Rating: 
Summary: Hmmm..
Review: Well, I should start out by pointing out that I'm Pakistani, so this book kinda wound me the wrong way. It's pretty much in the pattern of techno-thrillers of this sort, with Yankee pluck and firepower prevailing over the evil hordes.. whichever hordes they may be. In this case, not only is there Pakistan, but also forces from Iran, the DPRK and China get thrown into the meat grinder.. and a few renegade Russians to round things off, heck. As always, the villains are motivated by the urge to destroy and kill women and civilians with no regard for life, while there is much self-righteous dialogue betwixt the heroes on just how-darn-*bad* the bad guys are. The conference by the Pakistani High Command ('Lets throw a hydrogen bomb here.. and here.. and here... and, oooo, how about here!')only makes any sort of sense if you've decided that these characters are lunatics, plain and simple. Little in this book convinces me of any research into Pakistan by the author, apart from putting in the right name of the current President, Musharraf. Interestingly, though the use of Musharrafs name implies a very 'now' setting for the book, none of the other Pakistani high command or leadership are current. Then again, hardly any of the supposedly Pakistani names sound.. well, Pakistani. Adding to what one could consider basic research issues, he identifies Pakistans CCC as being at Chaklala, rather than Rawalpindi. Oh, and Mr Hagberg... you may be interested in knowing that in Pakistan, unlike the US, the Rangers are paramilitary, border-patrol type units - the Special Forces are the Special Services Group (SSG). It's almost amusing to read about the 'elite Pakistani Rangers' with night vision goggles, black Special-Force uniforms etc. Little niggles like that abound. And to think, this is while Pakistan is a US ally! I shudder to think of what Mr Hagberg has written of countries that are actually US enemies!
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