Forged In Honor: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Leonard B. Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1996

"FAST PACED AND LEAN, this book shares a trait with all Scott books, in that he never allows himself to become so fascinated by the soldier's hardware that he forgets the men who wield it."
--Southern Book Trade
After the American Embassy in Burma is bombed, retired Special Forces colonel Joshua Hawkins is recalled to active duty by order of the president. A secret government mission will require the intimate knowledge of the exotic country that only Hawkins can provide. He has a special bond with the Shan, the proud and independent mountain tribe of northern Burma, having trained as a warrior with his friend Stephen, the son of a Shan warlord, becoming a Horseman of the Shan hill people, and earning the coveted warriors' silver bracelet, forged in honor, that he still wears.
Now Hawkins is called again to serve his country, to save his Shan friend, and to help the brave people he has never forgotten in their fight against a corrupt government and a ruthless heroin syndicate. It's a big job, but Hawkins and his men are up to it--and not above using frontier justice to teach the despots a thing or two, the old-fashioned way. . . .
"GRITTY. . . ENGROSSING. . .A fast-paced military thriller. . . [that] combines today's headlines with a believable story . . . Highly recommended."
--Military and BRAVO/Veterans Outlook Magazines

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nearly nonstop action, engaging characters and vividly rendered locales distinguish this first-rate adventure tale by the author of The Iron Men. In the remote backcountry of Myanmar (formerly Burma), the fiercely independent Shan people, led by the Chindit ("lion"), preserve ancient customs far from the corruption of the ruling dictatorship. An extensive flashback shows the arrival, in 1960, of 11-year-old Kansan Joshua Hawkins in Burma, where he's gone to join his missionary family in Shan territory. Soon, Joshua meets young Stephen Kang, the Chindit's son; learning each other's ways and cultures, the boys form a binding friendship. Fast-forward to the present: Joshua, now a retired Special Forces colonel, and Stephen are thrown together once again-in a confrontation between sword-wielding Shan patriots and high-tech killers who traffic in heroin. Scott's storytelling skills and command of military and political history serve him well as his exciting and moving story, its action ranging from Burma to Seattle to Washington, D.C., sounds disturbingly realistic echoes of current events.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The latest of Colonel Scott's excellent novels of men at war reads like a cross between Tom Clancy and Rudyard Kipling. Retired Special Forces colonel Joshua Hawkins is an adopted member of the Shan tribe of Burma and blood brother to a Shan who is coming to the U.S. to flood the country with drugs on behalf of the Triads (the Chinese Mafia). Half the novel is flashback about Hawkins' training as a Shan warrior; the rest is about how he and allies including the Shan defeat the Triads, their agents, and eventually the corrupt Burmese government. Unabashedly romantic, thoroughly knowledgeable about war and covert operations, and irresistibly readable (though unlikely to please opponents of vigilantism), this is another winning addition to Scott's superior body of work. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 405 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345390105
• ISBN-13: 978-0345390103
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,021,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The good guys win.., July 4, 1998

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"[e-mail]" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forged In Honor: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Joshua Hawkins was eleven years old when his mother remarried and moved to an outland missionary in Burma. He grew and before the death of his parents became a warrior Horseman of the Shan hill people. Since than Josh had returned to the U.S., served in the military during the VietNam period, and retired to care for his daughter. Now the U.S. government desperately needs someone with knowledge of the area of the Shan hill people. And Josh has just been involuntarily volunteered. But unknown to everyone, Josh's 'Shan Brother' is about to be executed, because of his knowledge of a massive influx of drugs into the U.S. from Burma. The same drugs that Josh is supposed to be looking for.

Excellent story that runs from Washington, D.C. to Burma, and back.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is good from begining to end., November 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Forged In Honor: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I could really visulize the book in my head like a movie. Leonard B. Scott writes with great detail. Though I wasn't thrilled with the ending I still believe this is the best book with that kind of plot.

3.0 out of 5 stars Scott's Other Books Rate Higher, June 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Forged In Honor: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Although not a bad book, Forged in Honor, is not one of Scott's best efforts. At times I struggled to keep some of the characters sorted out correctly. The research by Scott again is excellent though the story line parallels one of his other efforts, namely "Solemn Duty." Scott does keep one engrossed till the end of this novel but this book will never surpass the stories he presents in his military novels.