Customer Reviews

Combat, Vol. 1

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Not a single story here disappointed. To me, Dale Brown's "Leadership Material" was the best of the three. Loved how he intertwined the different personalities of Col. Norman and Major McLanahan. Norman, an Air Force accountant assigned to a promotion board, feels an outcast in the pilot-dominated world of the Air Force. Now his prejudices are coming out as he grades candidates for promotion from Major to Lt. Colonel. One of the the files he comes across is McLanahan's. On paper, he feels Mac is so woeful he should be thrown out of the USAF. But on the other side of the world, as the Gulf War winds down, McLanahan shows his skills and bravery as the Old Dog crew must stop an suped-up, stealthy Tu-160 Iranian bomber from sinking a US carrier.

"Lash-up" by Larry Bond was a pretty good story. Character development was decent. The interesting part was seeing how a newly formed group must overcome bureaucracy to come up with a space plane to neutralize a Chinese ASAT system destroying the GPS satellite network.

Really enjoyed the David Hagberg story "Breaking Point" where CIA DDO Kirk McGarvey must prevent an all-out war between China and Taiwan. Nice drama as McGarvey infiltrates Taiwan. Loved the captain of the Chinese Han-class sub. Very crafty guy with zero tolerance for mistakes who tries to foil America's plan.

I am an avid reader of the techno-thriller. I enjoy diving into the details usual to this type of novel, and not coming up for air for hours. I purchased the paper-back collection of stories at the airport to pass the time while traveling. With two preschoolers however, I quickly found out that no reading would be done on the flight. However, at the pool and the beach while the kids played in the sand and the water, this collection of stories was PERFECT. I could put it down and pick it up a million times and not lose one tidbit of suspense.