Rating: 
Summary: A great book Dale Brown's right up there with Tom Clancy
Review: What do Tom Clancy and Dale Brown have in common? They can tell good stories. That's the case with Fatal Terrain. China claims that Taiwan's a breakaway province and has to be brought back into the "socialist fold." China's claim to Taiwan goes back to 1949. The book begins with Taiwan declaring its independence from China. The Chinese government, after getting Hong Kong back, can't allow this to happen, so they send their new aircraft carrier, the Mao Zedong, and its battle group, to Taiwan to stop it. The Taiwanese Navy tries to stop the People's Liberation Army Navy and some of their ships are destroyed by nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. Admiral Sun Ji Guomin, PLAN, leads a Pearl Harbor style sneak attack on Taiwan destroying most of Taiwan's airfields with nuclear bombs and missiles. Meanwhile, back home, the United States is downsizing the militar, retiring the B-52, closing down the Eighth Air Force, and scrapping the EB-52 Megafortress. Major General Bradley Elliott, USAF, (Ret.), Colonel Patrick McLanahan, and later David Luger, take on the Chinese. In retaliation for attacks on a ferry and other civilian targets, the Chinese place a nuclear bomb on the USS Independence and blow it up. Disregard what another reviewer said about the geopolitics and the national politics. Nothing Dale Brown writes is simplistic. This book is well-plotted. The subplot about Iran is good. He even tries to get into the Byzantine world of Chinese politics. Now if Hollywood doesn't butcher it, it'll be a great movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Dale Brown has lost his touch (a long time ago)
Review: Even though I have for the most part given up on reading Dale Brown's "techno-thrillers" since the god-awful "Chain of Command," I bought "Fatal Terrain" anyway because I thought he might have regained some of his earlier touch and because I am a native of Taiwan and am interested in Asian geo-politics. Boy, do I ever regret wasting my money! In this novel, Brown has settled into a pattern of bad "formulaic writing." Brown has, once again, disguised the lack of plotting in his book with layers upon layers of techno-jargon that would make even the most jaded among us cry out for mercy. The scenario he painted, though based on a real-world hot-spot, is patently unbelievable. A President who is so easily manipulated by an ex-Air Force general to conduct foreign policy as John Wayne or Clint Eastwood would? A company (Skymasters Inc.) waging war in the place of the U.S. military? An unproven test-bed bomber (or "flying battleship") employed as front-line aircraft in order to bypass Congress and the American public in an illicit, private foreign policy? Just what kind of fantasy world does Dale Brown live in anyway? As the recent Kosovo campaign proved, even with great success airpower can only go so far. Brown seems to want us to believe, like many top brass in the USAF no doubt, that wars can be won with airpower alone. Or more accurately, with one or a small handful of EB-52s. Who needs the other three branches of the military when you have such a wonderful superweapon as the Mega-Fortress! Brown's simplistic-to-the-point-of-childish advocacy of airpower is further evidenced by the sheer contempt with which he treated the U.S. Navy in this novel. I'll admit, I used to be a big fan of Dale Brown. I thought his first three books, "Flight of the Old Dog," "Silver Tower," and "Day of the Cheetah" were three of the finest techno-thrillers ever written. Their premises may be fantastic to believe, but Brown somehow managed to make them believable through a mixture of suspense-building, character development and sheer old-fashioned story-telling that you tend to overlook such shortcomings, or that he borrowed ideas from others (such as "Day of the Cheetah" imitating "Firefox"). Perhaps with his success, Brown has become one of those writers who lost his initial zeal for writing as has settled into just going through the motions. His works have devolved from realistic techno-thrillers into flights of sheer fantasy. War has become nothing more than "fun and games" in his books, the kind of thing you expect from Mack Bolan and Mack Maloney. There is little suspense left as the outcome is already a foregone conclusion. Mr. Brown, I implore you, take a long break for the sake of the art.
Rating:
Summary: Can't put the book down
Review: This is the first time I read a novel and I couldn't put the book down. The story line and the scenario kept my interest.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to say
Review: The scenario is possible, but isn't totaly realistic. An EB-52 can be made, but that would result in massive overhauling of the regular B-52. Also, I don't know how it is possible that for a little dinky company of John masters to build a multi-million dollar warplane without other people having knowledge it. How did he get the funds? Finally, a pregnant woman on a bomber destroying a bunch of nuclear is just way out of the world...Dale Brown has good ideas to write about, but this book was borderline propaganda/imagination for the B-52.
Rating:
Summary: Too few flying scenes interrupted by too much plot
Review: Any competent writer of thrillers can make the action scenes sing; it takes a great one to make the slow scenes, and the characters that drive them, sing as well. Dale Brown has always been a competent thriller writer, and his early books (especially _Day of the Cheetah_) showed glimpses of greatness, but he hasn't yet fulfilled that promise. _Fatal Terrain_ shows why. Brown's in-the-cockpit scenes are as brilliant as ever, all headlong drive and you-are-there detail. It's the intervening slow bits, as in most of his recent books, that drag, and drag the book down. The geopolitics in _Fatal Terrain_ are shallow to the point of unbelievability, and the domestic politics are worse. This time the President gets to wear the armor of righteousness, while the Congressional opposition are reduced to cartoonish fools who can't see the Truth (for the flip side of this setup, see the Clinton-bashing frenzy in _Chains of Command_). Brown's continuing characters have become more streamlined with each new book, with all their interesting rough edges rounded off. Here, with the exception of General Brad Elliott, they're reduced to two-dimensional chess pieces driven by (instead of driving) the action of the plot. The introduction, late in the story, of key figures from earlier novels makes matters worse, slowing the plot with flashbacks and greetings when it should be speeding up. Elliott, dying inside from the purposelessness of retirement and desperate to show what he and his planes can do, is easily the best thing in the book. He's reckless, difficult, and maybe a little crazy, and his presence energizes many otherwise leaden scenes. If _Fatal Terrain_ had been about *him* and not about plot mechanics, it might have had a shot at greatness. As is, it's just an excuse for some great flying scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Better than some . . .
Review: Dale Brown can write, but his style is self-serving (he interjects politics into his work relentlessly). I do not know why he does this, as he is bound to reduce his readership over time as he alienates potential fans. His efforts to control the reader's mind in this regard are offensive, but in all fairness, some of his previous works have been much worse. Mr. Brown is very good with the technical stuff, and in this case, I thought his story was creative and original. But it's convoluted and implausible, too, which must be why Clive Cussler admires it so. Mr. Brown has done worse, but he's done somewhat better, too. Overall, this is a fast read and the book does deliver suspense by the bushel.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but could have been better
Review: A little too long in places and sometimes too technical. The premise of the heavily armored B-52 was a bit hard to swallow. I recommend Bob Mayer's special forces series of novels. He is a former Green Beret and his books are action, straight out, from start to finish. Also check out Joe Dalton's THE OMEGA MISSILE.
Rating:
Summary: Great Techno-Thriller
Review: In Dale Brown's Fatal Terrain, Rising Tensions Between Taiwan & China Bring The US Into The Picture. But, The Military Is Downsizing It's Bomber Force, And Wants To Scrap The EB-52 Megafortresses. Lt. Col. Patrick McLanahan Convinces Them To Use The EB-52 Megafortress In The Peace Effort In Asia. Most Of The Characters From The Original Book, The Flight Of The Old Dog, Including David Luger, Wendy Tork, And Others Are Back In Fatal Terrian. This Book Is Dale Brown's Best Novel Yet. I Could Not Put It Down.
Rating:
Summary: "This is a Dale Brown Classic!"
Review: Dale Brown is back with a vengence! "Fatal Terrain" is right up there with his all-time classics "Night of the Hawk" and "Storming Heavan." Brad Elliott's presence really powered this story, especially with all the antagonists he had to deal with. JCS Chairman Balboa was the worst of them. The hatred between the two made for some interesting reading. I also enjoyed seeing best friends Elliott and MacLanahan butt heads. The plot was first rate. A "renegade" (at least in the eyes of the establishment Chinese military) PRC Admiral cooks up an incredible scheme to discredit Taiwan and the U.S. before the eyes of the world. Once that happens, the all-out attack on Taiwan begins in earnest. The situation spins out of control, and the results are literally nuclear. Suffocated by political inaction and inter-service rivalries, the "Old Dog" crew does the unthinkable to a dangerous all-or-nothing mission to bring the world back from the brink. The action, the intrigue, the character development, the situations, are all stellar! You will not want to put this book down! The story takes your breath away and will have you cheering and booing, saying out loud "Oh my God" and "No! Don't do that, you idiots." Dale Brown poured his heart and soul into this one.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read.
Review: This book is the first book to ever get me started on Dale Brown's books. I would recommend ANYONE to read this book. It contains suspense, technology, action; everything you could possibly want in a book. Dale Brown is a bookwriting genius.
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