Rating: 
Summary: This is the book to have!!!!!!!!!
Review: "Red Phoenix" is the authority in the world of "What if's" as far as the Korean theater of operations is concerned. The "puzzle palace" was probably wondering how he figured all this out. I'd originally read this amazing story when it first came out and was just floored by the realism, the character interactions and the author's knowledge of military operations. A few years later I was scheduled to go to South Korea on tdy and picked it up to read again. It was amazing to be reading this book and seeing a lot of the areas he'd talked about in the book, in person. To see the river's and the rivetments on the banks, to see the tank barricades all around Seoul and all the bases north of Seoul and be reading this book again at the same time. Absolutely amazing! Thank you very much to Larry Bond for an excellent book.
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Summary: A chilling, prescient novel of a Second Korean War....
Review: A few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Larry Bond and Patrick Larkin's first collaborative effort, Red Phoenix, became a New York Times bestselling novel.In this novel, Bond (Tom Clancy's uncredited co-author of Red Storm Rising) uses his superb writing skills, experience as a former Navy intelligence expert and talents as a war game designer (he is the creator of Harpoon) to write a terrifying scenario for a second and even more destructive Korean War. Red Phoenix is set in the early 1990s. North Korea's elderly Great Leader, Kim Il-Sung, is still alive but clearly frail. Day to day control of this isolated and paranoid Stalinist nation is now in the hands of Kim's ambitious son, Kim Jong-Il, the Dear Leader. Ruthless and mercurial, the younger Kim seeks to surpass his father and accomplish what the old man had failed to do in the 1950s: the reunification of the Communist North and the capitalist South. At first, Kim's plans almost become undone when a team of South Korean and American soldiers discovers a tunnel dug under the DMZ by North Korean combat engineers. In it is a vast stockpile of weapons, ammunition, and even Soviet-made tanks, enough for a battalion of invaders. But events elsewhere, including the office of a Michigan Congressman and the Interior Ministry in Seoul, soon create a perfect convergence of events that enables North Korea's nefarious Dear Leader to mobilize his forces and launch a lightning invasion of South Korea. Bond and Larkin's novel depicts units, weapons systems, and tactics which were state-of-the-art 14 years ago, and the political makeup of the world has changed since its publication. (Modern day readers might see as archaic Bond's references to the Soviet Union, East Germany, and other Warsaw Pact nations. In early 1989, these may have sided with North Korea, at least nominally. Today, of course, the USSR is no more, East Germany reunited with West Germany and is part of NATO, as is Poland.) However, considering the current and alarming situation as the real Kim Jong-Il races to build and openly deploy nuclear weapons, Red Phoenix is no longer a relic of Cold War-era popular fiction; it is a chilling vision of what a conventional conflict in the Korean Peninsula could have been like before North Korea upped the ante and developed weapons of mass destruction.
Rating: 
Summary: So Why Should I Read This Old Book From 1989?
Review: Because North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il may STILL believe he can pull off an invasion of South Korea in a way similar to what is described in "Red Phoenix". This is a very enjoyable and readable military techno-thriller written by Larry Bond who collaborated with Tom Clancy in writing "Red Storm Rising" in the mid 1980s. This book mixes remarkably accurate details of military activity and combat planning in Korea to create a very plausible plot in 1989 for the start and action in a Second Korean War. Some of the details are now dated by the introduction of 'smart' technology but, speaking as the US Air Force veteran of Desert Storm that I am, this is what it was like in military culture towards the end of the Cold War. Larry Bond uses his knowledge of the geography and politics of the Koreas to create very plausible events and characters that make this book a real pageturner. He tries to get you into the minds of the 'Cult of Kim' so you can understand why North Korea acts in the belligerant, Stalinist way it still does to this day. Time, so far, may not have proven this book accurate, but it will help you to understand about why Kim Jong Il and North Korea are still threats to Asia and America to this day. I have been told that "Red Phoenix" is still 'required reading' for many American military personnel who get assigned to posts in and around South Korea. Give it a try if you enjoy military thrillers and like to be up on world events.
Rating:
Summary: So Why Should I Read This Old Book From 1989?
Review: Because North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il may STILL believe he can pull off an invasion of South Korea in a way similar to what is described in "Red Phoenix". This is a very enjoyable and readable military techno-thriller written by Larry Bond who collaborated with Tom Clancy in writing "Red Storm Rising" in the mid 1980s. This book mixes remarkably accurate details of military activity and combat planning in Korea to create a very plausible plot in 1989 for the start and action in a Second Korean War. Some of the details are now dated by the introduction of 'smart' technology but, speaking as the US Air Force veteran of Desert Storm that I am, this is what it was like in military culture towards the end of the Cold War. Larry Bond uses his knowledge of the geography and politics of the Koreas to create very plausible events and characters that make this book a real pageturner. He tries to get you into the minds of the 'Cult of Kim' so you can understand why North Korea acts in the belligerant, Stalinist way it still does to this day. Time, so far, may not have proven this book accurate, but it will help you to understand about why Kim Jong Il and North Korea are still threats to Asia and America to this day. I have been told that "Red Phoenix" is still 'required reading' for many American military personnel who get assigned to posts in and around South Korea. Give it a try if you enjoy military thrillers and like to be up on world events.
Rating: 
Summary: Average Fair
Review: I did not enjoy this book as many of the other reviews have. The plot was not really that inventive, these two countries have been shooting at each other over the DMZ for 45 years. Anyway the story just did not grab me, there are better books out there i.e. anything from Clancy. He did offer a lot of good background of the area and weapons. Overall an average story.
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Summary: Guerra moderna en Corea
Review: Norcorea lanza una invasion en Corea del Sur. Los EU respaldan a los subcoreanos, al mismo tiempo que China y la URSS equipan a las fuerzas norcoreanas. EU envia a una flota naval para equilibar la deseperante situacion. Aunque "Fenix Rojo" es una excelente obra, no pudo superar a la anterior entrega: "Tormenta Roja". Misma en la que colaboro para Tom Clancy. Los posteriores titulos de Larry Bond, "Voragine" y "Caldera" fueron superiores a "Fenix Rojo"
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Summary: not a heavy read, and i'm 14
Review: THIS BOOK IS GREAT. As the people above have said. in the beginning iz a slow read. it takes a lot of time introducing the characters from many many views. then the book takes step to step up to the awaited climax,war. I currently live in seoul, and this is one book dat shows the truthful and different views of korea and iz people. I'm 14 and to be honest iz not a heavy read. the professional terms of the weapons are a bit confusing but the glossary on the back helps. there are political scenes that I consider boring. but the action is fun. the greatest thing about this book is the variety of perspectives the book has on a single war. it doesn't antagonize one side, even though we know the NK's are the "antagonists". Mr. Bond is truthful to views of the war. you will see the 2nd korean war in the eyes of the north koreans, kim jong il, an american general, a logistics officer, infantrymen, and south korean generals. A great book!
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Summary: Awesome!
Review: This is just an incredible tale about a second Korean War.Contrary to other people i find refreshing the fact that Larry Bond does not comes up with all Clancy's "political know how" and page after page of boring reading. This book just goes to the point, you fill you are in the foxhole with the infantry or riding along with the F-16 fighter pilots. Great Read.
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Summary: Tension Building
Review: This is one of the better Cold War escalating conflict scenarios I have read. Sure it's dated; like much of this genre it relies heavily on the technology from the time it was written (for that matter most of the techno-thriller genre is dated by the time it hits the stores). But the techno stuff is only the superficial element of the story. Much of the action takes place at a level that could be set in WWII or present day with a few tweaks of the equipment. The story begins on the DMZ between North and South Korea with a little action, that can easily fail to hook you, but keep reading. There is quite a bit of setup for the story before the action begins, but once it begins, the momentum will drag you through the rest of the book in no time. As far as accuracy, there are certain parts I have to accept on trust, however, having spent all of 1983 in Seoul, traveled around the country a little, done some little time as a ground pounder, in tanks and with artillery as well as some time as a remf; those aspects are fairly realistic. The story thread hops between approximately 5-6 main characters (pilots, generals, politicians, civilians, and frontline troops) and a few one shot characters in a pretty successful effort at building and maintaining tension. This is a keeper for me; I'll no doubt read it again in a few years. For other books in the genre, check-out Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy or for something on a more tactical scale try Team Yankee by Harold Coyle. P-)
Rating:
Summary: top-notch
Review: Though this was written some fifteen years ago, the topic of a second Korean War is (unfortunately) still timely. The events may be dated slightly, but this is still a top-notch techno-thriller. I don't know who Larry Bond is, but he can move effortlessly from the political infighting in Washington to the grim realities of modern-day warfare on the battlefield to the reactions of Communist leaders. Even at 700 pages, it moved at a brisker pace than many novels half the size. He's included maps and Dramatis Personae but, to be honest, the characters and situations are so vivid, these are hardly even needed.
Nitpicking Dept: He occasionally throws in a military and/or slang word which he doesn't define. There were one or two instances where individuals got too lucky in escaping dangerous situations which stretched credulity. His writing is good, but occasionally doesn't quite convey battle scenes as vividly as it should. Overall, though, on a scale of 1 to 100, I would give this novel a solid 97. Should be required reading for anyone concerned about the current political situation.
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