By Dawn's Early Light [Mass Market Paperback]

David Hagberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2004

From the USA Today bestselling author of Joshua's Hammer and High Flight

On the Bay of Bengal a civilian research vessel witnesses a submarine fire a laser into the sky. Before they can process what they see, the sub blasts them out of the water and captures the lone survivor.

Immediately, one of the United States spy satellites becomes inoperative, and seemingly disappears. With the United States blind, Pakistan plans to announce their presence as a nuclear threat with an attack on India that would leave millions dead.
The only witnesses to the plan, and the only ones to know that the bomb is small enough to be dropped from an aircraft, are a CIA insertion team, headed by the President's own brother, former Navy SEAL lieutenant Scott Hanson. Their knowledge may prevent a nuclear holocaust, but they've been captured and tortured.

Thrust into the action is Commander Frank Dillon, Jr., commanding officer on the American nuclear sub Seawolf, together with a team of SEALs. Their mission is to get them back safely. But with the world on the brink of war, getting out may be the greatest challenge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hagberg takes a hiatus from the hair-raising adventures of CIA agent Kirk McGarvey (The Kill Zone; Joshua's Hammer; etc.) to offer this gripping, Clancyesque cat-and-mouse sea chase featuring a state-of-the-art U.S. nuclear submarine and an enemy sub of unknown origin. In the Bay of Bengal, the crew of an oceanographic research vessel witnesses a submarine fire a laser into the sky; moments later, they're blasted out of the water. Meanwhile, in the Pakistani desert, four Navy SEALs, including Scott Hanson, the U.S. president's brother, covertly watch the test of a small hydrogen bomb. They manage to get a message to Kuwait City and shoot down a Pakistani helicopter before being taken prisoner and tortured. The president and his staff conclude that the sub in the Bay of Bengal fired the laser to damage a U.S. spy satellite and thereby prevent surveillance of Pakistan's preparations to unleash a nuclear strike on India. Cmdr. Frank Dillon Jr., skipper of the nuclear sub Seawolf, is ordered to launch a team of Navy SEALs into Pakistan to rescue their captive teammates. When a highly placed spy in Washington betrays the mission, the Seawolf is diverted back to the Bay of Bengal to try to stop the mystery submarine from again disabling the spy satellite, now scheduled for repair by a team of astronauts. Superb pacing moves well-drawn characters toward nuclear brinkmanship, and the slight surplus of military nomenclature and government agency alphabetese is easily overlooked in this spellbinding read. FYI: Including the 15 titles Hagberg wrote pseudonymously as Sean Flannery, this is the 31st novel by the former Air Force cryptographer.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Superb pacing moves well-drawn characters toward nuclear brinkmanship . . . in this spellbinding read."---Publishers Weekly on By Dawn's Early Light

"Up-to-date and action driven . . . tons of techno-fact."---Kirkus Reviews on By Dawn's Early Light

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (November 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765343789
• ISBN-13: 978-0765343789
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

DAVID HAGBERG is a former Air Force cryptographer who has traveled extensively in Europe, the Arctic, and the Caribbean and has spoken at CIA functions. He has published more than twenty novels of suspense, including the bestselling Joshua's Hammer, Soldier of God, and Allah's Scorpion. He makes his home in Sarasota, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Okay, 4 and 3/4 stars, November 21, 2004

By 

S. N. Gaines (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: By Dawn's Early Light (Hardcover)

I found this book to be entertaining and very readable. The plot moves along quite nicely, with just the right amount of "drag" on the good guys.

By drag I mean this, it is possible for the US to send its high-tech war machines against virtually any country and come out on top. This is due to the large amounts of money spent on the quality as opposed to quantity of weapons systems. Smart bombs, eyes in the sky, that sort of thing. This would make for a very dull book. So there is a spy, who we never get a good "read" on, who makes it his/her job to report on every move that is being made against Pakistan. The motives of this spy are not explored, but the spy does provide a nice counterpoint to the seeming invincibility of American firepower.

I will not go into whether or not Pakistani or Korean names are correct, as I do not know the facts of the discussion. However the idea that the gloves are off in the worldwide fight against all forms of terrorism is a good one. Fighting by Marquis of Queensbury rules while the other guy is beating you with a 2X4 is a great way to get dead in a hurry. This book shows that shooting first and not asking questions may be one way to go.

As far as not giving a full 5 stars, there was one technical detail that leapt out at me and ruined the perfect score. At one point Mr. Hagberg has a special ops team getting into AH-1W Super Cobras for a mission, 8 troops to a helicopter. A TWO SEAT helicopter. I had a mental image of troops hooked to hard points on the stubby wings for a bit. But that is my only complaint.

Go ahead and buy the book, its a good one.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, I am hoping for more like this one!, November 28, 2005

By 

A. Neilll (Goochland, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: By Dawn's Early Light (Mass Market Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book a great deal more than anything I have read from the Kirk McGarvey series. At the risk of offending McGarvey fans; much of what I have read of the McGarvey series seems a bit stale, perhaps lacking energy. But this book, By Dawn's Early Light, is a real keeper.

To me, this book seems to focus a bit more on the technical and military aspects, without becoming overly bogged down in techno-babble. There are enough plot twists to keep the reader guessing; while the villians and their plans are more or less believable.

It leaves me wanting to read more about Scott Hanson. I am not holding my breath of course, but I hope he does at leat a few more of these; especially since not everything is resolved by the end of this novel.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great Story But...., December 2, 2004

By 

Fast Eddie (Oak Harbor, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: By Dawn's Early Light (Mass Market Paperback)

David Hagberg writes a pretty good story, ones that I find difficult to put down. However, He really needs to brush up on military reality. As a retired military man (Navy) I found several discordant facts in the story, even allowing for author's license to shape the story as he pleases. The Navy does not have a grade of CPO3 (CPO being Chief Petty Officer) nor have women ever been accepted for SEAL training, much less graduating from the program. Indicating female character toughness by making them a graduate of SEAL training is not reality. There are other ways to do this. The story would make for smooth reading throughout if more attention to these little details were paid. All in all, the story and plot are worth reading and enjoyable I would give it a "5" except for the above comments.