Rogue Angel [Mass Market Paperback]

Jeff Rovin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2005

The test was a go: a revolutionary, pilot-less aircraft that can destroy unlimited targets and stay aloft for months at a time. Codenamed Guardian Angel, the aircraft displayed its deadly accuracy. Then disaster struck.

From deep within the Pacific shelf, the earth unleashes a giant tsunami, wiping out the test platform for Angel and causing catastrophic damage on America's Pacific Coast. In the midst of a mammoth rescue and recovery operation, the U.S. Navy has an even more horrifying problem. Its murderous Angel is still in the air, out of human control, and primed to keep killing anything it can see...

Major Tom Bryan and his Land Air Sea Emergency Rescue team train to do the impossible-anywhere on the planet. But nobody has trained for this. Bryan must fly a twin prototype through Angel's kill zone-and somehow get inside the rogue craft. But that's only the beginning. Because America's guardian has already started firing its high-tech weapons, and the world is on the verge of war...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Terrific, a riveting, relevant, can't-stop-reading-it drama! Plan on an all-nighter when you pick up Jeff Rovin's latest technothriller masterpiece." -Joe Buff, author of Tidal Rip and Crush Depth on Tempest Down

"Rovin emerges as a thriller writer in his own right...the subsequent yarn has all the fast pacing, state-of-the-art technology, and knowledge of international intrigue that this kind of thriller requires as well as characterization and ideological balance rather better than most of the competition. Looks like Rovin has a future in the genre."-Booklist on Tempest Down

"Tempest Down...follows the finest naval traditions...a satisfying blend of heroism and opportunism. A highly recommended, fast-paced read." -Douglas De Bono, author of Rogue State on Tempest Down

"An exhilarating high-tech adventure. From fighter jets to gliders, from cutting-edge submarines to foreign destroyers, the reader is in for a whiplash ride, propelled by Rovin's insider knowledge of international politics and the military. Watch out, Tom Clancy." -Gayle Lynds, author of The Coil on Tempest Down

"Stand by for a fast and furious technothriller roller coaster with nail-biting action."
-Capt. David E. Meadows, U.S. Navy, author of The Sixth Fleet and The Joint Task Force series on Tempest Down

"The stuff of high drama and nail-biting suspense...more important, however, is his cast-large, varied, and compelling, composed of believable, understandable characters to worry about, even those you don't always like...Rovin gets the people right and produces his best yet."
-Kirkus Reviews on Tempest Down

"A vivid page turner, loaded with suspense. I felt as if I was in the action, terrified, and waiting to be rescued."-Allan Topol, author of the national bestseller, Spy Dance and Dark Ambition on Tempest Down

"Jeff Rovin's Tempest Down weaves three techno-loaded story lines together into a mind numbing, deadly contest under the ice in Antarctica that build to a searing, gripping, slam-bang climax. Don't miss it!" -Chet Cunningham, author of Hell Wouldn't Stop, and The Specialists Series on Tempest Down

From the Back Cover

The most powerful secret weapon in the sky...
The test was a go: a revolutionary, pilot-less aircraft that can destroy unlimited targets and stay aloft for months at a time. Codenamed Guardian Angel, the aircraft displayed its deadly accuracy. Then disaster struck.

The most horrifying act of God...
From deep within the Pacific shelf, the earth unleashes a giant tsunami, wiping out the test platform for Angel and causing catastrophic damage on America's Pacific Coast. In the midst of a mammoth rescue and recovery operation, the U.S. Navy has an even more horrifying problem. Its murderous Angel is still in the air, out of human control, and primed to keep killing anything it can see...

The most daring mission any man could take...
Major Tom Bryan and his Land Air Sea Emergency Rescue team train to do the impossible-anywhere on the planet. But nobody has trained for this. Bryan must fly a twin prototype through Angel's kill zone-and somehow get inside the rogue craft. But that's only the beginning. Because America's guardian has already started firing its high-tech weapons, and the world is on the verge of war...

"Rovin weaves a story so intricate and intense, readers will find themselves clutching the edge of their seats...nail-biting suspense and rousing heroism."
-Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; 1st edition (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031293694X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312936945
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #663,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Gratuitous technobabble, July 22, 2005

By 

David Norton "Mr. Shrike" (Temecula, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rogue Angel (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the kind of book that gives techno-thrillers a bad name. The technical concepts piled high one atop another throughout the book are laughable to anyone with a basic understanding of physics and enginering (perpetual motion, fuelled by the nitrogen in the atmosphere). It is apparent that the book was written in a great crashing hurry with little effort at any serious research (the "woods and fields" surrounding Miramar?) and less editorial scrutiny (I spotted at least 6 typos and the irksome phrase "is comprised of").

The characters are plastic, their actions and attitudes usually at odds with the preposterous situations the author hocks up for them. Perhaps worst, I get the feeling that the book was hastily rewritten to include the tsunami scenario. Poor taste, there.

The only enjoyment I found in reading this came from the frequent guffaws at ever increasingly silly plot developments and the occasional but sparce strings of nicely put technical narrative. The best I can say of it is that it's not a yawner.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Coonts' brother-in-law, October 14, 2006

By 

Jas B (Bellevue, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rogue Angel (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought and read this on the stength of Coonts' remark on the cover. After reading the book I figure Rovin must be his brother-in-law or something. If you can suspend your belief in the laws of physics you may like this book. Previous negative reviewers have made a point of commenting on the silliness of the tech and the 'military' conversations. The outright ignorance of naming conventions for ships and shooting off an RPG or even TOWs at an aircraft the shooter is hoping is traveling above the speed of sound is too much to take. The facts would have been so easy to check. Rovin is too sloppy to support. I won't be buying in more of his 'work'.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars AWFUL techno-thriller wannabe!, August 22, 2005

By 

Heather Moss-frystak "Stone Monkey" (Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rogue Angel (Mass Market Paperback)

Attempting to pull myself through this supposed piece of fiction was like sitting in a classroom with a million chalkboards, and Edward Scissorhands raking over all of them at once, from beginning to end of the literary un-sensation.

The story was difficult to follow, plain and simple.

The characters were cardboard, plain and simple.

Yes, this is a work of fiction, but the author put no substance in his words. The author used plain-speak vanilla to describe almost all of the events, with the few exceptions of going on and on about the technology about a pilotless plain, though the technology wasn't all that impressive either which was described.

This book was as bad as the movie just released called 'STEALTH'. Don't waste your money, even on a used book.