Customer Reviews

Combat

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

 

 

This was a really good buy. I have read all of Coonts books along with Clancy (except his Net Force), Brown, & Coyle. This is a great book for when you want to get down and dirty with the action within a short period. Each short is creatively done and reflects different views on combat and its effects on people and machines.

This is also a great way to learn about up and coming authors in this particular field.

This book is a great collection of short novels that illustrate the wars of the future against terrorists, in cyberspace, and in orbit. The stories are to the point, action pacted, and sadly, were not made into full novels themselves. If you are sick of Clancy and other authors that are too busy discussing politics to write a good novel, than this book is for you. All of the futuristic stories are excellent, and will introduce you to the best in the business (if you don't know them already).

This book has something for everyone. I was very pleased with the forward, and the stories that followed were terrific. If you like military fiction and are interested in where things might be headed, order this book. I'm not one to give complete praise, and there were one or two stories that even though I read them, they weren't my cup of tea. But that is what makes an anthology great, there's always something in there for you.

I will note that most of these stories almost scream out to be expanded into full length novels. I would certainly buy any book that was expanded from my favorites in this anthology. This is the kind of stuff that keeps people like me buying books.

The brief novella, Cyberknights, by Harold W Coyle provides a no nonsense look at the processing of an attack against an imagined enemy. To believe that immunity exists in cyberspace is to be delusional. Mr. Coyle removes this misconception.

There is not one item mentioned that is not acheivable today. I was reassured by the use of the T1 facilities dedicated to the attack.

I was impressed by the total lack of canonization of the criminal element that maintains they should have free reign in cyberspace.

Thanks for a good read.

Coonts, Brown, Coyle, Hagberg have long been favorites of mine. In Combat I got the chance to visit each of them and to gain some new favorites as well. If a full novel by any of these authors is a complex seven course meal with the 'right' wine, the concept of this smorgasbord with its varied tastes is a delight to the mind as the buffet is to the palate.

I would never want these authors to abandon their full-flavored works with complex plots and characters. However, the approach of Combat i.e., giving us a taste of each with a straight-forward, unity story line is a REAL treat. I hope that these fine authors enjoyed the exercise in writing and mixing these novellas. Beyond the creative process, they each added to their fans club introducing themselves to the admirers of the others.

Let's hope there are more anthologies of this kind in the future. The NEAR future. GOOD JOB, GUYS. Put me down for release date delivery of any redux of the concept.