Customer Reviews

WWIII: South China Sea

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

you have a series called WWIII and you try to make an extra buck with a book that has nothing to do with the war that ended a book earlier stick to your original outline slater don't try to get me to waste money on another book like this

The author attempts to write a "Tom Clancy" novel but without the research. Military thrillers usually need a certain level of technical competance to be sucessful and this book is strongly lacking. From the moment that the books mentions a US Tank platoon having 3 tanks and using "shoe" rounds (should be 4 tanks and the rounds are called SABOT). I lost all faith and took to skipping whole pages in the book. After all, if an author is going to write a book, it should not be too hard to open one and read it. The author obviously never did this. The plot was predictable and lacked imagination. Over all, a waste of my time. I should have just read "Team Yankee" again.

This last installment of the WWIII series by Ian Slater took a very different approach than the others, much to my chagrin. Gone was the saga of the Brentwood family, replaced by Gen. Freeman roaming around Vietnam and often losing the confidence of his superiors. Oil rigs drilling for petroleum in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands which are claimed by both China and Vietnam are blown up and the survivors are taken hostage by the PLA and forced to work. Chinese shock troops cross the border and begin a war with Vietnam over the oil leases. Washington makes a decision to support our former enemy Vietnam to keep China from trying to claim all of the resources of the South Pacific for itself. Most of the war is rather one-sided with the U.S., Vietnam, and the U.N. force being routed in the jungle. The conclusion is rather less than conclusive and you are left with the feeling of "that's it?" The subplots of the book are resolved on the last page and in very little detail. It's really a shame that such a fine series had to end this way.

I've picked up MANY things so far in having read every previous book to this series that I did not like. Little details, and the fact that every book has the same outline...BUT the charater developement to this point, and a lot of GOOD writing, more than made up for it...and really made me love the series........until this book. Did Mr. Slater forget that there were SEVEN onther books in the series leading to this final climax? What happened? It is as if he forgot all that has happened in WWIII up to now, all of the characters, and every detail except for the fact that Gen.Freeman exists. He is the only link, and not a good one as he isn't exactly the same guy. Even the history from before WWIII that was referenced in all of the other seven books is changed, such as the "previous administration" for the office of President of the United States (referring to Clinton) replaces President Mayne. The capper is the reptetive, annoying comments and phrases that are worked into the dialouge. It gets on your nerves. My suggestion: unless you've read all of the other 7 books and need to do the full 8 to feel good, don't read this. Skip to the USA vs. Malitia series...it looks promising so far.

The book is well written, the premise is insightful. Any Clancy fans out there will love this book.

Call me crazy but this entire WWIII series by slater is a guilty pleasure of mine. I like clancy and bond as much as anyone else but this series is great if you like a lot more action.

Written in 1990, Slater's epic novel tells the story of a full-scale conventional war between the forces of the Soviet Union and the USA and its allies. The war begins in Korea and spreads to Europe.

The story, set in a vague but near future (a few references to aging celebrities who were young at the time of publication are used to establish the setting), follows a variety of characters. Among the cast are a woman who enlists as a nurse aboard a hospital ship, a South Korean officer captured in the initial attack, a pair of brothers who are captains of US naval vessels, and a US general with a reputation for risky tactics. The US president is depicted as a pacifist who reluctantly embraces his role as wartime leader, and who seems to have been modeled after President Carter. The author makes his positions on military budget cuts clear as he depicts US forces initially woefully unprepared to face the Communist onslaught.

In terms of tactics and descriptions of the action on the battlefield, Slater does a competent job. He includes a good mix of ground, air, naval, and submarine engagements in his fictional war. Although his background is in naval intelligence, he handles ground battle sequences well.

With twenty years and several wars since the publication of this novel, it's interesting to compare our present circumstances with the future that the author envisioned. He completely missed on the explosive growth of technology on the battlefield, displaying considerable skepticism for "smart" munitions and depicting a world lacking cell phones and other advances in communications technology that we take for granted.

Slater also relies on a variety of deceptive tactics by the Communist forces. Some of these make sense, others such as an amphibious assault launched from a disguised oil tanker stretch credibility a bit.

The characters are good, although the book takes a somewhat sexist tone in places. Slater event attempts to address that with the rather old-fashioned American general scoffing at the idea of female combat troops and then having to rely on a woman pilot to fly his personal chopper into the climactic raid. This would almost have saved the treatment of female characters in the story except for the fact that the woman pilot then gets no actual speaking parts for the entirety of the raid sequence.

Slater also displays a tendency to add and drop characters rather arbitrarily. Several major characters are not introduced until over halfway through the book, and others are dropped without much in the way of resolution.

The threat of nuclear war looms over the entire story, although it's only barely mentioned until the second climactic plot begins to resolve itself with a submarine that has lost communication with its command and might have to fire its nuclear missiles. The resolution of that plot point provides the book's best suspense.

In the end, this is an entertaining and suspenseful book with some great action sequences, but it lacks the logical flow and coherence of Clancy's Red Storm Rising or Bond's Red Phoenix, which both deal with similar scenarios.

This Book is a real page turner, its only down fall is the amount of characters and locations that you have to keep up with. The plot and character's are awesome!

I have read the following 3 books in this seires and I am equaly satisfied.

Good Job Ian!

WWIII is a gripping novel about the beginning of the next great war. The tactical and technical side of the book are absoluetly superb. The human story is pretty solid but can be a little dull at times. The plot is thick and cohesive but at times hard to follow, not due to any weakness on the part of the book but rather due the vast scope of characters, events, and locations. If you really love military equipment, tactics and strategy this is a must read.

Years ago, I saw this book at a local library sale. I bought it, and quickly lost it. Just recently I went searching for it again, and was surprised to see that it was a series, not a single book.

Considering that the plot begins in the late 80's it is conceivable that the war would start in Korea - If this was rewritten for modern times, it would probably start in Iraq.

Parts of the plot are just genius. The Korean missle frigates that destroyed the Blaine - genius.

There is much much more here but I can't think of it all!