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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Honey? Where'd I leave my High Altitude Penetration Chute?,
By
This review is from: Dancing with the Dragon: A Novel (Hardcover)
I had a real high stress job in the '80's and the late '80's and I decided to go back to one of my first loves, reading. I hadn't read a novel in years and I was literally, killing myself. So I picked up Joe Weber's "Rules of Engagement." My recollection of it was that it was a little superficial but good plotting. Trouble was, I hadn't read a book in 10 years. So by that standard it was "War and Peace" meets "Tale of Two Cities" with "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" thrown in.Since that time I have probably read 50 books a year but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Joe Weber. Well Joe, we're even. I don't know where you were going with "Dancing with the Dragon," but you didn't get there. PLOT: Confusing. I lost track of what ocean I was in, what frigate I was chasing, who was flying what and what type of aircraft was being flown. C INFERENCE: I was uncomfortable with the racism, but more importantly, I was uncomfortable with the assumption that all Chinese were evil or drunk or drunk and evil, politicians are fat, and that there are two ex-military pilots that are on a first name basis with the Secretary of Defense, State, NSC and the President. C- DIALOGUE: I think that the characters should be allowed to report what has happened and what they are going to do about it, once in awhile for the reader's benefit. This is a good way to keep the characters, the reader and the writer figuratively and literally on the same page. But every page we have these silly conversations between Scott and "whatever she is to him" on why this happened, what could have happened, why what could have happened didn't happen and what they're going to do about it." This is really exceptionally tedious. D CHARACTERS: Come on. I kind of like Spenser and Susan where they go into the bedroom and the next scene we see is that pathetic dog sleeping on the bed with them and Susan is sighing and Spenser is trying to reach over to the bedstand to turn on the Red Sox game. 'Nuff said. We're all adults. We don't need a schematic. But Scott and Jackie? Do they like eachother? Do they kiss? Do they sleep together? How about a really hot tango? Something. The two of them have got to be the most un-fun, robotic couple since Ward and June Cleaver. F CONCEPT: Hey. Chinese holograms at 30 and 40 thousand feet fooling any number of Air Force and Navy pilots with engineering degrees and letters in physics. I don't think so. But the laser beam that blows up spacecraft has some merit. I think Flash Gordon and Dr. Zharkoff got wacked that way in the 1930's. D Sorry. I'd like to tell you what it was about but I'm just not sure.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another 12 month wait,
By "webracin" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dancing with the Dragon: A Novel (Hardcover)
Well Mr. Weber has done it again. A 300+ page novel of heart stopping action slowing down occasionally so you can catch your breath.Although this book came out last month, last week the actual headlines in various news outlets read, "China beginning preps to reunify Taiwan". Mr. Weber's crystal ball was right on target again. What I like the most about the book was the ability to use my imagination to determine outcomes within the book, IE Scott and Jackie's personal life and the significance of there secret mission. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out these things, but each reader may have a different spin on it. The technical details were accurate and did not bog the story line down (After all who cares what the lat/long is of a microphone on the ocean floor, or how far a photon torpedo will travel in the vacuum of space (If this is information you need get a tech pub).
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't Quite Work for Me,
By Tom Shafer (Birmingham, Alabama United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dancing with the Dragon: A Novel (Hardcover)
Weber writes a great action sequence, among the best I have read. Also his geopolitical scenario is well thought out and his military and aviation details are accurate and well researched. Still, the book fell kind of flat for me. The problem is in the details. His characters keep getting into chases and fights because they make basic mistakes in spy craft, like giving details over an open phone line. Not what you would expect from a couple of ex-CIA whiz kids. I won't be giving away much to say that the book involves a war with China and our heroes conduct a dangerous undercover mission. However, I was unable to find any connection between their high-risk mission and the conclusion of the war. One of the main characters is a female former military fighter jock. I am supposed to expect she accepts constant male chauvinist put-downs. I think not. Finally, the dialogue has major problems. Much of it is very formal and stilted. It doesn't ring true. Also, there are multiple sections in the dialogue of what SF authors call the "Don and Ron" where characters tell each other what they already know to advance the plot. "Ron, I am sure you'll recall that an antimatter torpedo only has a range of 5 parsecs." "But Don you must remember you can double that with power from the forward shields." You get the idea. I finished the book because I bought an autographed copy full price and that made me stubborn. If you like action sequences and can overlook problems with the basic structure, it's a good read.
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