The result of years of research, SINDAS is a computer system programmed to respond to nuclear threats. But something has gone wrong-very wrong. A virus has attacked the system. And all across the globe, the machines of war have left American troops with one last resort: man-to-man combat.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SPECIAL OPS -- A TECHNOTHRILLER WITH GLOBAL REACH,
By "ralthorpe" (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Special Ops (Brotherhood of War) (Paperback)
David Alexander's new technothriller, Special Ops, is a page-turner that is based upon real-world military, political and technological scenarios. The book uses a multilayered plotline to weave a complex and exciting story that intercuts between the various scenarios and ties them all together.There are three main scenarios that Alexander exploits to drive the momentum of the novel. The first scenario concerns the automation of the single integrated operations plans or SIOPs of the United States, the C.I.S., and NATO allies. The U.S. SIOP is a complex plan for the waging of nuclear war and includes the five DEFCON or defense condition levels, each of them mandating a different readiness posture. In Special Ops, the human element has been taken out of the decision matrix, and the SIOP is computer controlled. The next scenario concerns the existence of a covert special missions unit tasked by high echelons of the U.S. military to deal specifically with the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This elite unit acts as a scalpel force, surgically striking at nuclear/biological/chemical (NBC) weapons development facilities around the world. Alexander's next and third major scenario is based on North Korea's ongoing nuclear weapons development program and on that country's determination to launch nuclear strikes on South Korea and the U.S. West Coast using theater and medium-range ballistic nuclear missiles. Beyond this, a Kremlin coup results in the establishment of a neo-Communist Russia with new expansionist and militarist aims. The reborn Soviet state soon launches an incursion into the Balkans and embroils U.S. and NATO forces in a regional European land war that could quickly escalate into global and nuclear East-West confrontation. These three main scenarios form the foundation of the technothriller. Using multiple sub-plots and a variety of characters, Alexander skillfully weaves a tapestry of action, adventure and suspense that builds with every chapter. Throughout the book, there is scene after scene after scene of what I consider to be some of the best procedural writing on warfare ever done. The battle scenes take place on land, in the air and on the sea. They include tank battles, fighter missions, stealth bomber missions, special forces operations, tube battery fire, and very well-crafted and believable accounts of the battlefield deployment of special (read nuclear) weaponry. Alexander, who is the author of the nonfiction Tomorrow's Soldier, is a specialist in the strategic and tactical aspects of land and aerial warfare, and he has once again proven himself capable of believably describing how the hardware would work within the battlespace of a multi-theater regional war. In this regard Special Ops is full of the same wealth of detail as two of his previous successful technothrillers, Bandit and Shadow Down. But where these two earlier books mainly focused on the SR-71 Blackbird and the F117A Nighthawk, Special Ops deftly juggles a wide assortment of weapon systems in a number of very different combat situations. As good as these descriptions are, Special Ops is far more than just a hardware novel. Alexander's characters are presented as real human beings, and their personal lives play important roles in the novel's unfolding plot. The geopolitical framework is also deftly handled, in an exciting and believable way, and there is at least as much care and attention to detail devoted to scenes at the White House, the Kremlin or the Pentagon as there is to the action on the battlefield. I think it's fair to say that, all in all, Special Ops is David Alexander's best and most ambitious technothriller so far. For readers who liked his past books, and for new readers who haven't discovered Alexander yet, or for those who just want a fast-paced, no-holds-barred, high-tech action thriller, Special Ops is guaranteed to be a book that delivers maximum bang for the buck. --Robert Althorpe, strategic deployment and deconfliction specialist.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Shows some promise, perhaps under-edited.,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Special Ops (Brotherhood of War) (Paperback)
I enjoyed the book, the plot was exciting and the action kept the pages turning, and the tension level was high throughout. An enjoyable vacation read.However, my enjoyment was marred at some points by some technical details, some mentioned by a previous reviewer. One glaring error I saw was in the HALO jump. Alexander refers to this jump as a HALO easily 10 or more times. HALO stands for "High Altitude Low Open". However, a jump that starts at 30,000 feet and opens chutes at 27,000 feet would NOT seem to fit that jump profile very well. Perhaps a better explanation would have been in order if this was a special type of "HALO" jump that doesn't have a "Low Open" component to it. The book seems to suffer from the "everything but the kitchen sink" syndrome. I got the distinct impression the author was trying to give us the benefit of every clever plot idea he ever had in this book. It becomes needlessly bogged down in details and subplots, many of which get unceremonisouly dropped at the end. No doubt some of these will be picked up in future books, but it is all pretty overwhelming for one book. Yet for all these details, the author didn't really get very deep into the ramifications for some of the actions that happenend in the book. I would have appreciated more information on the "fallout" of those events. The hero also seems to suffer from the kitchen sink syndrome. Not only is he a top best covert op team leader and shooter, but he also the world's pre-eminent computer defense system designer and hacker. To me the character seemed a bit "James Bond"-ish in this respect. I think a good editor would have helped provide the author more focus. But as I said, it was an enjoyable vacation read.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A different kind of treat for me,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Special Ops (Brotherhood of War) (Paperback)
I almost always have my nose in some cyber-fi alternate universe adventure but I came across this very different book whilst bruising Amazon's suggestions. I must say "thank you"!I suppose that this genre is military action and I was fascinated by the wealth of real or imagined information about the methods and armaments of modern warfare that were incorporated into this exciting triple thriller. The plots were well played out by very interesting characters, particularly the almost unbreakable Ice Trencrom. I learned enough about his past and his motivation to want to meet him again in another undercover bout. The story of a computer gone bad pretty much places this book in the realm of cyberpunk, but I think that persons not highly detail oriented with a strong curiosity about what specifically might get dumped on them if civilization crosses the dark line will suffer from data overload. I liked it a lot! It's realistic and pretty scary, fast moving and a very good read. I hopefully await the forthcoming battle royal between Trencrom and the Hawkman - dont' disappoint us!
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