Knockout: USA vs. Militia [Mass Market Paperback]

Ian Slater (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Acclaim for Ian Slater

"As impelling a storyteller as you're likely to encounter."
--CLIVE CUSSLER

WORLD WAR III
"Superior to the Tom Clancy genre . . . and the military aspect far more realistic."
--The Spectator

MacARTHUR MUST DIE
"A most satisfying what-if thriller . . . The plot [is] a full-speed-ahead page-turner. . . . Flashy, fast fun."
--New York Daily News

"Searing suspense . . . [A] rousing, splendidly told adventure."
--Los Angeles Times

"Taughtly written, this novel is loaded with scenes that will have you grasping the book so tightly your knuckles will turn white. . . . The final scene is a climactic hair-raising thriller."
--West Coast Review of Books

SEA GOLD
"A first-rate, crisply told adventure story."
--Toronto Globe and Mail

"Thrilling, fast-paced . . . Sea Gold combines a high sense of adventure with excellent character and story development. . . . An out-and-out winner."
--Hamilton Spectator

"Full of furious action."
--Quill and Quire

AIR GLOW RED
"Provides page-turning thrills that should leave even the steadiest hands shaking."
--The Toronto Star

"One of the top suspense writers in North America. His plots are intelligent, well thought out, and have the eerie specter of reality hanging over them like a rain cloud on the horizon."
--The Hamilton Spectator

"One of the most riveting chase sequences in recent fiction."
--Midland Free Press

FIRESPILL
"In the right place at the right time with the right story."
--MacLean's

"A good, powerful, readable, terrifying, inescapable story."
--Vancouver Sun

"An excellent book . . . There's something for everyone in the plot."
--Canadian Book Review Annual

ORWELL: THE ROAD TO AIRSTRIP ONE
"It is doubtful that any book provides a better foundation for a full understanding of Orwell's unique and troubling vision."
--The Washington Post

"The best introduction I know of to the life and ideas of George Orwell, [written] with insight, intelligence, and imagination."
--PETER STANSKY
Author of From William Morris to Sergeant Pepper: Studies in the Radical Domestic

"Penetrating and illuminating--one of the few treatments of Orwell which is at once completely informed and freshly intelligent."
--ROBERT CONQUEST
Author of Reflections of a Ravaged Century

From the Back Cover

Acclaim for Ian Slater

"As impelling a storyteller as you're likely to encounter."
--CLIVE CUSSLER

WORLD WAR III
"Superior to the Tom Clancy genre . . . and the military aspect far more realistic."
--The Spectator

MacARTHUR MUST DIE
"A most satisfying what-if thriller . . . The plot [is] a full-speed-ahead page-turner. . . . Flashy, fast fun."
--New York Daily News

"Searing suspense . . . [A] rousing, splendidly told adventure."
--Los Angeles Times

"Taughtly written, this novel is loaded with scenes that will have you grasping the book so tightly your knuckles will turn white. . . . The final scene is a climactic hair-raising thriller."
--West Coast Review of Books

SEA GOLD
"A first-rate, crisply told adventure story."
--Toronto Globe and Mail

"Thrilling, fast-paced . . . Sea Gold combines a high sense of adventure with excellent character and story development. . . . An out-and-out winner."
--Hamilton Spectator

"Full of furious action."
--Quill and Quire

AIR GLOW RED
"Provides page-turning thrills that should leave even the steadiest hands shaking."
--The Toronto Star

"One of the top suspense writers in North America. His plots are intelligent, well thought out, and have the eerie specter of reality hanging over them like a rain cloud on the horizon."
--The Hamilton Spectator

"One of the most riveting chase sequences in recent fiction."
--Midland Free Press

FIRESPILL
"In the right place at the right time with the right story."
--MacLean's

"A good, powerful, readable, terrifying, inescapable story."
--Vancouver Sun

"An excellent book . . . There's something for everyone in the plot."
--Canadian Book Review Annual

ORWELL: THE ROAD TO AIRSTRIP ONE
"It is doubtful that any book provides a better foundation for a full understanding of Orwell's unique and troubling vision."
--The Washington Post

"The best introduction I know of to the life and ideas of George Orwell, [written] with insight, intelligence, and imagination."
--PETER STANSKY
Author of From William Morris to Sergeant Pepper: Studies in the Radical Domestic

"Penetrating and illuminating--one of the few treatments of Orwell which is at once completely informed and freshly intelligent."
--ROBERT CONQUEST
Author of Reflections of a Ravaged Century

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (November 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449005593
• ISBN-13: 978-0449005590
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,793,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly good book and series despite themselves, December 19, 2001

By 

Brad Smith (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knockout: USA vs. Militia (Mass Market Paperback)

By most standards, this series should be horrible. There are glaring factual errors (such as, in one previous book, using a Harpoon anti-ship missile as a surface-to-air missile), little attention paid to time and continuity, and relatively rough characterization.

However, it's cool.

I've read the entire series of the Freeman universe, from the WW3 books to the USA vs. Militia books. They're fun, exciting, and just plain entertaining books, and are written so the problems I highlighted at the beginning are treated as advantages, not disadvantages. This novel is no exception.

In previous novels, a great deal of the United States Militia Corps' (which I will not refer to as USMC, not wishing to taint Marines with the perversions of rebel traitors) manpower was captured and incarcerated in a detention camp at Fairchild AFB. The driving plot of this novel is Lucky McBride, the militia's greatest warrior, and his attempt to force the government into releasing those prisoners. This develops into a series of disastrous encounters for both the government and the militia, requiring the intervention of General Douglas Freeman.

One of the striking features about this series is that the fog of war affects both sides equally; rarely does any plan go off without a hitch, and neither side is favored. Also, while the characterization is rough, it's often very good...particularly, in this book, Maddin. And, finally, there is a great deal of humor in the series, the intention of which I'm not sure about (though you should see Force 10 for the best examples of that).

All in all, this was another enjoyable book of a good series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent continuation of the series, April 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Knockout: USA vs. Militia (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read all of the WWIII books, as well as all of the USA vs. Militia books, and they have great characters, which draw you into a sense of being able to somehow understand them to a T. As for the previous review dealing with a harpoon anti-ship missle being used as a surface to air missle, it is factual since the design is based on radar tracking technology, and comes equipped with its own radar to guide it to its target. If you read a lot into the technicalities of the books, and understand the dynamics of the weapons, you can see that the author has quite the grasp on technology, and the ingenious uses for armaments. Good book, but not the best in the series.