Scorpion Strike [Audio CD]

John J. Nance (Author), Brian Emerson (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2007

"Exciting."
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
In the wake of Desert Storm, a defecting Iraqi scientist has revealed Saddam Hussein's horrifying plans for a devastating counterstrike against his enemies...and the world. With no time to spare, American forces must remobilize to locate and neutralize the underground laboratory where a lethal super-virus is ready to be unleashed. But an eleventh-hour disaster thrusts the entire mission into the hands of Air Force comrades-in-arms Colonel Will Westerman and Reserve Colonel-turned-commercial pilot Doug Harris. Flying into the heart of Iraqi power, they must depend on their skills--and each other--as never before, to complete a mission that looks more and more like a suicide run...

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nance's overly technical thriller describes an American strike force's efforts to trace a secret biological weapons facility in the aftermath of the Gulf War.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Unspeakably nasty Iraqi microbes threaten to overturn the victory of Desert Storm. The ill wind that blew pilot-author Nance (Final Approach, 1990, etc.) to the Persian Gulf sent him home with plenty of thoroughly realistic background detail and an entirely too plausible plot about biological warfare as it might have been waged by Saddam Hussein. Here, with the invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent war, Iraqi scientist Shakir Abbas finds he can no longer defend his dreadful research work for the Butcher of Baghdad. Sneaking away from his laboratory, he crosses the desert on foot and informs the allies that the fatal virus he has developed, isolated, and reproduced is about to be deployed against them by a desperate Saddam. Air Force Colonel Will Westerman gets the assignment to plan and execute an operation to seize the 20 vials of virus from Abbas's laboratory. By coincidence, Westerman's copilot for the venture is an old friend, a commercial pilot whose reserve unit was called up for the war. Mechanical failures plague the risky operation from the beginning, and when the task group finally reaches the lab and begins to destroy the viruses, Abbas learns that two of the vials left early for Baghdad. Driven to eradicate the horror he invented, Abbas slips away from the Americans and chases the virus to Saddam's doorstep. Crash-landing in the desert, the fleeing Americans become the target of the Republican Guard. All paths cross in Baghdad. Pleasantly terrifying military thriller. White-knuckle flight scenes more than make up for some silly business about the woman both pilots loved. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (September 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786159693
• ISBN-13: 978-0786159697
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,900,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John J. Nance, aviation analyst for ABC News and a familiar face on Good Morning America, is the author of several bestselling novels including Fire Flight, Skyhook, Turbulence, and Orbit. Two of his novels, Pandora's Clock and Medusa's Child, have been made into highly successful television miniseries. A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Nance is a decorated pilot veteran of Vietnam and Operations Desert Storm/Desert Shield. He lives in Washington State.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scorpion Strike- by John J. Nance, January 27, 2001

By 

Jeff Pudelski (Brooklyn, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scorpion Strike (Mass Market Paperback)

Scorpion Strike may start off a little slow, but a few chapters in, the action picks up its pace to the point where you cannot put it down. I turned the pages of this book very quickly, wanting to see what the next event would be. The flight scenes are very realistic and full of technical details that a reader educated in aviation would enjoy, but still understandable for readers that don't know aviation jargon. I recommend this book to anybody.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scorpion Strike, April 15, 2000

By 

Chris Shryock - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scorpion Strike (Mass Market Paperback)

Scorpion Strike is the first book I have read by John Nance, but it will certainly not be the last. As one of the foremost experts on avaition safety in the world (you always see him interviewed on Seattle TV after a major airline accident) Mr. Nance does a brilliant job of detailing all aspects of aviation. Not being an airplane enthusiast like the author , I did get a little lost with some of the terminology. But even then I never lost the sense of suspence and desperation the characters felt as they carry out there mission. Though probably a little too technical for the casual reader, this book has all the makings of a NY Times bestseller.

4.0 out of 5 stars Scorpion Strike paperback, April 27, 2009

By 

J. Darveaux - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Scorpion Strike (Mass Market Paperback)

Excellent thriller by Nance. Written about a subject he knows a great deal about from personal experience. Recommended for fans of military action adventures with good character development.