Customer Reviews

The Day of the Cheetah

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A classic techno-thriller! Much of the plot, concerning the theft of a high-tech experimental fighter plane was inspired by FIREFOX by Craig Thomas, as was the thought-controlled weapons systems and navigation. However, Dale Brown goes several steps better. The technicalities behind the Dreamstar aircraft are well explained without too much babble and could be feasible one day. The aerial dogfighting sequences, utilising a variety of aircraft(National Guard F-16s, Nicaraguan MiGs, Mexican F-20s and so on, and the 767 AWACS was an inspired idea!)and interesting locations in Central America are also first rate. I've only had a trial lesson in a light aircraft as a birthday present from my ever-patient wife, but I can still visualise the settings, manouvres and procedures described in his narrative as well as that day. This book would make a power-packed movie, so come on, Hollywood! If you like aircraft, thrills, future technology and fast paced action then this is the book for you. One minor point, there were two goofs - the B-1B bomber is known as the Lancer and not the Excalibur, and the B-2 stealth bomber is known as the Spirit and not the Panther, but considering this 1996-set book was written in 1988 the we can let Dale off the hook! The story also brings the McLanahan Timeline up to date, despite a few inconsistencies before the 'prequels' such as SKY MASTERS and HAMMERHEADS were written.

This is my second Dale Brown, and if i can describe this book in one word, the word is ACTION. THe descriptions of Dogfights are very good, and the plot is very good. THe only problem in this book is the date of the History .. 1996 .. and in the book the USSR still exists .. but we can forgive the autor .. because this book was writen in 1989.
Great Book ... must Read

Read the prologue carefuly-you'll need it later. because everything in this exciting thriller fits together like a jigsaw puzzle. From the top secret deep cover Russian training school to the chase through Nicaragua to the final fate of the Russian mole, this is a book that will keep you in its grip until your through it. Although I'm not up on the aviation terms, I found that I didn't get lost in technicalities as you do in some thrillers. Dale Brown writes a mean adventure novel even with the jargon. Besides they give you the glossary for tech terms BEFORE the story. Pick it up, you're in for an exciting time.

It's actually an interesting idea - that we build an airplane that the Russians want to steal. In this case, it's the "Dreamstar", an airplane so maneuverable, it has to be guided by thought impulses. With it's forward-swept wings, it can outfly any other plane. It's only remote competition is a specially modified F-15, the Cheetah, flown by Brown's hero, Pat Mclanahan. Unfortunately, Dreamstar's pilot is actually a deep-plant Russian agent who's not only not above selling out the US, but completely pathological as well. Faced with the prospect of losing his chance to fly the airplane, the mole steals it, touching off a chain of fierce dogfighting and much superpower bickering.

The Russians are perfectly craven, but the really annoying charachters are the heroes - teh kind of stalwart guys who know they're in teh right and won't let some stupid bureaucrat or politician get in the way. Almost as bad are the liberals - those who advise the president to wait and see, the kind we're supposed to hate more than the Russians. But the worst of all is the evil Russian spy, another one of Brown's demented villains. An indecisive, or simply inept or insecure villain could have made the whole thing perfectly plausible, and even added some fun to the mix. Instead, it comes off as a cheat (because the unbalanced bad-guy acts without reason, he doesn't require much in the way of charachter development, and also because it keeps the Russians from taking the sort of action that would have given them the plane before the book was half-way complete).

We're supposed to overlook these flaws because "Cheetah" is supposed to be realistic, and I'll ahve to wait until some F-15 driver says "that's the way it is". Brown gives his charachters extensive dialog, even when they're supposed to be strapped into jet fighters screaming 50 feet over a the floor of a valley, or trying to evade hostil radar - as if it's no big deal. Brown stages his dogfights from a detached perspective - we know where every fighter is at every time (as opposed to the real world, where that kind of situational awareness is extremely rare). I remember having more fun with my flight sim games - and that was in 1993!! Much better was "Firefox", also about a thought-controlled superfighter getting hijacked.

I think I was expecting something more from this book. I know he has a large following and has done very well with sales, but I had a hard time placing this guy that high on the mantel. The much better (and unfortunately shorter) version of this theme is Firefox. I usually like a lot of character development, but what we had here was just high school gym chatter. The fighter scenes were not badly written, but it was not enough to save the whole book.

This is the book that made me a Dale Brown fan. I read it a few years ago, but I still remember the great story about the integration of flight controls directly into its human pilot. To "become one" with the machine WOULD be the ultimate thrill ride if the machine was a high performance fighter aircraft. Just how DO you win against a fighter that reacts as fast as the human brain thinks? Dale Brown knows. This is THE classic of Dale Brown's books. If you don't like this one, well.....there's no accounting for taste

This is one of Dale Brown's best achievements. He totaly grips you from the very first page and won't let go until the end of the very last page.

This book is a well worth to read one. You may find it cheaper in a used book store, but in all this book was great.

Taking tech to the hights that humans could ever dream of (hence the whole Dreamland) and put it into a fighter plane making it the most deadly and exspensive plane out there. While fighting normal figters like F-16s, F-18's and a modified F-15 called Cheetah!

Also throwing in spy's, more crazy idea's and murder! This book is well worth to read because, one man knows this super fighter one major error. Which you should read to find out!

I bought the entire series of Dale Brown books when I got started on them, but while reading I found reference to Cheetah and couldn't even find it new, had to buy it used. If you've liked the stores with McLannahan, this is hands down one of Brown's best stories! Five stars.

Beautiful novel. It's been an inspiration to me as a young writer and is ranked in the top five best books on my list of many. Dale Brown is a Ten Star General in the Book writing army.