Customer Reviews

Dragon Fire

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A republican senator from Maine for 27 years and Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton, Cohen puts his insider knowledge to work in a global-conspiracy thriller that spans continents and entangles governments. His bull-necked, sharp and independent hero seems modeled in part on John McCain, who gives his former colleague's debut a stellar blurb. Less august readers may not be so enthusiastic.

The story starts off promisingly, with the murders of a couple of low-level Defense Intelligence Agency analysts who discover that people are dying en masse near one of China's nuclear test sites. Then the Secretary of Defense who encouraged the analysts' digging dies in an anthrax attack.

Michael Patrick Santini, a former senator and Vietnam POW who endured lengthy torture and isolation, a man who does not suffer fools gladly, and whose temper has been known to get him into trouble, becomes the new Secretary of Defense. He already has some enemies among the ideologues and power grubbers who surround the president - a background character seen mostly reacting to the often shrill and contradictory opinions of his advisors.

Santini is hardly on the job a month when a German flying team blows up during an air show. We already know it's sabotage and it doesn't take the government long to confirm it. While a rabid local militia seems the obvious culprit, complications point to international influence.

Cohen makes frequent narrative switches, moving among statesmen and conspirators in Russia, Germany, China and the U.S. This enables us to keep track of a plot that develops some fiendishly clever complications. How about, for instance, a Russian Mafiya boss as Russia's next president? And not just any Mafiya boss, but one with a long-range view and a finger on the pulse of malcontents in governments worldwide. Not to give too much away but Cohen will make you shudder with the reminder of how easily the world could be brought to the brink of global war.

So - an intriguing, many tentacled plot involving nuclear possibilities and worldwide mayhem, with just enough plausibility and outlandishness to satisfy any conspiracy buff. What could possibly spoil it?

Too much verbiage, for one. Cohen loves the day-to-day political posturing and back and forth between people who guard their acronyms and titles as jealously as their insider knowledge. And he likes to tell us how government is supposed to work and how reality differs from the ideal. The problem is he writes with a politician's flair for language. Which is to say the writing is pretty turgid. And the plot suffers from it, especially at the beginning before Cohen has all his diabolical pieces - er, characters - in place.

Those who enjoy reading about the turf battles, political power maneuvers and back stabbing that goes on in the highest echelons of government will find a feast here; those who find it mind boggling that affairs of state are handled in this way will find plenty to get stirred up about. Those just looking for a scary, page-turning thriller to while away an evening might want to look elsewhere.

This book probably presages a whole array of spy and espionage novels, that can be expected to feature China as a feature antagonist over the coming years.

On the one hand, I would be delighted if Western audiences began to take a more serious interest in Far East subjects. So much of our global economy is today tied up with that part of the world. On the other hand, I would also hate to see this subject become over-simplified. In no way could China be mistaken for the kind of global empire that the Soviet Union once aspired to be.

The writing style is somewhat clunky in parts. I would also have liked to have seen slightly more character development. The description of the bureaucratic in-fighting and behind-the-scenes political battles of Washington, however, are all too real, as anyone who has read at any length on the subject will recognize. This is no doubt a reflection of William Cohen's personal experiences as Secretary of Defense, although I could point to at least have a dozen autobiographies by Washington insiders that describe similar experiences.

Once you get into the novel, however, the story line flows well. Everything about the plot, the characters, the principal events, has a "torn from the headlines" feel to them, making for a very believable read.

Hopefully, this book will inspire at least some of its audience to learn more about the realities of China's defense policy making, and the potential implications of China's very real military build-up. For those readers who might be interested in learning more about the reality of China's defense policy making, I would recommend "China's Use of Military Force," by Andrew Scobell (2003) as well as "Chinese Warfighting" by Mark A. Ryan, et. al. (2003). Both of these books provide a more balanced insight into China's past use of its armed forces, providing a less alarmist view of Chinese capabilities and intentions than what some, less sophistication sources might try to convey.

For those interested in a more brief review of China's ongoing defense modernization, there was an excellent article in the September 2006 (Vol 7, No 8) issue of the bimonthly magazine, "Combat Aircraft". Although the latter focuses on China's air force, the same trends can be found in China's army and navy as well.

I originally bought this book more interested in it as a window to the inside politics and intrigues at the Defense Department and Intelligence Agencies than as a spy/terrorist thriller. It turned out to be immensely satisfying on both scores. William S.Cohen's inside perspective on the workings of government are fascinating but he has also, at the same time, managed to create a very captivating and scary tale that gains incredible momentum as you read on. On top of all that, the international politics and machinations frightingly mirror what is now going on in the real world. An excellent read.

Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen takes a shot at novel authoring and comes up with Dragon Fire. And it's a sure winner. He uses his experience to create gripping but plausible situations along multiple threads of national security. Naturally for an ex-Secretary of Defense, the story is cast in the intrigue of International politics - Russia, Israel, Iraq and Iran and, naturally, the stakes are big-time. It will not take you long to read Dragon Fire - the book is a self-activated page turner.

William Cohen's book, is a fascinating true "roman á clef" of the inner workings of Washington's bureaucracy and a fantastic and first hand insight into the inner circles of the new asian powers and their influence (good and bad). Whether true or false, it certainly generates plenty of expectations. After todays news of the assassination of a high profile Russian Banker, coincidence will become the norm with this book. Not the best narrative but then again it is his first and hopefully not his last novel. Good reading!!!

It's frightening to think that such things occur in the shadows of society but they do. This work of "fiction" might just as well have come from the diary of someone's life or from memories and fears chosen to be put to paper before fading into the darkness of old age.

From the Situation Room of the world's most powerful nation to the spys and operatives in the field, the reader will be kept on the edge wondering what will happen next; how will this one turn out? Plan to be entertained, thrilled, puzzled and frightened at the thought of such things actually happening. Could they, have they, or will they? Perhaps this story is a compilation of facts instead of a mere creation of the author's fantasy. Fantasy or disguised facts, I still wonder which is true but you must decide for yourself. Certainly a worthwhile read.

As a Frederick Forsyth fan, I give high compliment to William Cohen.

I loved this book. I tried to read it slowly so it would last longer, but alas, I couldn't put it down. Please write another, Mr. Cohen!!

I got this book as gift. It took me a little bit to get into it because the story kind of drags at the beginning but after I got about a third of the way thru, it picked up then I couldn't put it down. I didn't give it five stars because of the dragging at the beginning. The ending is explosive. I like Mr. Clancy's books as well however, people have to remember that Mr. Cohen isn't Mr. Clancy. They are writing from different viewpoints. If you like this type of book like I do give this a try. Don't let the first few chapters turn you off.

This is a very good book, actually really good, if your willing to stick with it through some boring parts. There is a lot of political talk that gets monotonous, but if you stick it through you will be glad!

Written by President Clinton's last Secretary of Defense William Cohen (prior to that a Republican Senator from Maine), I thought a nice fiction book about a SecDef might offer some realistic insider accounts of how things work in the Pentagon. I'm thinking not so much on the realist part, but it was still a lot of fun. Perhaps this shouldn't be a surprise, but the hero of the story is a former two term senator who comes on board to help a president by serving as SecDef. Low and behold, the SecDef is basically James Bond on steroids. (Perhaps Barry Bonds is the better comparison.) Anyway, real or not, it was fun.