to those who like airplanes only.

I haven't read many of these war/espionage novels, but this one I picked up before a long flight and I stayed glued until the finish. I thought that the F-111 flying narratives and the techno-aviation stuff were terrific (maybe because I'm a pilot). The political intrigue was well constructed, and perhaps even scary because it seemed too close to reality. The clash between the Turkish, and the US Air Force's use of women combat pilots, was also an intriguing element for me and I thought that Brown did an astute job in portraying the depth of cultural mismatch. Fast moving and easy to read, yet tense and exciting.

Another first-rate military aviation thriller from Dale Brown which is next to impossible to put down. The scenario of Boris Yeltsin being ousted from power and being replaced by a hardline communist best on war is a highly feasible one considering how unstable Russia can be in real life. When Russia tries to invade the Ukraine, Moldova and Romania using tactical nuclear weapons and the neutron bomb, the US President(a southern hillbilly draft-dodger who has a passion for M&Ms, Coke and Fritos . . . guess who . . .) and his dominatrix(!!!!) First Lady (who is more evil than the Russian communist leader!) dallies over a miliary response and sends in a reserve F-111 fighter-bomber squadron to deal with the situation. The characters are well crafted, especially Daren Mace and Rebecca Furness and the chemistry both in the air and in bed betwen them! General Freeman is a worthy gung-ho Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and a flyer by the name of Fogelman is full of macho insecurity when it comes to real combat . . . The flying and war scenes are highly realistic and compelling; the first third of the book centres around Mace's secret mission in Desert Storm of nuking Saddam Hussein and his harassment by the military when he is forced to abort. The second part deals with the F-111 crew training and the build-up to the war in Turkey and the Ukraine, and the final half has intense action that's so brilliant you feel you're there. BUY THIS BOOK NOW!

I kind of like many of Dale's books, although I would rate them consistently lower than Clancy or Bond. This one is however below average. The first half is decent, especially the Desert Storm mission, although the top brass' reaction to the latter is unrealistic. The second half is a let-down, with totally unbelievable actions. And the Clinton bashing alone takes at least two points of the rating. By the way, maybe Mr Brown could buy a decent map of the world? The Hong-Kong gaff in Fatal Terrain has been highlighted before, but here he manages to mix up Slovakia (formed from the former Czechoslovakia) with Slovenia (formed from the former Yugoslavia), even in the map included in the book.

I have read several books by Brown and he seems to suffer from Tom Clancey's urge to describe in minute detail the entire operations of a submarine. Only Brown's forte is airplanes and in the course of his plot he wants you to know as much about the operations of an airplane as he does. This creates many pages which I just gloss over hoping that something else in the overall plot will surface which will hold my attention. I did not even finish this book.

Petty politics undermines what otherwise might have been a passable action novel. Brown's grudge against the Clintons gets the better of him and skews the novel away from its otherwise interesting plotline, toward the author's apparently bottomless hatred of the First Family. One gets the feeling that only the intervention of his publisher prevented Brown from using even cruder language, particularly in his depiction of the First Lady. I respect the fact that Brown may have strong feelings agains the Clintons, but other authors I have read do a much better job of keeping their novels from having such a vindictive tone -- next to Brown, Tom Clancy seems downright even-handed. Unless he only wants to appeal to the most bitter of Clinton-haters, Brown should consider toning down the rhetoric and focusing on fiction in the future.

This is my fourth book by Dale Brown.Although i am a fan, i can not say this is the best novel of him.Again this time the aviation stuff and scenario was very good but i think Mr.Brown did not do his homework well.He should have made a better research about the countries and armies he is telling in the book.He reflects that women are treated as second class people in Turkey and even a Turkish Squadron Commander insults an allied female officer because he thinks women can not fight.Things seem quite acceptaple when you look from 8000 miles away.But when you get closer and do a good research you see the fact that women are serving in the Turkish Army ,Air Force and Navy for 75 years.With the most sophisticated weapons, well trained personnel and modern commanders Turkish Army is not the one described in this book.Other than this matter i can say i missed ol'McLanahan whom i got used to see in 3 out of 5 Dale Brown book.Anyway Mr. Brown is a good storyteller so you will definitely enjoy this novel.

For those people who love aircraft and a good thrill, this a great book. It has it all, politics, action, and love! Read this book for a good time!