Customer Reviews

Red Sky at Morning

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

 

 

Tugboat Captain Ken Hughes works the waters of New York City. He combines the intellect of an academia with the pragmatic sleaze of a wharf rat. Kate Ross is a book editor in a major publishing house who concedes she will never meet her life's soul mate until a blind date introduces her to Ken. However, an invasion by an advance Chinese vanguard interrupts the romance.

Admiral Tan leads a force of over one hundred submarines poised to attack the Big Apple. The zealot plans to hold America's largest city hostage until Taiwan is returned to its rightful place as part of the glorious People's Republic of China. If the United States fails to heed Admiral Tong's warning, he will destroy the city. A small group of freedom fighters including Kate and Ken begin the counterattack.

Paul Garrison pumps up the volume with his latest cardiac thriller, RED SKY AT MORNING. This thriller will leave the audience requiring a cool down time to normalize their pulse. The villain is a believable patriot (depending on which side of the fence you sit) who surprisingly will garner much reader empathy. The lead couple makes for a heroic duo. However, there is no question that the thrills a page plot is what makes this a winner for genre fans.

Harriet Klausner

Mr. Garrison has obviously spent a long time in New York City. He has an accurate read on Rudy Giuliani (thinly disguised here) and his group of sychophants. The Rudy "bunker" mentality is well portrayed here, as is the "New York City vs. Everyone Else school of thought. Even the Rudy Bunker, perversely built in the World Trade Center, is accurately shown for the folly that it is. The police department is realistically shown, except for one small dig at Long Islanders who are city cops, but one can't have everything. The action, once you get past the stretch of imagination required for the 100 Chinese submarines, is non-stop. The New York character is well written here, these are the people of NYC, average, above average, and some decidedly below average. But they're all here, and they all play a part.

If you're looking for deep socio-political thought, go elsewhere. If you want an enjoyable read, something to sit around the pool with, this is the book for you.

I recommend this as a good buy. It's worth the read, just don't go looking for deep thought here.

It may just be me (and going on previous reviews it looks like it is!) but this was quite a ridiculous book, with an extremely implausible premise of 100 Chinese submarines filled with commandoes travelling thousands of miles across the globe, *absolutely and completely in secret*, and attacking New York. Ignoring the fact that it would have been virtually impossible to keep the departure of 10000 troops and 100 submarines from China secret from satellite and HUMINT sources from a multitude of Western countries.
All that aside, the action was okay, if sporadic. A little too "talky" for me, and a bit too melodramatic.
In the end it left me "unfufilled", and the sense I had just wasted a couple of days of my life that I will never get back.

In this, Paul Garrison's second novel, his imagination and ingenuity again keep readers on the edge of their seats. I read this novel all in one night, wishing I could read faster to know what happens next. Although some of the technology and details may not be perfect, any reader of thrillers will not be disappointed. My only complaint is that the book doesn't have much of a denouement; the action ends and then the book ends about three pages later. After such a race to the finish, it's as if the writer ran out of steam at the last moment. However, the book is still very much worth the time and the sleepless night glued to the text. I also highly recommend Garrison's first novel : Fire and Ice, which I read the next night and found equally as entertaining.

This is first and foremost an escapist political thriller. That being said, Mr. Garrison has fashioned a high speed, emotionally tense and well thought out (and plausible) story in which a renegade Red Chinese Admiral uses a force of 100 diesel electric submarines to invade the Big Apple.

When I first read the premise, I said, "COME ON!!! NO WAY." Then I stopped and suspended disbelief and my knowledge of the current strength of the Red Chinese Navy. Right now, the Chinese Navy does not have 100 submarines; they don't even have a total of 100 ships that could cause real consternation to the U.S. Navy in a sea battle. They do have some capability in submarines, both nuclear and conventional, but none like those depicted in this book. That being said, and if the reader can get past that real world info, then this book becomes an entertaining and high speed roller coaster ride.

There are some interesting and not so well hidden personality similarities in this book that amused me. The Mayor of NYC is named Rudy Mincarelli and possesses all of the key traits of the current mayor, Rudy Giuliani. He is one of the heroes of this book as he tries to keep the Federal government from trying to retake NYC (specifically Manhattan) by force.

The key players in this book are some patriotic New Yorkers who do all they can to foil the plot of the renegade Chinese Admiral. Admiral Tang Li is no madman. He is well educated (Columbia University, the US Naval War College and others) and comes from a distinguished Chinese family. His grandfather was with Mao on The Long March, his father is a wealthy and successful businessman in the NEW CHINA and Tang Li has excelled as a sailor and leader of men.

However, Tang Li realizes that the majority of Chinese are still impoverished and he fears civil war. He fears the break up of the China he knows and loves and he wants Taiwan back within the fold. By taking NYC and holding it hostage, he hopes to divert internal dissent, reunite the people and restore The Middle Kingdom. He also hopes to make himself over as the new Emperor for China. He wants that role and he expects the world to pay him tribute. NYC is a very vital stepping stone in his process.

Garrison has done a fine job of injecting humor, pathos and NY smartass comments into his story. This novel is like a runaway train and the reader will want to know just how quickly NY reasserts itself and send this maniac packing. For the average thriller reader, this is an easy read and one they will enjoy. For those with some naval expertise, the suspension of disbelief will be more difficult. However, if they can get past some of the more glaring technical mistakes, then this book is one that almost any thriller fan will enjoy.

If you live in and around the NY metro area, this book is especially enjoyable because the author uses so many recognizable names, landmarks and locations. Give it a try.

When I opened my package and found I was sent the wrong version of Red Sky at Morning I was upset. Then I decided to see what other reviewers said about it. After seeing s number of positive reviews, I begrudgingly decided I'd give it a shot.

As it turns out Garrison is now one of my favorite authors. For me, Garrison has an energetic style of writing that makes the plotline of Red Sky fly along. I found the characters engrossing and easy to relate to. Garrison keeps you flipping the pages with an interesting mix of suspense and thriller action.

I would compare Garrison to M. Cricton or an abridged Clancy. While Red Sky will never win any great awards, I did find it more interesting that Branford's Red Sky, which is what I originally intended to buy.

While a fleet of Chinese submarines invading NYC may be a far-fetched plot, it worked for me. Garrison blended some cool action scenes with memorable characters. Thumbs up on how well he fleshed them out. Mayor Rudy Mincarelli is a strong willed guy who wants to handle the crisis on his own. However, I really questioned the man's steadfast refusal to keep the military out of New York. Who the heck else is equipped to deal with an army of commandoes backed up by missiles and deck guns? Reporter Jose Chin was annoying but cool. Cared nothing about his own well-being. Just wanted to get the big story. The mayor's press person, Renata, may be an unlikeable, workaholic witch, but she definitely added to the story. Tugboat Captain Ken Hughes was the blue collar, regular guy hero of the book looking for any opportunity to hurt the Chinese invaders. His girlfriend, publisher Kate Ross, was an independent, tough woman who runs through a harrowing gauntlet of Chinese marines, Hell's Angels and street gangs all through lower Manhattan. Even the main bad guy, Admiral Tang, was interesting. Sort of a Rommel-esque warrior. Totally loyal to his men, wants the best for his country and believes this outrageous act will make him Emperor of China.

Some very cool combat scenes, especially involving the crippled carrier Kennedy, whose crew continues to battle the Chinese despite the damage to their ship. Lots of boat collisions and some wicked battles in the streets of New York.

I do have to take some issue with one reviewer who said the book was an insult to the firefighters and police who died on 9/11. Actually, the police in this book kept on fighting the Chinese despite horrendous loses and a disadvantage in firepower. They come off as heroes in my book. Also, this book was written prior to 9/11.

Paul Garrison's latest novel reminds me greatly about the movies 'Die Hard 2' and 'Godzilla'. The story takes place in New York City and the protagonists take on impossible odds. The action is nonstop. Like the movies mentioned above, the believability of the plot is not something you should dwell on, though it makes for a great read. There was one character in the book that kept annoying me..."Jose wants to know". You'll figure it out when you read it. Recommend this as a Quick Summer read...

I wanted to give this book 2-1/2 stars, but there was no way to do it. So I just rounded up. Look, this book is incredibly implausible. For an author to produce the scenario that Paul Garrison did in Red Sky at Morning is a major undertaking in convincing.

The plot in a nutshell is this. Chinese Navy Admiral Tang Li has planned to attack New York City, specifically Manhatten, with 100 submarines during Fleet Week.

"Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard tradition in which active military ships recently deployed in overseas operations dock in a variety of major cities for one week. Once the ships dock, the crews can enter the city and visit its tourist attractions. At certain hours, the public can take a guided tour of the ships. Often, Fleet Week is accompanied by military demonstrations and airshows such as provided by the Blue Angels. [Wikipedia]."

In order to draw the ships out of New York Harbor, Tang Li has one of his submarines torpedo a cruise ship miles away from NY which draws the vessels away from the city in an attempt to make a rescue. Li's submarines lie in wait until the harbor is mostly empty and then make their move.

The reasons for the attack remain mostly veiled until the end of the book at the final confrontation. Many have pretty much outlined the story here, so I won't go any further into that aspect of this review.

Here is one of the problems as I see it. Garrison spends little time explaining how all this is possible. Unlike Tom Clancy, who meticulously and logically - some might say too ponderously - builds his scenario, Garrison just kind flies over the technical requirements for pulling off such a feat.

I know that submarine technology is always seeking stealthier ways for undetected movement. But the converse is also true - the technology to detect super-quiet subs is also in a state of constant advancement. SOSUS and SURTASS elements would make such a feat quite difficult to pull off, especially in the case of a fleet of submarines.

Additionally, the deployment of such a large fleet would not go unnoticed by satellite monitoring and would result in a heightened alert level among US military forces until they could figure out the nature of the deployment.

Ostensibly, the increasing tensions with Taiwan were used as a screen for the deployment, however, though it seems possible, it's not enough to warrant the success of the infiltration.

With regards to Manhatten and the loosing of thousands of Chinese commandos on the streets of the lower end and west side, which is where the action mostly took place, it is an interesting "what if" situation. One would like to think that an island teeming with millions of people would put up more of a fight, but then again, the anti-gun laws of New York would have a quelling effect on the possibility of resistance taking place.

So the situation falls into the hands of Ken, a tugboat captain, Kate, Ken's love/sex interest, Jose, a young news reporter, Harriet and Hector, two NY police officers, Mayor Rudy Mincarelli, a thinly veiled version of Rudy Guiliani, Renata, his assistant and unrequited sexual tension foil, and a few minor characters that mostly get killed off.

Somehow or other, the machinations of the folks I just mentioned are able to turn the tables on this formidable force of soldiers that have decimated police ranks and destroyed One Police Plaza. And, in the end, they end up defeating the Chinese scourge led by Admiral Tang Li who essentially commits suicide in order to preserve his legacy and men.

As a side note, a couple fund traders figure out that the Chinese are going to attack early on and use the event to short sell the markets in order to pad their accounts. Perhaps, that is one of the most realistic situations in the entire book.

The majority of the book is fairly action-oriented, which prevents it from becoming a total snoozer. However, Garrison would have made a much stronger case if he had spent more time developing the intricacies behind such an exercise.

Just like the month of March, this book started out like a lion and ended up like a lamb. Written before 9/11, there were places which made me cringe in light of that tragedy. But forget that the story line after the first two chapters was so far beyond fiction with a hundred submarines gaining entry into New York Harbor undetected and landing all these Chinese troops. Many of the characters proved to be very annoying and contributed nothing to the story. I wondered why some of them even existed in the book. The action was - for the most part - completely implausible. There were a few places that held the reader's interest, but only a few. Ideas were introduced and disappeared instead of being developed in the plot. I kept turning pages to see if it got better. It didn't. And after 400+ pages leading to a climax, the ending came very abruptly and ridiculously in less than 10 pages. Don't bother reading this one.