Rating: 
Summary: Gutsy, Riveting Thriller
Review: Robert Gandt has found another niche he can claim as his own: writing military thrillers. He has used what he knows with what he imagines in a superb combination of reality and art. Without burdening his text with technical descriptions, he carries his readers into the world of the military as naturally as if they were an invisible fly on his collar button. And in the air battle scenes, he succeeds in making readers feel they are experiencing virtual reality. You forget you're the reader and become the pilot. You feel the G forces, the rushing ground, the hair-raising near misses...you hear the mighty jet engines swooping and swooning...you see the target in your cross hairs and smell death. You feel your heart beating, your hands sweating inside your gloves, and you feel steely cool focused only on your target. Aside from his amazing ability to put you inside the story is the story itself--a story that may be closer to the truth than we care to imagine in the days of war coming to Iraq. He portrays a cunning and skillful enemy you can understand and have to respect. Treachery, no matter who suffers as a result of it, is cause for vengeance, right or wrong, and we see forces equally motivated to devine that justice, which makes the outcome even more dramatic in its deliverance. What's even more admirable is his portrayal of women challenging a man's world: a war correspondent and a F-18 pilot. They do their jobs becuse they love doing them, not because they want to be distinct from the pack. And both women can't have their man. Even this rivalry is worked out the way real women would resolve it. Bob Gandt soars to the top of my favorite military novelists, and I hope to see Brick Maxwell and his Roadrunners along with broadcaster Claire Phillips on the USS Ronald Reagon in a TV series soon.
Rating:
Summary: Robert Gandt; flying high and fast--again
Review: Robert Gandt writes books as entertainment but never
gives up an inch on technical accuracy or miltary
procedure, and doesn't take forever to get to the
point. The opposite of, say, Michener, Gandt gets the
picture painted fast for the reader who doesn't have
to go back ten pages to see what country he's in. And
when the scene is set, stand back-the action comes at
you at afterburner speeds. In the tradition of Dirk Pitt, Jack Ryan, James Bond,
etc, Gandt's "Acts of Vengeance" brings back Navy
Commander Sam "Brick" Maxwell who readers
of action books are learning to trust and look
forward to 'seeing' again in the next saga. (Maybe
even an old saga, a la Tom Clancy's revisiting of Ryan in
"Red Rabbit", a prequel to "The Hunt for Red October"). In "Acts", Maxwell is shocked to witness a murderous
terrorist attack on the USS Ronald Reagan's top brass
and an American ambassador. The plot thickens rapidly
as an imminent attack on the carrier itself is
expected. Soviet MiG-29s hidden in an underground
Yemeni bunker, a stolen surplus Russian missile submarine,
and a highly skilled terrorist fighter pilot, Colonel
Jamal Al-Fasr, all combine to weave the plot lines toward
an explosive and action-packed surprise resolution. Whether gut-wrenching dog fights or an excursion de
force of 6G subsonic maneuvering in a winding canyon,
Gandt puts the reader in the cockpit, controls and
all, and lathers him with detail civilians seldom get to
know. (During the canyon chase, following Al-Fasr's
MiG, Brick is suddenly confronted with a choice of
certain death--smashing into the canyon wall--or a near-impossible knife-edge maneuver through a stone arch formation. The decision, which has to be made in about a tenth of a second, raises the hair on your arms as you 'feel' the scrape of
rocks on wingtips, waiting for your airplane to
disintegrate in a ball of orange flame.) Gandt is more than a budding Clancy. He actually flies
these killer machines and knows the pulse and pace of
a nuclear aircraft carrier from bow to stern. The
result is a drama that reads true, fast, and through its
'reality,' draws the reader into a suspense-packed and
not-so-imaginary exerience. A pilot's book to be sure, but much more. Gandt weaves
in the inevitable politics, the black-hearted
terrorist bent on revenge (who was humiliated in Gandt's first "Brick" yarn, "Hostile Intent") and, yes, intrepid female fighter pilots and war zone journalists that make
men's hearts skip a beat and women want to enlist
right now! Men will enjoy the no-bull story of
America's fighter jocks and women will savor Gandt's
genuine admiration and respect for the fairer sex. A great one- or two-sitting read.
Rating:
Summary: Acts of Vengence
Review: This is the second in what I hope will be an ongoing series of naval aviation adventure stories. Acts of Vengeance has it all--gutsy flying scenes, romance, a submarine attack on a super carrier, Marines in ground combat with terrorists, a charismatic terrorist leader who is very nearly the match of the hero, Brick Maxwell. Throw in a you-are-there feel of life aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. Gandt cranks up the suspense and doesn't turn loose. Can't wait for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Acts of Vengence
Review: This is the second in what I hope will be an ongoing series of naval aviation adventure stories. Acts of Vengeance has it all--gutsy flying scenes, romance, a submarine attack on a super carrier, Marines in ground combat with terrorists, a charismatic terrorist leader who is very nearly the match of the hero, Brick Maxwell. Throw in a you-are-there feel of life aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. Gandt cranks up the suspense and doesn't turn loose. Can't wait for the next one.
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