Customer Reviews

Strike Force

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dale Brown, putting it mildly, is inconsistent. Sometimes his novels are lackluster or worse. Other times, like his breakthrough "Flight of the Old Dog" are absolute page turners. "Strike Force" is one of Brown's best in recent years, a real page turner, loaded with action.

Many of the characters will be familiar to Brown's fans. Patrick McLanahan, the maverick general running Dreamland; President Martindle; Hal Briggs and some others. There are lots of new characters introduced to the Air Battle Force. One, in fact, may wonder at Brown's motivation in adding so many women to the combat roster. However, they all behave as if they were men, so it doesn't do anything one way or another to the story.

The story is complex in a way. An Iranian army general is demoted and shifted to an irregular religious militia where it is hoped he will be killed by a fanatic. As it turns out, the general initiates an insurgency against the theocracy. Iran is, by the way, nuclear capable in this novel which plays a big part in the story.

Brown really stretches things by having an unbelievably precocious 15 year old expatriate Iranian princess return to usurp both the insurgency and the theocracy.

But never fear: McLanahan is ready, disobeying orders, inciting Russia, invading a few countries with his Tin Man Air Battle Force, reactivating a militarized space station and, in general, doing what McLanahan does.

The characters are on the thin side, but in a Brown novel, that doesn't matter much: it's what they do that propels the story, not who they are. The plot, as usual, features lots of Washington inner sanctum warfare with ambitious, avaricious polticians and staffers - other than the President - doing what they perceive as best for themselves without regard for the nation's welfare. There are a couple of major editing blunders, but the action moves so fast, you probably won't catch them and if you do, they won't matter.

All in all, a terrific adventure read, especially for those who enjoy techno-thrillers. "Strike Force" is an absolute delight.

Jerry

I think I've read everything he has written and was excited to see this, but when I read it I was disappointed. It has a lot of the characters in it from previous books, but they almost made cameo appearances. The whole book seems to revolve around Patrick's conflict with government officials (which has been ongoing for several books now) and then as an afterthought lets add some action. As one of the other reviewers said, the way it ends leads you to believe that the whole book was written just to create a plot for a sequel.

The hero of these stories General Patrick McLanahan has the nation of

Iran to deal with. General Hesarak al-Kan Buzhazi is being hunted by the

terror soldiers of the Pasadran. He had been arrested by the Pasadran but

was freed by old associates from his military days. He makes an urgent plea for help from General McLanahan. They had previously done battle in another Dale Brown book. The President does not want to commit troops to a civil disturbance in Iran. The President does authorize the use of the Black Stallion, a sophisticated space plane that Dreamland is developing.

General McLanahan is busy doing battle with the President and members of

the cabinet so the battle activity in Iran falls upon Captain Hunter Noble

a pilot.In the meantime McLanahan and his forces have to rescue a living

Princess,Azar Assiyeh Quagev who is a Iranian Monarch. General Hesarak and his movement against against the theoratic regime in Iran is gaining

momentum. General McLanahan and his troops have to handle the looming crisis in Iran. Russian complicity is also shown in this book.

This is a very realistic book that you will enjoy reading.

At a time when the United States and Russia are reeling from the aftermath of war, Iran has become a nuclear power still under the control of a totalitarian theocratic regime. However, General Buzhazi, a once respected and capable Iranian military leader, has plans to change that. He leads a military coup in Iran, first by attacking the headquarters of the Pasdaran, Iran's elite military guard, and then by leading an assault against the theocratic leaders at one of the nation's most sacred cities. His intent is to build democracy in Iran while toppling the regime that has done much to slander his religion. As word of his efforts spread, he begins to get more followers. Meanwhile, the uprising encourages the only living descendent of the ancient Iranian monarchy to come out of hiding and begin coordinating her own followers in an attempt to regain control of a government, now on the brink of collapse. A nuclear Iran finds itself in turmoil, with a theocratic leadership that quickly becomes desperate. The free world recognizes that a desperate, brutal regime with nuclear capability is a dangerous thing. The question is: How will America respond?

President Martindale turns to General Patrick McLanahan, the resourceful and bold leader who coordinated America's recent efforts against Russia after what became known as the "American Holocaust." McLanahan leads the Air Battle Force, an elite military unit that utilizes the most cutting edge of battlefield technology. They have just developed a supersonic spaceplane, affectionately called the "Stud," which is capable of speeds that mirror the Space Shuttle and can traverse the globe in a matter of hours while deploying offensive meteors capable of destroying any target with pinpoint accuracy. Although the spaceplane is still considered developmental, the situation dictates that it be put to immediate use.

The world is pushed to the brink of a full nuclear conflict and with each passing moment it becomes more clear that the only thing that could prevent a global catastrophe is McLanahan's Air Battle Force.

Dale Brown's trademark is his ability to combine near-future technology with modern day global issues and from this create action-packed military fiction with a striking, yet sophisticated, informative style. Strike Force is no different, and considering Brown is very good at what he does, it shouldn't be. His military experience shines, and with his knowledge and in-depth descriptions it seems as though he has inside information on America's latest, greatest and deadliest warfare machines. The target audience may be limited, but those who enjoy the military thriller will find a great deal of satisfaction in Dale Brown and Strike Force. Couple this with Edge of Battle, and I have become an instant fan. Add him as the latest on my list of favorites.

I own every book in the series and this one just didn't make it for me. Time is spent developing characters like Barbeau, who along with presidents, generals et al promise each chapter to impound, ground, or otherwise hamstring the Dreamland fleet. ...but next chapter that is all forgotten and an endless supply of boron jet fuel appears out of the US inventory as needed to keep our heroes perpetually suborbital.

Megafortresses, B1s, Tin men, CIDs and the usual cast of hardware are put in the mix, but even if you know their history, their introduction is superficial. Don't know what a NIRT Sat is? Too bad. Neither the Glossary or Jon Masters are around to explain them. Technologies that were developed in past books are all thrown against the wall to see what will stick, but the effect just winds up diluted.

It's post American Holocaust and you can't find a conventional piece of military hardware to save your life, unless of course it's something simple to plan and schedule on short notice, like an orbital rocket launch.

How desperate can times be, when after all the expended effort, the major use of the space station is to set up a sequel? (like we care that the Russians are miffed) It was hard enough to stay involved as it was through all of the Iranian dialog hoping for some sort of resolution of threads started and forgotten. It asks a lot to expect me to buy the next book in hardcover.

Dale Brown is an author I really like. He really knows how to create a plot that moves and keeps your interest. Strike Force has to do with the U.S. trying to influence the endgame of a Iranian revolt. As has been his habit lately, Brown overplays the technological wizardry to my mind, but that is not my primary problem with Strike Force. Several key characters with a long history in the series become suddenly not just foolhardy but almost suicidal in their feeling of invincibility and pay with their lives. While these characters have been daring in previous books, they have not been foolhardy. Also, their deaths seem to cause a minimum of consternation among survivors. It seems in this one the technology has become so dominant that the people are sometimes afterthoughts. Still, with Brown the primary emphasis always is plot and that is supplied in abundance. I did like the book, but hope the value of humans rises in future efforts.

I love fast moving action novels and military stories both fiction and nonfiction. Dale Brown mixes high tech military to an almost believable end. Never ending drama. I have read several of his books with the same satisfying results

I had read a couople of other Dale Brown books and they were good reads to pass the time. I just couldn't get into this one at all. In fact I began to think about not finishing it which is a sure sign that it is not a very good book. I eventually did but there was a lot of quick scanning involved. The whole concept, the characters and the plot were pretty thin and eventually boring. The book seemed to be a cross between Buck Rogers and the Cisco Kid (which shows how old I am) an analogy which most people probably wouldn't get. I think I will go back to Daniel Silva and Alex Berenson for my thrillers.

Long time reader. Picked it after seeing the 4 stars. Looks like the stars were gamed by the publisher.

A great disappointment. Lots of "Huh?" Characters that would hope to be two-dimensional. Damn near stream of consciousness, like this review. But with less focus. Too many turns without any acceleration. One good battle scene, two crappy ones.

Try something else. This one is not nearly worth the stars you see.

A Dale Brown Expected Novel. Although your reading pleasure would be more enhanced if his "Dreamland" and other novel series novels were read in the order they were written it is certainly not required as they truly stand on their own.

If one has the opportunity to sequence these novels it doubles the enjoyment. The subtle references to past figthts, injuries and relationships makes it compelling to the series reader to follow the order of publication.