Rogue Forces [Paperback]

Dale Brown's books began a long decline after the first few titles. I have kept reading them but found myself increasingly wishing that they were just better. They evolved into the adventures of Patrick McLanahan with mixed results. The plots were often way over the top (or somewhere out of left field) and McLanahan and Co. were not sympathetic enough to compensate. With Rogue Forces, Brown has toned it down with a story that works, one that his determined followers--like me--and new fans will simply enjoy. Turks and Kurds are credible antagonists. The Turks are treated with respect. So are the Kurds. The reasons the Turks attack are good ones, the restraint shown by them, the Americans (including McLanahan), and the Iraqis is surprisingly good for the story. This is just a techno thriller, but I'm glad to say, of this kind of book, Rogues Forces is as good as it gets.

I wish I could say the same for Amazon. I bought Rogue Forces for Kindle when it came out for $14.84. A few days later the price was dropped to $9.99. This seems to be the way Amazon operates with some new books; they refuse to refund the difference which they have always done in the past when a price changed right after a purchase. This certainly takes the bloom off the Kindle. The moral of the story is do not pre-order or buy a new title for a few days until the Kindle price drop comes.

I've prefaced my reviews of Dale Brown's last three thrillers (including this one) with a reminder that Brown is a remsrkably inconsistent author. His last outing, "Shadow Command" was awful, while the one before, "Strike Force" was excellent.

In "Rogue Forces", you are reminded of the young Dale Brown who, with the first of his 21 books, thrilled us with "Flight of the Old Dog". In my off the cuff estimate, I'd say that more than half his books since have been stinkers and none has ever equaled the first.

"Rogue Forces" shows some of the old Dale Brown: I had no choice but to lose sleep over two nights to finish it. One page just led to another and I didn't want to put it down.

The story is built upon a few well-known and increasingly stale characters. Retired General Patrick McLanahan, who has blown up half the world it seems in previous combat missions of dubious legality, is now working for a private contractor. So is former President Martindale. Boyish genius Jon Masters, who seems a parody of Bill Gates, is there to provide miraculous technological inventions. Current President Gsrdner is still there, as treacherous and dishonest as ever and filled with hatred with McLanahan, who has the goods on him. The libidinous Stacy Anne Barbeau is now Secretary of State and still, shall we say, intimate with the President, while his wife waits upstairs in the White House. No surprises here: all these characters serve like coat hangers for Brown to hang his story on. And quite a good story it is this time around.

President Gsrdner has been rushing the withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq, leaving the emerging state unsteady. US built airbases have been turned over to the Iraqi Army, with American forces as tenants. Increasingly, private contractors are performing duties once the province of the military. In fact, at Allied Air Base Nahla near Mosul, Iraq. the beleaguered American commander is surprised to find that former (trouble making) General Patrick McLanahan has shown up with Jon Mssters and a new wonder plane, the XC-57. Colonel Wilhelm, the commander of the American contingent, is a cartoon character.

The real story is that the PKK, a Kurdish Communist group, demanding an independent Kurdish nation created from parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran has been conducting guerrilla operations in Turkey. Turkey feels that the Iraqis, Americans, EU, UN and everyone else doesn't care and isn't doing enough to stop these raids.

Events start popping quickly; McLanahan is doing his usual thinig with his wonder airplanes and other weapons - and before you know it, President Gardner wants McLanahan in jail, the Turks are preparing for war and the Iraqi Army has disappeared.

The action is fast and furious. Brown fills every page with action and keeps the reader engrossed. The magic airplane, the XC-57, does its stuff (blowing things up and gathering information from almost everywhere), there are powerful drones, Jon Masters mini-satellites which have appeared in other Brown books, lots of air and ground combat action and some political stuff that is almost believable.

Happily, Brown put a restraint on his attempts at sex scenes, a blessing for the reader.

Overall, the story of a conflict between Iraq and Turkey over the Kurds is believable and Brown's handling of the technology is almost faultless.

It was great to lose myself in a good thriller for a couple of days and gratifying that Dale Brown has once again let his talent lose. Good stuff.

Jerry

OK its not Flight of the Old Dog or any other of his books that put you in the cockpit. But this novel is a far cry from his last one. The action is intense, the scenario is as relevant as possible, and Brown offers a great blend of his past techno toys with great characters. This is a fun and fast read, an action adventure romp. The only reason I do not give it five stars is a lack of the old flight days in the megafortres or Lancer-which may never come back.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 16 reviews  4.1 out of 5 stars