Rating: 
Summary: Stretched
Review: Unhappily, the writer here, who is very good with technical
details and predictions of future weaponry, takes it a bit too
far.
In this story of the new US warrior class, mainly consisting of
former US military now operating for a private company, the
heroes take on a ruthless, vicious dictator of a new Libya,
and they engage in some serious warfare in that part of the world.
While making war against the new Libya, they encounter various
heroes and villains in Egypt as well, and that adds a depth of
story that is usually engaging and informative.
But the writer stretches our imagination a little too much
in this one. Among his new characters is a 9-yr-old girl
who helps, happily, design fearsome new weapons, and whose
genius with computer technology, as well as the highest forms
of physics, goes beyond genius, and that character seems more
science-fiction than anything else. So it is difficult to relate to that character and her contributions to the story.
In addition, one of the leading characters is an American woman
who becomes the President of Egypt, then the leader of a neo-
Muslim fanatical organization intent on pushing Westerners out
of the Arab world. She is also former US military and a non-Muslim, who converts for the purpose of leading this pan-Arab
colition, so the stretch here is also a little too much to accept as part of the story.
There is just too much of a "science-fiction" feel to this story
to really be a good novel.And, as usual, coupled with that tugging on our imagination,
the writer inundates us with military jargon, so it is a bit
difficult to follow.
Tough going for most readers.
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