Customer Reviews

Jet Stream - part one of WWIII, The Breakup Of America: A 21st Century Thriller: A story of American heroes facing America's darkest hour: The year is 2012...

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Jet Stream is a magazine form novel (the first in a planned trilogy - WWIII: The Breakup of America) set in the near future, a time when the U.S. is no longer a super power - where the newly formed nation of Quebec (along with it's powerful European Union allies) attempts the unthinkable - the invasion of the United States.

If you enjoyed the action and drama of Patriots by John Wesley Rawles, or Jerry Ahern's The Survivalist series of books, this will be right up your alley. Only difference here is that there are no advertisements, no bible lessons - just action and plenty of it. Author Muehlberg has you right along side for the ride as an out-gunned, out-numbered National Guard goes up against the might of a brutal enemy with the fire power of half the world at their disposal.

With all this action, that's not to say that character development suffers any. The author lets you get inside the heroes and the villains, laying their motivations, fears, and desires out for you to see - no one dimensional characters here!

Jet Stream is what my father used to call "a top read". It's the kind of book you'll start reading and won't be able to put down.

As a career Army Intelligence officer, I have often developed and participated in war games pitting US forces against a variety of enemies. I also am an avid reader of "Tom Clancy" type novels. With these two parts of my background, I am very sceptical of new authors touting new thrillers based on an invasion of the US and/or Armageddon. Richard Muehlberg makes the cut in both areas. The possibilities that Quebec may succeed from Canada and that there will be a United Europe are real. An alliance between these two and subsequent invasion of the US is no more far fetched than China or Japan invading our Pacific Coast or the Russians coming out of Siberia through Alaska or hostilities breaking out with Mexico or Cuba. This makes Jet Stream what I call "believable" fiction and will make you stop and think at any number of places in the book. But, what really makes this book is Mr. Muehlberg's wonderful descriptive writing style. No matter where the scene takes place, you can see it, feel it, touch it and taste it. A fantastic job is done in the development of each character. I seemed to learn more about each personality with every page turned. In fact, that is what I did late into the night...turned pages as I read and read. You cannot put this book down until you finish; and, then you want more (how about it Richard?)!! If you like fast, action packed, "believable" fiction, get a copy of Jet Stream. And don't blame me if you don't get your normal sleep hours once you start to read

Although this novel is easy to read, it's unfortunately completely unrealistic. It is, of course, realistic that Quebec becomes independent. It is, of course, realistic that the European Union (not "United Europe") tries to become a world power. But that the Union would invade a peaceful America is plain crazy! It seems to be a typical example of American paranoia.

Also, the military strength of the USA is so much greater than Europe's that something like this will not happen in just twelve years from now. In thirty or forty years, perhaps, but even then I very much doubt that Europe would invade the USA except to stop a fascistic, racistic and/or environmentally destructive government.

European imperialism? Been there, done that. No fun anymore.

These totally absurd premises made it difficult for me to enjoy the occasional well-written parts of the novel. It's also hard to believe that an invasion army that has come so far would give up because of one snow storm. To clutter the text with technical descriptions of weapons doesn't make the plot sound more plausible.

Not a book for Europeans. But paranoid war-lovers may enjoy it.

I borrowed the book from a friend. It's a pretty good read. But for less than 200 pages and a price nearly $13 it's not worth the money.

The book has been out for over 11 years and the sequel has never showed. I can't wait for 30 years to read the others.

Sorry, it's not worth the $$$ to only read 1/3 of it.

Jet Stream is a great book and I enjoyed reading it. With that said, it must be noted that this book has a few flaws that I noticed. First of all, virtually every country in Europe is downsizing their respective military forces and that they are a good ways away from uniting under one border. That they can unite and develop weapons platforms of their own making within the time frame of this book is nearly impossible. They currently rely on the US for a sizeable portion their armaments. Bump up the timeline a dozen years or so and you've got a plausible scenario. Also the mere notion that Asia will come together to form their own defense alliance was enough to send my eyes rolling. I mean come on, they have warring with each other for centuries but suddenly, in the coming decade, they will put aside all differences and join forces to become a global superpower. The only way Asia will ever unite will be if one country (maybe China) forces them to by using overwhelming force and invading all the other countries. But for argument's sake, this scenario is very intriguing and allows the author to write some vivid action scenes. A very engaging book and for all its faults I couldn't help but like this book. Recommended! Note to author: Like many other readers, I am patiently awaiting the next book in the series!

Richard Muehlberg's novelzine, Jet Stream, is like no other war novel I've ever read.

It projects the reader into a future not too far away and not too hard to imagine, given the current state of the world: a powerful United Europe, a weak President, and enemy troops invading U.S. soil. The thought of an invasion is a disturbing one; I have often wondered how a complacent U.S. would respond to a war on the home front. Through his characters, Muehlberg keeps the reader asking, "What would I do in this situation?" And that makes the book come alive, even for readers who do not normally read books about war.

Most of the characters are ordinary citizens who are forced, through circumstance, into acts of patriotism, violence, and fear. Scenes of battle and torture are presented with grisly realism. For me, though, the horror of such scenes lay in the thought that a person's humanity could erode so quickly.

Many war novels focus on the technological and! strategic aspects of warfare. In this, Muehlberg does not disappoint. His narrative is packed with detail about war machinery; his research is evident on almost every page. I occasionally found it hard to penetrate the technical descriptions, wishing for a clarifying drawing or two. This book would lend itself well to a TV movie or animated film, where words wouldn't have to carry the full weight of the story and the characters and chronology of events could take center stage.

I recommend Jet Stream both to general readers and readers of war novels who are looking for a new twist on a familiar genre.

The author takes an implausable scenaro and makes it frighteningly real with Jet Stream. Muehlberg jumps right into the action and takes the reader along on a pulse-pounding, visceral ride. You will really feel that "you are in there" as the events in the story unfold. Muehlberg will have you wondering if this could really happen within the next two decades, and praying that it can't. Muehlberg also populates his story with believable and deeply-drawn characters on both sides of the conflict. The dialog, in particular, has such a ring of authenticity that you will think that Muehlberg has transcribed the words of real people reacting to real events. Muehlberg also seems to have a great knowledge of defense planning and weapon systems. This book should be read by the pundits who wish to slash our Defense budget and keep America out of world affairs. This stuff is better than a lot of stuff that is put out by the major publishing houses. Why this was not picked up by one I do not know, but you surely get a lot here for less than the price of two paperbacks these days. As soon as I read the first few paragraphs I was anxiously awaiting for the sequals in this planned trilogy. I hope he keeps 'em coming!

I enjoyed JET STREAM when I read it about ten years ago (it was published in 1996). This was a half-decade before the attacks of September 11, the invasion of Afghanistan (where the Canadian Forces are now operating and where their peerless and decorated sniper teams also supported American military units so ably in the initial phases), and the Second Iraq War (where British troops have carried their share of the load so very well under difficult conditions in Basra). All of these events may have seemed implausible or impossible to many readers in 1996.

The inability to predict future events with complete accuracy is what makes futuristic novels and alt-history so enjoyable.

It is important that readers remember that this is "fiction," and the author can have some fun with alternate "scenarios." Yes, we were and are allied with Canada and Great Britain in NORAD, NATO, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. Yes, we have "special relationships" with both of these great countries. But, even if some of the elements of the JET STREAM story seems implausible in light of today's events, it helps to remember (repeat!) that this is "futuristic fiction," and to suspend disbelief and go with the flow.

I re-read JET STREAM just last week in one sitting. I found that I still enjoyed the story. If anything, it may have helped if the author had moved the timeline back to 2020 or 2030 AD in order to further distance the story from current world events. I can only hope that he will do so in any updated edition of the book that may be published in the future.

The author could not know, when he published the book in 1996, that the Shangai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan -- would be created in 2001. Nor could he know that Iran would be granted observer status to the SCO in 2005. Who could have guessed that populist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would be visiting Russia, Iran, Vietnam, Cuban, and many South American nations in an attempt to build counterbalancing relationships directed at the United States? Who could have guessed that the PRI political party would lose its 70-year hold on the political system in Mexico in 2000, or that the PAN and PRD political parties would be locked into the current presidential electoral situation in 2006? Who could have guessed that Al Quaeda would perpetrate the 9/11 attacks or that Israel and Hezbollah would be locked into the current conflict?

Just the establishing of the SCO makes one realize that the author's Asia-Pacific Confederation is not implausible.

On another thematic level, the role of the citizen soldier (or professional sailor or Maine State Police troopers) in defending a weary and isolationist United States is a critical element in JET STREAM. The Maine National Guard soldiers under Lt Kirby and the fast attack boat sailors under Adm Chang are loyal to the "idea" of America.

When the author publishes his second and third books, I hope that he will also find a role for other federal elements, like the U. S. Coast Guard, the border inspection services, the U. S. Border Patrol, etc. Adding them to the mix will certainly add to/spice up FATE LAUGHING (volume two) and ARMAGEDDON (volume three). I can only hope that the author will have the time and wherewithal to publish these follow-on volumes at some point in the future.

Let me conclude by saying that JET STREAM is a quick, easy, and fun read. I recommend it.

A well written, soundly structured, visually compelling work, Jet Stream part 1 thrilled me from cover to cover. Muehlberg artistically manipulated my thoughts to expect one outcome and then artfully delivered another in a totally believable yet unexpected manner. Jet stream is my first in the genre and Jet stream II will be my second! I strongly recommend the novel; it is an enjoyable, stimulating piece.

Richard Muehlberg's book about the USA being invaded by Quebec and European troops was a top notch thriller. I liked the part in which soldiers from the Maine National Guard tell their "LIBERAL PRESIDENT" to take a flying leap at a rolling doughnut(my words actually) and defends the good old USA aginst foreign enemies.As a former member of the USMC,USA, and the NCNG I could picture this scenario in my mind in which the federal government would tell troops to back down (God helps us).
The book has some good old fashioned twists and plots along with some believable heros and villains.I really look forward to seeing more from this author.SO HURRY UP AND WRITE THE SEQUEL!!