Shadow Command: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Dale Brown (Author)
Key Phrases: battle management area, passenger module, spacecraft commander, Black Stallion, Air Force, Armstrong Space Station (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The U.S. is still recovering from the American Holocaust, a Russian air strike that killed and wounded thousands in 2004, at the start of this clunky techno-thriller from bestseller Brown (Strike Force). In 2009, Lieutenant General McLanahan, commander of the High Technology Aerospace Weapons Center, fears the Russians are covertly arming Iran, now known as the Democratic Republic of Persia. An immoral and weak U.S. president, Joseph Gardner, doesn't help the situation. Full of technical prose (Skybolt was powered by a MHDG, or magnetohydrodynamic generator, which used two small nuclear reactors to rapidly shoot a slug of molten metal back and forth through a magnetic field to produce the enormous amount of power required by the laser) and broadly drawn characters, from Gardner, who can't keep his pants on even during a global crisis, to Senate majority leader Stacy Anne Barbeau, who wields her cleavage in the interests of her constituents as well as national security, this novel will appeal to readers who care more about advanced weaponry than a plausible plot. (May)
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From Booklist
The new Patrick McLanahan miltary thriller pits the U.S. Air Force lieutenant-general against his archenemy, Russian air force chief of staff General Andrei Darzov. At stake is military supremacy in earth’s orbit and, by extension, supremacy over earth itself. Brown’s fans have come to expect certain things from his novels, and he delivers them here with gusto: larger-than-life characters; a high-tech story; narrative passages full of (a cynic might say clogged with) military terminology; precise technical descriptions of hardware, such as aircraft and weaponry; and a pace that allows readers very little time to consider just how implausible the story actually is. Readers who are shopping around for elegant prose and graceful plotting might want to keep on looking, but fans of high-testosterone military techno-thrillers (like those of Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, or Patrick Robinson) will be well pleased. --David Pitt

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Printing First Edition edition (May 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061173118
• ISBN-13: 978-0061173110
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #274,604 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dale Brown, forever inconsistent, strikes out on this sequel, May 29, 2008

By	Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Dale Brown is remarkably inconsistent: I prefaced my review of "Strike Force", the predecessor to "Shadow Command", with similar words and went on to give it a glowing review.

This time out, "Shadow Command" picks up where the earlier novel left off - and immediately falls flat on its face. Characters that we've grown familiar with, like General Patrick McLanahan, are now totally in orbit. Literally. The gadgetry and science and flying, always a part of Brown's novels are still there, but this time the descriptions are stretched beyond even science fiction.

The other characters are simply not believable. There's Captain Hunter "Boomer" Noble who is virtually a cartoon. Ace pilot, engineer, womanizer and never, ever makes a mistake. Navy Lt. Commander Lisette "Frenchy" Moulain is worse than a parody. She's the nominal commander of the fictional Spacebird. Brown has long had dueling instincts. He tries to integrate women into military and scientific roles in his novels - while, at the same time, making them sex objects. This time, the combination is disastrous in an utterly gratuitous, ridiculous sex scene early in the book. It is, unfortunately, only one of several throughout the book.

The other characters are no better. A scheming American-educated Russian President, Leonid Zevitin, belongs in a Marx Brothers movie along with the feckless American President, Joseph Gardner. Just about every character in this novel seems well suited to wearing a red clown nose and wig.

The plot grows both confusing and wearisome within the first hundred pages. There are others who may read "Shadow Command" and enjoy it: I don't want to ruin it for them, so I won't get into a lot of detail.

The Iranian revolution that began in "Strike Force" continues, with Russia and America influencing and being influence by events. Russian President Zevitin cunningly exploits American President Gardner - and guess who saves the day - but only after being (once again) unfairly treated.

"Strike Force" was good adventure. "Shadow Command", in my opinion, is not.

Jerry

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shadow Command Review:, June 27, 2008

By	Evo Dude (California City, Ca.) - See all my reviews

I'm glad I didn't read the other reviews before I read this. I have to agree there is some cheesy sex parts in it that could have been left out. I'm not a prude or anything it just doesn't go so well with the flow of the book.

Other than that I did like it pretty well though. I like to use these kind of books as a bit of an escape from reality. On that front it does deliver big time. One person said that he hopes the officers in the military aren't like McLanahan. Personal opinion if we had stuff like is in the book and an officer like him in real life the conflict in Iran would have been solved a long time ago.

It is a bit over the top but still a good read if you are a fan of his writing. Maybe wait for it in paperback, but I don't regret the hard bound copy either.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Where's the action?, May 30, 2008

By	odyssey "odyssey" (waukesha wi) - See all my reviews

Silly characters aside, you can always count on Dale Brown to put you in the cockpit. Until now. Gone are intense and lengthy action sequences of flight. Instead we receive mundane politics set in a predictable mideast upheaval. I can't wait for his next novel. He must be rested and ready to get us all back into flightworthy action. There wasn't any here.