Customer Reviews

SOAR: A Black Ops Novel

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Having quickly tired of the Rogue Warrior series that John Weisman co-authored with Dick Marcinko, I was not too sure about reading his solo effort. I am certainly glad that I did. This is a real tale of adventure and action, and except for the obligatory (it seems) device of having a woman interjected into the mission, it reflects the sense of duty of special operations warriors. The spec op troops this time are Delta operators who are beginning to get the publicity that the SEAL community started drawing about 10 years ago when Marcinko told his story on "60 Minutes." Since Eric Haney's book on Delta and the popularity of "Blackhawk Down," Delta's being pulled out of the shadows. So far, the speculation about them and what they do has not been too outrageous, but I'm sure that's just around the corner.

Weisman's book is long on accuracy in many areas, not the least of which are tactics and weaponry. And I can personally vouch for the fact that in any critical operation, if anything is going to give you major heartburn, it will be comm problems. And comms are a problem for the Delta operators in this book... just like real life. There will be some complaints about characterizations (shallow but who needs a character's family history in a war story), stereotypes (they're stereotypes because they're true), and miltary derring do (face it: military people ARE brave and dedicated, especially those who make a career in special operations and doing the hard things their government requires).

No, this is a good book. Hopefully there will be others of like quality. However, why Weisman chose to name the book SOAR (an acronym for the Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the "Nightstalkers") escapes me. And a note to the publisher: find a better jacket for the next one.

Hoo-yah! John. And keep them coming!

Most known for his co-authoring of the Rogue Warrior books with Richard Marcinko, Weiseman has written a new piece of fiction without everyone's favorite SEAL. What we have is a Delta Force sends bad guys to the bone yard with big guns type thing. It's fun, for lack of a better word.

There's plenty of detail here for just about anyone who loves information about weapons, gear, surveillance, etc. Lots of acronyms, shooting, explosions, military slang, etc.

Actually the only annoying thing is how superficially some of the politics are treated in the story. The author takes every opportunity possible to snipe at Clinton, despite the fact that the problems that drive the antagonists of this book(and in real life) have dated back to before WW2. For people interested in the history of terrorism I very much recommend ex-CIA case officer Robert Baer's two books "Sleeping with the Devil" and "Hear No Evil".

But flag waving and stupid politics aside, this is fun read. I read it in around 3-4 hours. It reads very quickly. There's no thought provoking deeper issues here. No deeper understanding of who the bad guys are, where they came from and what were their motivations,just good old fashion prowling and growling (I guess that's supposed to be the Army's version of "shoot n loot" from the Marcinko books).

If you like the Rogue Warrior books, you'll probably dig this too. Enjoy ^_^

As a lifetime career CIA special operations officer, I feel N.Y. Times best selling author John Weisman has reached a new plateau with his latest book SOAR. This action-packed thriller brings the reader deep inside the black world of special operations where America's finest warriors take on extremely important and dangerous missions in the World's most remote and dangerous locations.

Although SOAR is fiction, the characters are taken from known veterans of America's tighly knit special operations community. Weisman brings realism to the story through excellent research on such topics as high altitude, high-opening (HAHO) parachuting, demolitions, sniper techniques, ambushes, weaponry, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), fixed wing and helicopter operations, modern technical devices and basic unit tactics. In this regard, SOAR is a must read for even the most experienced current operator. The author further adds realism by shifting back to past historical events, relating the story to black-ops heroes known to us all.

I highly recommend this edge-of-the-seat action thriller. You will find it difficult to put the book down.

Rudy Enders, CIA Retired. Former Chief, Special Operations Group.

I have to say I too grew tired of the Rogue Warrior and was not too sure of Mr. Weisman's solo effort.
I am very pleasantly surprised with SOAR.
I found myself caught up in the chase and was able to loose myself in the wilds of China for the day and a half it took me to devour this thriller.
I liked the Delta Force team as well as the spooks, I thought the female was a bit much, but in the end her character proved to be of little concern to me in the overall scheme of the story.
Keep it up John Weisman!

John Weisman provides the reader with a fast-paced and accurate descripton of tecnical systems and procedures, while advancing a taut plot line and interesting characters. He has done his homework and is comfortable dealing with spec ops. A superb read.

I've been a John Weisman fan since the early ROGUE WARRIOR books. (Marcinko may have been the featured attraction, but it was Weisman's writing that made the books so enjoyable.) It's great to see him out from under Marcinko's shadow. And with SOAR, Mr. Weisman has finally proven that he doesn't need anyone to tell a superb and exciting story. I read SOAR in one day--and with it, Weisman has joined the ranks of Clancy, Coonts, Dale Brown, and the best of the techno-thriller writers. All the Weisman trademarks, the ones we loved in the Rogue Warrior novels are here--the author's skill with action scenes, descriptions of the latest cutting edge technology, and the edge-of-the-seat suspense we expect from the genre. Highly recommended, and the best read of the summer.

While some things require a leap of faith, and not a little imagination, this story is very much the work of a master story teller. It isn't anything like the books he does with Dick Marcinko, but that takes away nothing; the two have very different styles, and this is a different story. BRAVO!

The story is simple and straightforward: A clandestine CIA team operating at the Chinese-Uzbek border are taken captive by Islamic guerillas, who have also hijacked a tactical, nuclear weapon. The Combat Applications Group, CAG, aka Delta Force, is sent in to quietly rescue the CIA team and retrieve the nuke without getting caught by Chinese special forces. What makes the novel stand out is the level of detail taken to portray the planning and execution of the mission at every step of the way. The title is an odd choice since the Special Operations Aviation Regiment do not play as large a role as the title suggests. A more appropriate title would have been CAG or Delta, but it's a superior thriller nonetheless, and probably one of the most realistic portrayals of the Delta Force in fiction. Hopefully the author will turn out more books like this, but his next ones (Jack in the Box; Direct Action) focus more so around the CIA.

This fast paced, believable account of black operations is far superior to anything written by Clancy. Great, page-turning, up all night account!

This book is not, nor is it meant to be, high literature.
What it is, is a "Guy" book. Shooting. Violence that does not bloodstain or ruin the reader's clothes and speed.
Duplicity by the Polititurds, whose very existance make any decent soul want to retch with ANY contact they force on the
numb electorate.
Weisman has done better, but most of all a book should entertain, and that is exactly what this one does.
Weaknesses are to be overlooked or forgiven. This is purely male fiction, not a guide for the wimp class to conclude foreign
policy by.
Read it and enjoy.
Better yet, sip some Talisker and chew on a Don Tomas Classico while reading and find an enjoyment multiplier.