Combat, Vol. 1 [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen Coonts (Editor), Larry Bond (Contributor), Dale Brown (Contributor), David Hagberg (Contributor)

Book Description

Series: Combat | Publication Date: January 7, 2002

An historic landmark work, depicting war as it is and soon will be-the shape of war to come.

Featuring new short novels by:

Larry Bond, who explores the wild frontier of space warfare, where American forces fight a tenacious enemy which threatens every free nation on Earth.

Dale Brown, taking us into the seldom-seen world of the military review board, and shows us how the future career of an EB-52 Megafortress pilot can depend on a man he's never met.

And David Hagberg, who brings us another Kirk McGarvey adventure, in which the C.I.A. director becomes entangled in the rising tensions between China and Taiwan. When a revolutionary leader is rescued from a Chinese prison, the Chinese government pushes the United States to the brink of war, and McGarvey has to make a choice with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephen Coonts is the author of seven New York Times bestselling novels, the first of which was the classic flying tale, Flight of the Intruder, which spent more than six months at the top of The New York Times bestseller list. His novels have been published around the world and translated into more than a dozen languages. He was honored by the U.S. Naval Institute with its Author of the Year Award in 1986. His latest novel is America. He is also the editor of two anthologies, War in the Air and The New York Times bestselling Combat. He resides with his wife, Deborah, in Nevada.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books (January 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812576152
• ISBN-13: 978-0812576153
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #554,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 2 Direct Hits and 1 Huge Miss...Groundbreaking? Hardly, December 31, 2003

By 

Dean and Lisa Reid (Dover, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Combat, Vol. 1 (Mass Market Paperback)

Few books live up to the hyperbole of their backcovers. The first installment of the Combat series edited by Stephen Coontz is no exception, "Groundbreaking Landmark" sounded suspicious...and the first story in the first volume, by Larry Bond, confirmed my suspicions. A huge fan of Bond's first novel, Red Phoenix, I've never been very satisfied with his subsequent material. This is probably the worst I've seen from him. A plot that's hardly engaging, card-board characters (with cheesy dialogue) that aren't the least bit interesting, and some of the poorest editing I've ever seen combine to make his installment a chore. At one point he refers Vietnamese flashpoints between the U.S. and China (that have no bearing on the story's plot) but offers no set up for them. We're just supposed to assume that the U.S. and China had been at odds over Vietnam for a long time...it made no sense. Bond's contribution was just dull dull dull.

Then we get to Dale Brown's installment, "Leadership Material". This one succeeds in many places where Bond's installment failed. Its characters are instantly likable. And, while the combat passages are brief, they are harrowing. I found the shennanigans that surround Air Force promotions boards (the primary plot devise herein) to be extremely entertaining - I doubt many others will, though - I'm going up against a board soon myself, it was nice to have an inside scoop.

The back cover of the book suggests it portrays war the way it is or soon will be. Brown's novel takes place back in the early 1990's...another strike against the jacket hype. Great story, though.

The story that will have the broadest appeal (its an absorbing read!) is the entry from the always-reliable David Hagberg. Hagberg (who recently wrote the novelization of the Terminator 3 film) has made a name for himself over recent years penning submarine thrillers. The brief installment in this series is part submarine plot and part espionage thriller. It may not be the most accurate but it is by far the most entertaining of the lot.

Brown's and Hagberg's work here are worth 4 or 5 stars. Bond's installment and the ludicrous hyperbole on the cover knock it down to three. I'd recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book!, February 1, 2002

By 

Melvin Hunt (Cleveland,, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Combat, Vol. 1 (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a very novel concept to writing a book. In Combat#1 you
have Larry Bond,Dale Brown,and David Hagberg as the authors of three short novels.These are three of the most read authors all
together in one book.The first story written by Larry Bond is
cakked Lashup. In this story the Unites States has to deal with
China shooting down their satellites. A very good story.The next
story is written by Dale Brown. This story tells about the role
of a review board.It also has some good sequences. The third story is written by David Hagberg which features his favorite
action character Kirk McGarvey. This story involves the rescue of a Chinese dissident. This series of books is truly quality
reading. You have some of the best authors in the world featured in the Combat series. Buy this book. You will not be dissapointed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reading - a taste of 3 well-known authors, November 24, 2004

By 

DWD "DWD's Reviews" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Combat, Vol. 1 (Mass Market Paperback)

These are all good novellas, but I found that the Larry Bond story (Lash-up) dragged at times (and the giant 'rifle' should have been explained better for those unfamiliar with the concept) and the Dale Brown book was more than a bit preachy, but the combat sequences were top-notch. The third novella (Breaking Point) by David Hagberg was, in my opinion, the best of the three. I've never read Hagberg before but I will keep him on my list of authors to watch for.