Crusade! [Paperback]

Stuart Slade (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2008

A new world power, The Caliphate, has been born It is spreading across the Middle East absorbing the other countries in the area. The rest of the would sees The Caliphate as a homogenous power that has a long-term plan for regional domination but those inside the new country see a far different picture. The Caliphate is unstable, weakly led and riddled with internal contradictions. Only its constant outward expansion holds the whole ramshackle ediface together. The Caliphate also has a Far Eastern rival, one whose long-term aims are very different. A collision between the two is inevitable. There is another factor that looms on the horizon. Willingly or not, The Caliphate's expansion will bring it into direct conflict with the United States and that means it will face SAC's bombers. Yet The Caliphate's leaders do not understand the terrible meaning of that confrontation. In a world that stands on the brink of disaster, can good men and bad work together to prevent the catastrophe?

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (October 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1435740386
• ISBN-13: 978-1435740389
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,105,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting set-up, technically good, weak antagonists, June 13, 2009

By 

Brett "Reviewer" (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crusade! (Paperback)

Crusade is the latest major story by Stuart Slade set in what is called the fictional "TBO" universe, following the first story in the "Big One" (which established the premise in which the Halifax coup in Great Britain led to a drastically different outcome for World War 2). It is an interesting but flawed read, centering around a showdown between the United States and the rising "Caliphate", an extremist Islamic regime controlling most of the Middle East and expanding its presence into North Africa. A secondary theme of the novel is to show the weaknesses in a strategic doctrine known as "Massive Retaliation", held during the Eisenhower Presidency in our history and by the US government in the TBO universe.

All of Stuart Slade's novels reflect his extensive background in military and technical analysis, and it shows primarily in his painstaking accuracy regarding military weapons and nuclear technology. In addition to this, the prior problems with grammatical errors has been greatly ameliorated, and characterization (particularly of the President's staff) has greatly improved, at least with regards to the Americans. Although his depiction of Robert S. McNamara (shown under a thin pseudonym disguise) wanders into the slightly cartoonish, the opinions held by McNamara are representative of his actual positions, and Slade goes to detail to show why they were bad decisions that, in our real history, led to military issues in America.

The weakness of this novel lies primarily in the Caliphate. Stuart has indicated that the Caliphate is a "what if?" (similar to the Halifax coup) used to show what a regime that embodied everything that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban desire would look like, but in this case, its plausibility is rather weak, and the idea that the reason given for its existence (a religious-led coup in Iran to overthrow a weakening Mossadegh Presidency) could lead to a transnational empire of this type of Islam stretches belief. He greatly under-estimates the power of secular nationalism (as well as hybridizations between Islam and nationalism in that period) in the Arab World during that time period, as well as the development of Islamist ideology (much of which hadn't quite congealed into the form used by Al-Qaeda today). Moreover, his portrayal of the Caliphate's leadership is rather silly - he portrays them as a bunch of fanatic bumblers who sit in council meetings, beating their chests even as their actions lead to a vast, annihilatory nuclear strike heading their way.

In spite of the weakness of the Caliphate, this remains an interesting story. I would recommend its purchase to anyone who was interested in "The Big One".

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TBO-verse Strikes Again!!, January 12, 2009

By 

Thomas Potter "Military Historian and Safety ... (Bloomingdale, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crusade! (Paperback)

Another trip into a different world, one where the USA doesn't fight it's enemies, it destroys them. Not something for everyone, I know, but for those who are brave enough it is a winner.

The Caliphate, which is a confederation of the Islamic Radicals, is making trouble. It's up to SAC to show them the error of their ways, or to die.

If you like alternate history and might-have-beens then this is likely for you. If you think war and warfare is never an answer, stay away.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book, November 2, 2008

By 

Jeffrey T. Elder (chehalis, wa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crusade! (Paperback)

This is another great book in this SAC series. You should read the first book in the series to follow the history of this book. This is set in 1965 with the B-58 and B-52's. Well worth your money. Can't wait for the next book.