Customer Reviews

Joint Task Force #3: France

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

David E. Meadows has not only established himself as today's prolific author of military thrillers, he has stamped a style that TV producer Donald P. Bellisario loves. His characters have a sense of humor in the midst of dire circumstances. It's a playfulness that Bellisario hires scriptwriters to inject into each of his military TV series-currently JAG and NCIS. In his Joint Task Force series, Meadows develops ongoing characters, whom we meet in each book, depending on their mission or circumstance. We live with them. We feel for them. And they age just like us through the series as their responsibilities and duties draw them into even riskier missions, so we cheer them on, as real men doing impossible jobs. This is an endless expectation of the military since many of their political bosses have no similar experience or training to base their orders on. I saw this for myself on a magazine assignment with Canadian peacekeepers following the Rwanda genocide in 1994. Just the replacement of a small part to keep a lift truck running becomes a crisis that requires miracle intervention and innovative thinking in `tactical' settings-you can't call them `combat' when the parties aren't officially at war. And so Meadows' people survive doing the impossible while protecting the United States from terrorists and power-hungry allies.

What has fascinated me through the Joint Task Force series is the rivalry with France along with the ongoing battle against terrorism. Most military and spy thrillers writers target potential enemies in Middle East or Asian countries, such as China and North Korea, whereas Meadows tackles a so-called ally. As I observed in Rwanda firsthand, the treachery of France is a realistic possibility.

Aside from the background of Meadows' writing, he's a `top gun' storyteller. In this book, "France," he opens with a blood-curdling scene that begins with this dialogue, "I know what you're doing." What is the culprit doing? Stealing plans for a laser weapon the U.S. Navy is developing. Who is running the spy? France. Why? Because France wants to shake up the balance of power in the world. Of course, none of this is revealed in the first chapter. The greedy technician kills two fellow workers to keep from being discovered and just as you think he's going to get away with it and live in luxury the rest of his life, he's arrested before he reaches the airport. How did the CIA know what he was up to and why did they wait until after he killed innocent bystanders to capture him? As you find in this example, Meadows holds the reader to every page with strings of suspense that unwind in snippets of revelations, and leaves you at the end with the question, What if France drew the U.S. into war over Africa? Now you can find out. The last of this series, AFRICA, has just been released.

I have become such a fan of this fantastic writer and know if you are a fan of this amazing genre in no-time at all you will become a fan as well! Captain Meadows is an exciting writer whose books hold the reader captive from page one on...I kid you not! Start with his "Sixth Fleet" series and move your way up to his BESTSELLING "Joint Task Force" series. You'll thank me later, I promise!

In "Joint Task Force France," a routine excerise turns into a mysterious disaster, when a fleet of F-16 fighters simply vanishes. Someone has gotten hold of an experimental weapon being developed by the American Missile Defense Office--and all signs point to the French.

Take my word for it...this is one amazing story you won't want to miss!!!

V~

I have just finished David's most recent thriller. It is spellbinding, perhaps his best effort yet. The character and plot development is excellent, I couldn't put it down. Great work David!! I look forward to the next project from a man who knows what he is writing about. Keep up the good work, David.

After finishing the last series of books from this wonderful writer, naturally, I had to read his next offering...Happy that I did! David Meadow is a talented writer that has proved time and again to me and all of his fans that he has become a writer that 'we' quite simply MUST READ!!!!! We, (your many fans), Love You David!

Meadows wrote a compelling story about (basically) the US Navy giving the french navy the finger. He outsmarts them, uses their arrogance against them and ultimately, spanks their behinds! If you are pro-US Navy, get this book! The other 3 in this series are well done, too.

No matter whether you read the spell-binding books in this series in proper order (as this talented author wrote them) or go back and grab one helter-skelter, you're in for a real treat. Each book is a complete story in itself. I generally prefer to read in the order the author writes them, but it isn't always possible ... and wasn't in this case. I started with an earlier one and a later one (AFRICA).

JOINT TASK FORCE: FRANCE lives up to the "enviable, exciting" reputation of the others. I recommend the entire series because this man knows what he's talking about and knows how to build suspense to a fine pitch. I was practically panting with anticipation by the time I got to the last chapter. Great characters, dialogue, and unusual plots.

The books in his first series, THE SIXTH FLEET, are MUST READS, also. Whether your "man" is in the Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force, these books are for you! Actually, they have such universal appeal, everyone is talking about Captain David Meadows.

I understand a TV Movie is being produced from one (or more) of his books. Anchors aweigh, Captain. (Way to go, in civilian jargon!) I'm certain we'll see you on THE BIG SCREEN soon!