Customer Reviews

The God of War

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chris Stewart has produced a tale that is almost absurd, but eminently readable. It rips along with the pace of jet fighter, and gives Stewart the chance to sound forth on the all technical bits of an ultimate military aircraft.

What happens? Well, it's the Paris Air Show and a new super-stealthy jet fighter is ready for its display. Trouble is, a rogue pilot has stolen it. Thank goodness we have Major Jesse James to the rescue, because the President is there and he's not at all happy. But who's behind all this? Renegade Muslims or the Chinese, perhaps? Well, the plot has enough twists and turns to keep you amused and it would be a great read on a long flight (provided you don't look out of the window too often - you might see the stolen F-38 alongside). Much of the action takes place in France and the setting is totally unconvincing. I know France well and these descriptions feel like he Googled 'Paris' and then got on with the story. It doesn't matter. This is a pretty hot page-turner and while second division compared with the best thriller writers, is definitely worth a read.

Chris Stewart knows of what he writes and he does it very well. A former B-1 pilot, he has written four previous novels in which his beloved B-1 plays a prominent part from time to time. In this one, he has moved into the realm of the fighter plane and what a plane he has developed. The Ares is the F-22 Raptor on steroids.

Named for the Greek god of war, the United States has decided to unveil the jet at the Paris Air Show with the President of the US on hand. The purpose of such a public performance is to put our enemies, especially the Chinese, on notice that the US is still a super power to be reckoned with and that with this new aircraft any thoughts they might have of moving in on Taiwan should be put on permanent hold, if not abandoned.

As a plan, it sounds like a winner. In the execution however, things become SNAFU times ten. The Ares is highjacked during the show. By whom and for what purpose I would rather let you find out by reading the novel.

Needless to say, this plane on the loose with it's offensive capabilities to do damage, including the delivery of a nuclear device, has the rest of the world scrambling to recover or destroy the aircraft. Col. "Jesse" James, the chief pilot in the Ares program is given the task of leading the effort.

David Hagberg, a noted author of this type of book himself, states on the jacket cover that "Stewart is to advanced military aircraft as Clancy is to submarines."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Not only is this book informative, thought provoking but it is exciting page to page...I could not put the book down and was wanting more after I read the ending!!! A movie would be nice!

Excellent read. Fast-paced action that kept going to the last page. The influences of the aircraft depicted on an international level may have been much too high, as well as the ability of one pilot to do what was done, but that may be picky. I found it a thoroughly enjoyable book from beginning to end. The various levels of conspiracy were most intriguing, with the end result not obvious from the beginning. I hate it when one can figure out a plot from the beginning.