Chains of Command (Paperback)

~ (Author) "U.S. AIR FORCE MAJOR DAREN J. MACE STRIPPED OFF HIS OXYgen mask and cursed in a voice loud enough to be heard over the scream..." (more)
Key Phrases: air battle wing, maintenance group commander, preload status, First Lady, Black Sea, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the year 1995, hardliners have taken control of Russia and seek to reabsorb Ukraine, which has applied for NATO membership. When Russia detonates a low-yield atomic device, the U.S. dispatches a wing of F-111 aircraft, some piloted by women. Major Becky Furness has something to prove, as does Colonel Darren Mace, who has been under a cloud since a mysteriously aborted mission during the first hours of Operation Desert Storm. As the world lurches toward nuclear conflict, Furness and Mace find themselves on a last-chance air strike against the Russian high command. Brown's longstanding love affair with the B-52 ( Flight of the Old Dog ) has given way to a new passion for the F-111, which is this sprawling techno-thriller's real protagonist. The cockpit scenes ably synthesize combat action and technical description, but the novel's storyline shifts uneasily from describing the dynamics of a near-future Air Force to defending the use of women in combat to depicting Russia's resurgence. An unimaginatively nasty portrait of a First Couple clearly modeled on the Clintons does nothing to advance the plot; techno-thrillers seldom succeed as romans a clef .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

It is the immediate future. Russia makes a low-level thermonuclear attack on Ukraine, trying to bring it back in line with the other former Soviet nations. When Turkey agrees to support the Ukrainian army, NATO becomes involved, and the U.S. Air Force Reserves are deployed. Brilliant but maligned maintenance officer Daren Mace joins forces with the beautiful and talented pilot Rebecca Furness in a last-ditch mission to destroy the bloodthirsty Russian leader before full-scale atomic war can erupt. Brown, usually a master of the technothriller, has tried to combine too many topical issues (women in combat, the defense drawdown, the menace of nuclear weapons) with savage attacks on President and Mrs. Clinton, treating the former as a buffoon and the latter as a shrill, antimilitary bigot. Fans of Brown's earlier books will be disappointed by the predictability of the plot and the lack of character development. Unless you are building a complete technothriller collection, pass on this. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/93.
- Elsa Pendleton, Boeing - China Lake, Ridgecrest, Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (July 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425142078
• ISBN-13: 978-0425142073
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #862,292 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The last Dale Brown book I ever read, July 12, 1999

By A Customer

Petty politics undermines what otherwise might have been a passable action novel. Brown's grudge against the Clintons gets the better of him and skews the novel away from its otherwise interesting plotline, toward the author's apparently bottomless hatred of the First Family. One gets the feeling that only the intervention of his publisher prevented Brown from using even cruder language, particularly in his depiction of the First Lady. I respect the fact that Brown may have strong feelings agains the Clintons, but other authors I have read do a much better job of keeping their novels from having such a vindictive tone -- next to Brown, Tom Clancy seems downright even-handed. Unless he only wants to appeal to the most bitter of Clinton-haters, Brown should consider toning down the rhetoric and focusing on fiction in the future.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another winner for Dale Brown, November 5, 2002

By	Tanya L. Schaub "TSchlaack" (Livermore, Maine USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Chains of Command (Audio Cassette)

Another great thriller from DB. In this one you have a bit of a change from the normal Patrick McClannahan story and you meet Mace as well as the "Iron Maiden". The world has changed and many of the fighter pilots are now part of the reserves, and a huge percentage of them are women. See what they have to do to become fighter pilots.

You will also learn a lot about photon bombs and their destruction of life etc. In this story you will cover a lot of ground from the Ukraine, Turkey to Plattsburgh NY as well as Iraq. It is a fast paced story with the normal plethora of detail on military actions as well as equipment from DB. I really enjoyed this story but I think Fatal Terrain is my favorite so far...

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding work, but will life imitate art?, August 2, 1999

By A Customer

Great book! It keeps the reader glued as to how the invasion of the Ukraine and Moldova is happening and how the Soviet Union is rising again. Col. Tychina, Lt. Col Mace and Maj. Furness are in-depth characters. I personally had the privledge of actually meeting Dale Brown and getting my copy of this book autographed by him. Great author and another great work!