Fire Lance [Paperback]

David Mace (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ace; First Edition edition (July 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441235883
• ISBN-13: 978-0441235889
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,203,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Nuclear Holocaust: How can you make it even worse?, June 12, 2010

By 

Orange Newt (Bandon, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire Lance (Paperback)

This is the bleakest of the three David Mace books I've read. None of them is exactly upbeat or cheerful, but I give DEMON-4 five stars and NIGHTRIDER four. However, FIRE LANCE could be shelved alongside Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD. The "Firelances" are the nuclear missiles carried by a heavy cruiser, the last major asset left to the U.S./western military after the massive conflagration of a Western-Soviet nuclear exchange. The ship survived by being on station in the remote south Atlantic; now it's ordered north to resume the conflict. From their underground HQ, the U.S. command is intent on using the cruiser's weapons in a basically insane (that's my take, not the book's, at least not explicitly) endeavor to ensure that the other side is more thoroughly destroyed than they are. As in his other books, Mace comes up with a number of arresting (but commonsense once you think about it) concepts -- for example, a command & control center may be "hardened" to withstand a nuclear blast, but in a prolonged conflict, the likelihood is that it'd be hit repeatedly -- and he has some memorable action episodes, notably here a helicopter being pursued over the open ocean by a tracking missile. However, none of the characters is particularly memorable, and one senses that they're all doomed anyway; it's definitely not a book to pick up if you're looking for a feel-good resolution after the thrills and trials.

4.0 out of 5 stars Still enjoyable, March 26, 2010

By 

A. Jamieson (Richmond, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fire Lance (Paperback)

I first read this book probably when I was 12. I bought it at the pharmacy with money my grandmother gave me. Loved it then (though it probably scared the pants off me). My dogeared copy was long ago donated somewhere. I just bought it again and read it in a night. While the Soviet Union is gone, it remains a haunting tale of how things can quickly spiral out of control. You could probably substitute China as the possible future "enemy". Maybe a conflict about access to oil and energy resources . . .

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting alternate take on the World War Three scenario, July 14, 2009

By 

James Higgins - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fire Lance (Paperback)

`Firelance' is set in the near future, in the aftermath of a nuclear war between the Soviet Bloc and NATO. `Nuclear Winter' has descended and most of the planet is in the grip of freezing temperatures, constant gales and storms, and perpetual twilight. Despite the ruined state of civilization, the US military apparatus is intent on eliminating the last vestiges of the USSR and an enormous, high-tech battleship, the `Vindicator', is sent on a one-way mission across the North Atlantic. Once the ship arrives at a predetermined location it is instructed to launch volleys of cruise missiles - the `firelances' of the book's title- at what remains of the USSR.

Of course, the few surviving units of the Soviet Navy and Air Force are in no mood to let the Vindicator complete its mission, so the ship is subjected to a variety of attacks en route to its firing point. Will the Vindicator survive to complete its orders ? Will its crew carry out what is essentially a suicide mission ? Will any of the crew have doubts as to the ethics of bombarding eastern Europe with a fresh round of nukes ?

"Firelance' was first published in 1986, just as the Tom Clancy techno-thriller genre was getting under way. Author Mace - a Briton - relies on the same sort of dense, heavily descriptive prose style, in which all sorts of technical details of modern combat are relayed to the reader in between bouts of action. But in contrast to the attitudes of Clancy and most other US writers of techno-thrillers, Mace takes a much more cynical view of a near-future conflict. The book's tone is relentlessly bleak and downbeat, and Mace resists tossing even a few scraps of `Go TEAM USA !' comforts into the narrative.

`Firelance' can be a bit tedious and slow-paced at times, and it could have benefitted from being 50 or even 60 pages shorter. But it remains an interesting take on the World War Three scenario and readers looking for something different from the norm will want to check it out.