Customer Reviews

Protect & Defend

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Harry composed a well thought out, wonderfully researched piece with Protect & Defend. For once, the reader can rest assured that units and technology were correctly identified (something many authors of this genre have difficulties with). Harry's understanding of warfare from strategic geopolitics to small unit infantry combat is top-notch. This is a great book to get you started in this genre or to continue your addiction for it.

An excellent, tour de force of adventure. The opening part with a worldwide anarchist revolution blowing away world leaders is just an appetizer. When the revolution peters out and the Russian government is no more, the Chinese pour into Siberia. All that is there to oppose them is Gen. Nate Clark and his small NATO force. The characters are well done and believable. Harry's best scenes are in the trenches, capturing the full range of emotions of the common infantryman. The battles are incredibly done. The siege at the Siberian air base is masterful. I loved his portrayal of the anarchist "leader" Kartsev. Does not come of as the evil man he really is but as a social scientist conducting a grand experiment. Unfortunately lots and lots and lots of people are dying in the process. The ending could have been a little more dramatic, but overall bully for Eric L. Harry!

After having read Mr. Harry's previous novels, it was with great anticipation that I was looking forward to this new one. Amazon had it available for pre-order sometime last year, but then it was withdrawn. I found that it was published in the UK, so I asked a friend to get it for me. If you were amazed by his first two books, both great, and different, then I think that you will be equally amazed by this one. It is thrilling, and yet disturbing. I found the subject matter to be somewhat upsetting, and perhaps a little too plausible. The social and political upheaval caused by the anarchist movement in the book is very frightening. The description of a near future United States and Russia in the grips of such a movement are truly scary. It was more like Arc Light in its technical aspects and its description of possible future war (the scenes in Siberia are 'chilling'). I highly recommend it and hope that something like this never happens.

Like his earlier Arc Light, the story was full of action, and suspense. One of, if not the best writer's of military action on the scene today.
An anarchist rises to power in Russia, and wants to deflect international interest in himself, by spreading a campaign of terror in the U.S. and other countries.
Action scene follows action scene, both military, and espionage, and you are left with the feeling you have read a really great thriller novel! Too bad he doesn't write anymore.

Great fun! Eric Harry has a way of drawing the reader into the characters. He's not much for twisted psychological mindsets; his characters are good guys or bad guys. A very pleasant read.

Although the initial plot line is somewhat overblown (anarchists manage to overthrow all semblance of government in Russia), this novel moves along nicely. The book's strength is its portrayal of the conditions in Siberia under which a potential war would be fought. Many of the descriptions of the fighting resemble those I have read of the fighting in the Korean War. All in all, this is not a deep book, but it does make one ponder the fighting environment in a possible North Asian war.

In the future, the Russian economy collapses and the country's leaders seek political asylum in Sweden. Russian anarchists are causing havoc with terrorist attacks and sabotage, including an air crash, a riot at a soccer match and finally this culminates in the assassination of the US President. China takes advantage and invades Siberia, and a UN deployment comprising of US, British, French and German soldiers and mechanised infantry is sent over. As the US President is killed, it is up to the USA's first Afro-American President to take control. Faced with another Vietnam as US soldiers are relentlessly killed by the Chinese, he has the weight of the country on his shoulders. The battle scenes are first rate, in particular the story of Howard Stempel, a young lad straight out of boot camp being forced to fight in the frozen wastelands. As well as the action on the ground, technothriller fans will enjoy the appearances by Apache Longbow helicopters on an all-out air assault and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter on a bombing raid. More element here is placed on characters you will genuinely care about. Well-crafted, breathing characters with emotions, not cardboard military robots which feature in several inferior novels of this genre(Op Center series springs to mind). This is Eric L Harry's best book by far, and an improvement over ARC LIGHT. My one complaint is why hasn't this been made into a movie yet? To coin a phrase . . .

This author is up there with the greats of techno thriller writers, Clancy, Bond, Herman Jnr. It is in the same vein of Red Storm Rising or Red Phoenix, but it shows the dark and gritty side of war. Harry is not afraid to kill people in his book, nor show the gamut of emotions that are experienced by soldiers and their families. A must read.

This book was very entertaining. The plot seems a little far fetched but the action is so good that you hardly notice. Let's face it, when it comes down to an explosive war between superpowers, it really doesn't matter what exact event started it. Once the bullets start flying, the book takes off. I read it in a few days and couldn't stop turning pages. Some of the action was so well done that I actually felt chills from the Siberian winter. I read his newest book "Invasion" before I read this and although they both featured war with China, this is much better. It's a much smaller undertaking and a much more manageable story line. There's virtually no suspense (except who will live and die) and I have to admit that I skimmed through almost all of the anarchist babble as well as the china bashing. But this book contains such exciting action scenes that I actually wish it where longer. Overall, a great bedtime story.

This was an excellent book that kept me itching to see the next page throughout. At times, however, it did seem to get bogged in trivia, but a great book nontheless.