- Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
- Publisher: Bantam; Reprint edition (Feb 27 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0553580035
- ISBN-13: 978-0553580037
- Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 3.2 x 17.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #907,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Dale Brown, himself a former air force captain, knows that a good techno-thriller succeeds by its careful blending of the hard realism of modern warfare with the fantasy of sci-fi's best alternative reality stories. In Battle Born, Brown takes pains to frame his reality with all the necessary details. He begins with an extensive, international cast list; three pages of contemporary excerpts from newspapers that address the instability of the Korean peninsula; and finally, an explosive battle simulation in the Nevada desert, rich with the techno-speak of modern warfare: "'Radar altimeter set AUTO, bug set to 830, radar altimeter override armed,' the copilot announced on the interphone. 'Both TFR channels set to one thousand hard ride. Wings full aft. Flight director set to NAV, pitch mode select switch to TERFLW, copilot.'"
As the novel unfolds, we learn of a people's revolt against the Communist leadership of North Korea. The South Koreans, already in possession of their first nuclear weapons after the failed kamikaze run of a North Korean pilot, take advantage of the weakness and destroy key tactical sites in the North, forcing a stunning surrender of the Communist leadership and the reunification of Korea. Now in possession of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, the once fractious Korean peninsula poses a serious threat to China, and the world seems poised for World War III. Enter USAF brigadier general Patrick McLanahan. As head of a new B-1B Lancer tactical strike unit based in Nevada, McLanahan and his men target and destroy enemy missiles. With their Top Gun dramatics, the Lancer unit seems the only safety between stability and global annihilation as Korea and China face off.
While all this seems a bit too fantastic and fast-paced at times, Brown's battle dialogue maintains a narrative intensity that keeps it all fun. He does seem to underestimate the impact (pun intended) of using nuclear weapons in warfare, though; the book is premised on a history that involves the Chinese having used them in strikes on Taiwan, and this new tale treats the subject with somewhat less gravity than might be imagined. That said, one can't help but return to those opening newspaper clips from time to time and wonder if the seeds of Brown's world are indeed contained in the ominous tea leaves of current events. --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Last spotted on a singlehanded crusade against international terrorism in The Tin Man, veteran hero Patrick McLanahan, now a one-star general, is back at the head of a U.S. Air Force team in this 12th military techno-thriller from the ever-popular Brown. The general's crewAa motley gang of rule-breaking hotheads from the Nevada Air National GuardAis unorthodox, but desperate times call for desperate measures. It's April 2000, and a starving North Korean pilot has just tried to take out Seoul with nuclear weapons. This leads to the Second Korean War, as American flyers help their South Korean allies conquer a seriously weakened enemy. But a new united Korea is soon threatening China, and only McLanahan's team, flying Megafortress bombers equipped with sophisticated antiballistic missiles, can prevent nuclear conflict. Sidestepping obstructive air force bureaucracy and quelling the feuds smoldering among his pilots, McLanahan takes on the role of a renegade elder statesman in his latest foray, leaving most of the flying to his Nevada team, headed by Rinc "Rodeo" Seaver and Rinc's clandestine lover and commanding officer, Rebecca Furness. Seaver, accused of causing the deaths of three officers in a training maneuver, has a lot to prove, and it is his story that drives the personal subplot. Brown's strongest suit, however, has always been his ability to generate tension through high-wire aeronautics and technological breakthroughs, and in this tale he flourishes an ace: top secret plasma-yield warheads, subatomic weapons that silently vaporize their targets. His dialogue is as stilted as ever, and the acronym count as high, but Brown's poetry lies in his exhaustive tribute to the machinery of war, and fans will thrill to it once again in this solid addition to the series. Agent, Robert Gottlieb at William Morris. Simultaneous BDD audio. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Armegeddon as Soap Opera,
By
This review is from: Battle Born (Audio Cassette)
If you prefer your tales of blood and slaughter served up with plenty of jaw-jutting angst, this book is for you. Dale Brown is to be saluted for getting this into print. I wouldn't publish it. The heros are monodimensionally combative with everyone, even each other. There's plenty of bombastic machismo dialogue. Still, the audio version is great for washing dishes. You can miss whole chapters while vacuuming and still follow the plot. And we get to focus on radio-transimitting microchips while thousands fry as the tactical nuclear weapons fly. Doesn't get any better than this for dissassociated mayhem. But hey, I listened to all of it, didn't I?
5.0 out of 5 stars
TENSION FILLED READING,
By
This review is from: Battle Born (Audio Cassette)
For those who like their thrills laced with military action here is vintage Dale Brown. A former U.S. Air Force Captain who knows his subject well, Brown is recognized for his adroit delivery. Reprising his hero in former works, Patrick McLanahan, the author puts him in the thick of it immediately - leading a squadron of B-1 bombers into combat over Korea. The fragile Asian peace has been placed in jeopardy. Descriptions of weaponry and flying tactics abound, as is routine for Brown. If techno-thrillers are your meat - here's a hearty helping. Reader Purdham is especially convincing in relating an aerial dogfight - he renders the melee succinctly and suspensefully.
4.0 out of 5 stars
"One Heck Of An Intense Ride . . . I Mean, Flight.",
By John J. Rust (Prescott, AZ) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Battle Born (Mass Market Paperback)
Brown knows how to keep you rivited. His battle scenes were written so well I didn't want to put the book down when I got to them. The entire downfall of North Korea takes 80-90 pages to get through, but with missiles flying, a "true-believer" Commie missile battery commander trying to preserve the spirit of the revolution and the US Vice President caught in the middle, you can't help but keep reading until the whole thing's over. Good job with the characters again. Many familiar faces in this one, including Becky Furness, the lady bomber pilot we last saw in "Chains of Command." The most intersting character has to be Rinc Seaver. He is a bit of an enigma when it comes to his motivation and his relationships with the rest of the cast, but that's what makes him so interesting. He also spends much of the book dealing with a training accident that killed two crew members. Creates quite a bit of tension among the people in his B-1 squadron. As usual, Brown throws a whole lot of way cool high tech weapons at you. I will agree with one point some have made. I think Brown glossed over the impact of using nukes and chem weapons on the Korean Peninsula. Besides the obvious political ramifications, all the fallout would severely effect the whole of Korea, and most likely surrounding countries. I wish that and the actual devestation they caused to Korean cities was touched on a lot more. But that's really my only big complaint with this novel. Other than that, total thumbs up.
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