Rising Wind [Mass Market Paperback]

Dick Couch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1998

In a daring surprise raid on December 7th, a group of fanatical Japanese terrorists capture a U.S. facility on a small Pacific island where millions of pounds of lethal chemical agents are being stockpiled--enough toxic material to annihilate one-quarter of the world's population. The West Coast of America is targeted for destruction--unless a crack SEAL team commander and a modern-day samurai join forces on a daring mission to avert the apocalypse.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Navy SEALs, we learn from this leathery new thriller by a former such operative, know an enemy when they see one-like some suspected "rump wranglers," aka "fags," aiding a SEAL team as it tries to defeat a group of radical terrorists who have taken 1000 Americans and a U.S. chemical weapons facility in the Pacific hostage. We also learn that the maybe-gays aren't Yanks but "Japanoozers," aka "Jappos," just like the terrorists who are threatening to release deadly toxins toward the West Coast of the U.S. While much of Couch's prose is equally retro, little of it is equally offensive, thankfully, and armchair commandos looking for brutal action, cinematically quick cuts and a large cast of die-or-die military pros will find them here. There's also a nuclear thrill, for as the SEALs do their thing the U.S. president is preparing for a possible nuclear response just in case the SEALs' mission impossible turns out to be just that. Couch tosses in lots of the latest high-tech methodology and ordnance too, as well as plenty of scenes of valor in tight spots, spinning them onto the page with the flair of one who has been there and done that (he's the former platoon commander of SEAL Team One). But the jingoistic posturing, some long speeches and a bevy of seriously atavistic characters make this, even for SEAL fans, a tolerable bet only until the next Richard Marcinko Rogue Warrior yarn rolls around.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

For those seeking that Delta Force experience vicariously, SEAL leader-cum-author Couch spins a special forces scenario around a real-world possibility--terrorists getting hold of weapons of mass destruction. The fanatics appear in this case not in New York with an atom bomb in their suitcase but on remote Johnston Atoll, site of America's nerve gas stockpile. If released, the deadly stuff could snuff out life on the West Coast. So terrorist Takashi Tadeo, whose political goal is the revival of Japanese militarism, conquers the atoll through a Trojan horse ruse. When the Americans realize what has happened, they mobilize their military hardware, whose specs Couch records with Clancy-like accuracy. As the stuff converges on the atoll, including a B-52 ready to drop a big one in case Tadeo releases the gas, a SEAL team prepares their assault with minisubmarines, ingressing in the teeth of a typhoon. Within the bounds of this all-action-no-message genre, Couch commands comfortably right through the climactic firefight. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 418 pages
• Publisher: Avon (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380729784
• ISBN-13: 978-0380729784
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

DICK COUCH is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who has served as a Navy SEAL and as a CIA case officer. He has written six novels and the nonfiction works Down Range, The Finishing School, and The Warrior Elite. He lives in central Idaho.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like Clancy....you'll love Couch, June 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rising Wind (Mass Market Paperback)

If you like Tom Clancy military technothrillers, you should love Dick Couch. His personal resume is impressive...Vietnam vet Navy SEAL platoon leader who led the only successful POW rescue, ex-CIA maritime officer,etc. Rising Wind is Couch's second best work. I personally liked Pressure Point the best. Not much for the wordiness of Clancy, Couch is more action and details. No fat. But more story and storytelling than Richard Marchinko and his " fiction ". For fans of the genre.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent suspense thriller, February 18, 2000

By 

Ironmike (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rising Wind (Mass Market Paperback)

This was a good read, one that often compels you to read just one more chapter before the light goes off. This one has a lot going on during the tale. Japanese militant terrorists, Navy SEALs, hostages, plenty of military hardware, generals, admirals, a few pretty brutal parts, a daring rescue mission - the workds. I liked the bonding between the Japanese Defense Force commando unit and the SEALs, a good touch. I enjoyed the fact that the SEALs did have limitations and were not bullet-proof as so many other novels seem to indicate. Overall, a well-paced adventure and a convincing cast of characters. This would make a terrific motion picture. Check it out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book -- Real as it gets, November 30, 2002

By 

Ben Janacek (White Hall, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rising Wind (Hardcover)

Having lived on Johston Atoll for 5 years and having worked in the chemical demilitarization plant the book took on really special meaning to me. I had my hardback copy autographed by the various island commanders and the project manager for Chem demil. The plot was great and plausable. I could visualize the events taking place around me as I read the book on the island. While some poetic license was necessary it is mostly accurate.
I highly recommend the book.
Ben Janacek