Fatal Terrain

Rating:
Summary: Repetitive and unconvincing
Review: "Fatal Terrain" refers to one of the many theories on war espoused by Sun-Tzu, a clue that Dale Brown's latest novel is aimed at communist China (Brown's books dwell on the same characters in a loose series that seems to shift between eastern Europe, the far east and Iran). In "Fatal", Beijing is moved to take a stab at conquering Taiwan again (called Formosa Dao) by a fiery Admiral Sun - who isn't so much a fiery communist as he is military minded. Ceaselessly quoting Sun-Tzu for a cadre of top-ranking red Chinese (who speak in the same stilted pseudo-language that all foreigners speak in technothrillers), Admiral Sun whips the moribund Chinese military into shape. PLAN ships and PLAAF planes arrayed with the latest hardware, and upgraded missiles lay waste to Taiwan, while the Americans are paralyzed by liberals, bureaucrats and - because the USAF is the only service capable of readily meeting the threat - practically crippled by the craven Navy Admiral Balboa. To meet the threat, the Americans rely on the covert help of Brad Eliot and his Dreamland team. Recycled from previous Brown books, Eliot is reviled as a man who doesn't play by the rules and won't let bureaucrats, liberals or the Navy get between him and the mission (okay, we're not really supposed to hate the guy, we're supposed to root for a guy who won't be a team player when the team is staffed with morons). With his souped-up B-52, the "Megafortress", he starts a secret war against the Chinese. Unfortunately, not all the high-tech on the planet can match the Chinese in terms of numbers or media-manipulation. First gamely assisting his mentor, hero AF ace Pat McLanahan comes to realize that Eliot may at last be going too far...even for him. When the Chinese trick Eliot into sinking a ferry loaded with innocent civilians, Balboa colludes with a liberal left-coast politician (an uninspired caricature of Diane Feinstein) to cut the Megafortress team off in the Pacific. Now wanted by just about everybody, Eliot's team hooks up with the remnants of Taiwan's besieged military before the PRC launches its last attack.

This has to be one of Brown's weaker books because, rather than being too military minded, it doesn't stay true enough to time-tested military traditions. The real Sun-Tzu would have to fault Brown for committing the cardinal sin of war - repetition. Brown's plots normally follow a pretty rigid formula - geopolitical crisis coincides with the development of some fancy new weapons-system ("Flight of the Old Dog" set the pattern; "Day of the Cheetah" broke free of the pattern, making it one of Brown's more re-readable books); our nifty gadgetry could force the world to embrace peace, but political hacks, bureaucrats, backbiters, liberals and services other than the USAF conspire to make us fight with one hand behind our backs; our heroes won't play by the rules (that's why we love them, right?); the forces of evil are led by an outright psychotic or zealot (because rational characters and plots require more development); and the stage is set for what promises to be some awe-inspiring climax involving billions of dollars of high-technology burning up the stratosphere (but instead boils down to guys looking at computer screens and pushing lots of buttons). Coonts would never impose on real pilots the repetitive and fatally predictable plots that recur through most of his books. Instead of "Sun-Tzu", the insidious Admiral Sun should have picked up a copy of "Warrior Class" or "Shadows of Steel" - he'd know exactly where to expect the Megafortress, no matter how small its radar cross section. (And if you don't know what the importance of "radar cross section" is, or simply don't understand it, you've got no business reading any of these books; though his plots involve characters flying along a knife-edge of death, Brown's writing is safe within the technothriller genere and takes no chances that might ensnare readers who would never have otherwised picked up a book starring a warplane, with its crew in supporting roles).

Brown also ignores the Red Baron's famous warning - the quality of the man at the controls is never less important than the quality of the crate he flies. Nevertheless, though Brown lards his pages with high-tech jets, the quality of his crates can't outfly his uninspired prose, unbelievable dialog, silly politics and an unbelievably anti-climactic end. Also, since Brown generously grants a fair amount of high-tech to the enemy, the technological gap between good guys and villains remains static throughout the books. Lastly, since much of the technology goes to computers and sensors, Brown's fancy planes are boiled down to nothing more than blips on perspex screens, which makes his battle scenes read like extended bouts of "Pong".

Lastly, disagreeing with another reviewer, I think Brown's flight scenes - both in and out of the cockpit - are horrible. Brown never orients what his planes do to the human characters who fly them - even though situational awareness is a major factor of combat aviation. On the inside of their planes, Brown's characters alternate between spitting out at each other unintelligible battle language on the one hand, and on the other, carry on long conversations meant to advance the plot, but actually make us forget that those debating the dangers of Chinese military adventurism into the South China Sea are doing so while flying high performance aircraft in unfriendly skies, where an attack is always imminent. (I kept waiting for somebody to say "but when you look at market reforms by high-level leadership in - ohmigod, break left, SAM launch!!!" but kept waiting.) By now I'm willing to credit Brown with forgetting more about high-tech hardware than I'll ever know, but I'd be willing to accept less if he applied to his writing some of honest tactics that pilots have remained true to since the dawn of military flight.

Rating:
Summary: Stronger than a Bear & Twice as Smart
Review: A very recent fan of Dale Brown, this was my first book. I have since read most of the others, including Flight of the Old Dog and still say this is the best one from him yet. Why? For starters, it had me glued to one spot from the first page to the last (with just a 4 hour nap in between). Not many books can do that to me. It had all the right elements in it... psychology, technology, philosophy, piloting, politics. Dale also shows that he has an insider's knowledge of these sciences. OK, in some cases his foot is barely inside the door, but for those readers who do know (or at least suspect) what really goes on behind the closed doors of the military and political bureaus, I believe the book will come across as quite credible. The helplessness of the presumed-to-be powerful U.S. military when political processes undermine its very existence, its inablility to react to unconventional methods of aggression, the need for a renegade to step up and bypass the political system and chains-of-commmand and a hint of paranoia may be a bit disconcerting, if not shockingly eye-opening, to most readers.

Essentially what this book needs in order to be highly riveting is an educated and open mind. An understanding of basic technology (elementary physics for starters, some knowledge of airplanes and their systems would definitely help) goes a long way in establishing the credibility of the story line. And don't make the mistake of confusing credibility with reality, though I suspect that those who understand and keep abreast of the latest developments in technology will have no problem blurring the line between futuristic fiction and current technological capability. As with most of Dale Brown's books, the reader's willingness to disconnect with reality, actual or as the reader knows it, is mandatory for the story to be effective. After all, at the time he wrote his first Megafortress story (Flight of the Old Dog), few readers would believe that in the year 2000 it would be common knowledge that the B-52 was being upgraded with the latest technology and is expected to serve for many more years to come. My recommendation: Highly credible, technologically plausible (it not realistic). Must read!

Rating:
Summary: NOT a Fatal Error!
Review: Dale Brown uses current events to create a nonstop exciting military action and adventure. China attack Taiwan? It's a topic that's been circulated in very recent years.

You're given insight into military jargon, terms and strategies and a good dose of history to add more realism.

Brown is a good first step to reading Tom Clancy. He isn't too lengthy about technical terms, which at times are nice and at other occasions just too much detail. He tells you enough and continues the action without disrupting the scene.

This has been the first book by Dale Brown that I have read; I can't wait to read his others!

Rating:
Summary: NOT a Fatal Error!
Review: Dale Brown uses current events to create a nonstop exciting military action and adventure. China attack Taiwan? It's a topic that's been circulated in very recent years.

You're given insight into military jargon, terms and strategies and a good dose of history to add more realism.

Brown is a good first step to reading Tom Clancy. He isn't too lengthy about technical terms, which at times are nice and at other occasions just too much detail. He tells you enough and continues the action without disrupting the scene.

This has been the first book by Dale Brown that I have read; I can't wait to read his others!

Rating:
Summary: Fun Read
Review: Despite the liberal posters and armchair military experts, I loved this book! Sure, many of the weapons and situations are fictional (as far as I know).
The excessive military jargon was almost humorous and actually fun to read. Brown makes sure you know what all the acronyms mean. The situations and flight duals with jets and missiles were great. The plot had some great twists.
It had me looking up all the different aircraft used. A fun and hard to put down book, I would highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Fun Read
Review: Despite the liberal posters and armchair military experts, I loved this book! Sure, many of the weapons and situations are fictional (as far as I know).
The excessive military jargon was almost humorous and actually fun to read. Brown makes sure you know what all the acronyms mean. The situations and flight duals with jets and missiles were great. The plot had some great twists.
It had me looking up all the different aircraft used. A fun and hard to put down book, I would highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: The Chinese Invade Tiawan?
Review: Fantastic Audio Book by Dale Brown. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

In this story the US is about to retire the B2 and other large heavy artillery bombers from service as many see they are no longer needed...At the same time China has decided that it finally wants Taiwan back and is going to go after it. Mostly with the plans of one man with a few outrageous ideas, making it seem like the US is helping Taiwan and is sabotaging many different Chinese events etc. When in fact it is all just part of the Chinese plan. In this one you see the retired McClannahan as well as Gen. Brad Elliot. They along with some of their new toys from Sykmasters Inc. and a few pals you have seen before or in the future stories, help to turn the tide of the on slot. In addition the Chinese actually use Nukes much to everyone's surprise. This is a fast paced audio with lots of information coming at you.

One this that was sorta annoying was that the narrator used the same voice for a few of the characters which confused me at first.

Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Book from Dale Brown
Review: Fatal Terrain is another excellent book by Dale Brown. In this wonderful book, the Chinese are going to invade Taiwan. When the USA runs to thier side to defend them, they find themselves in a heap load of trouble around the world. Join Patrick McLanahan, Brad Elliot, and Jon Masters in this exciting book to defeat the Chinese War Machine. I recomend you read Sky Masters and Shadows of Steel before you read Fatal Terrain.

Rating:
Summary: It is just fiction
Review: I read the entire book. You can enjoy the story only if you remind yourself that it is just fiction. Don't let the author's lack of knowledge about: a) politics; b) foreign affairs; c) the legal system; d) business or a host of other areas interfere with your reading. The characters are cartoon characters- no depth. The plot is predictable (the good guys win). That being said, Brown tells a good tale. I did finish it. It was entertaining if not great literature.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent read, a must for Dale Brown or Tom Clancy fans!
Review: I was tempted to give this book a miss as I felt Dale Brown had faltered a bit with previous "sequels" such as Hammerheads but strong work in Chain of Command brought me back to the fold.

The character development was a bit weak in relation to the female protagonist, Senator Finegold (a thin veiled jibe at California's Senator Finestein?) The other characters, especially the military ones, were well done. I especially hated Admiral Balboa. I was disappointed with that loose end at the end of the book.

The action is typical Brown, fast-paced and exciting. His knowledge of actual weapon systems and great imagination make for a great read. I almost believe the U.S. military has that type of firepower and wish the B-52 could fly forever.

The scenarios set up are real world and very believable. The role of China in world events is still in question and although I don't personally believe China would undertake such actions, it is hard to dismiss the threat of a totalitarian regime in control of such a vast military machine.

I would have given this book 4 1/2 stars if possible only because Balboa did not get what he deserves.