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Title: Dancing with the Dragon by Joe Weber ISBN: 0-89141-799-0 Publisher: Presidio Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 2003 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.21 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Two thumbs up for Dancing With The Dragon......
Comment: In what amounts to a decent mix of cloak & dagger, high-tech weaponry, and modern day warfare, Dancing With The Dragon presents an appealing adventure story with slight undertones to events that could actually happen.
Upon losing several military aircraft to puzzling explosions, the U.S. president assigns a deep cover troubleshooting team to investigate the losses. As evidence mounts and answers are revealed, the U.S. government learns of a new weapon system possessed by China that has frightening potential. Compounding problems already at hand, China demonstrates its power in a military play for Taiwan while simultaneously wresting control of the strategic Panama Canal. Forcing America to divide its military assets to control both conflicts, escalating tensions push inexorably toward a nuclear showdown.
Dancing With The Dragon is an entertaining read from start to finish and delivers the goods for those looking for an action packed and well written novel.
Rating: 5
Summary: Another Great Weber Novel
Comment: I read my first Joe Weber novel (Primary Target) in 1999 and, I must say, I was hooked by his writing style. Weber combines gripping action, a well-thought-out plot, believable characters and a pace that moves at break-neck speed. Unlike some who write military techno-thrillers, he doesn't slow down the action with techno-babble. When I heard he had a new book out (Dancing with the Dragon) I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. I cleared my weekend calendar and dove in headfirst. I was not disappointed. In typical Weber fashion, the action begins on page one with the downing of an F/18 off the coast of Southern California by a strange 'bogey.' The pilot of the downed plane was a close friend of Scott Dalton (Primary Target). Dalton and Jackie Sullivan, who have an aviation consulting business as a front for their covert operations, are asked by the pilot's widow to look into the unusual circumstances surrounding the crash. Before you can say, "heat-seeking-missile," they find themselves in the middle of a Pentagon cover-up. Several U.S. military planes have been mysteriously downed by what the Pentagon, stretched thin by the war on terrorism, is calling, "routine training accidents." The President's National Security Advisor suspects something sinister afoot and puts Dalton and Sullivan on the case to find out who and/or what is behind the crashes. Their investigation leads them to a secret Chinese weapon's laboratory in Northern California, which was run by a group of prominent scientists from around the globe. With the exception of a Chinese-American, Dr. Richard Cheung, all the scientists have met an untimely demise. The Chinese are holding Cheung at their weapons development laboratory in Mianyang, China. It soon becomes clear that they plan to make their move on Taiwan, and their newly acquired laser weapon is an integral part of their plan. Dalton and Sullivan are tasked by President Chord Macklin (Primary Target) to rescue Dr. Cheung and, in so doing; to determine how many laser weapons the Chinese have deployed - a critical piece of intelligence to the U.S. if it is to become involved in a shooting war with China. As Dalton and Sullivan prepare to take on their mission, tensions between the U.S. and China heat up to the boiling point. The Chinese trap a U.S. Navy warship and its crew in the locks of the Panama Canal. President Macklin goes toe to toe with the Chinese President and all-out war seems imminent.
If you enjoy military action, Dancing with the Dragon is a must read. Be sure to set aside plenty of free time. Once you pick it up, you won't want to put it down.
Rating: 1
Summary: Wasted Time
Comment: I'll admit this up front: I couldn't even finish this book, it's that bad. Other reviewers have sufficiently covered the weaknesses in the plot, but I became so weary of Dalton and Sullivan trying to out-talk each other, and trying to prove to me, and perhaps themselves, that they really are interesting, intelligent people, that I had to put the book away. This whole book seems devoted to showing just how many different types of aircraft Dalton and Sullivan can have blown out from under them without suffering a single scratch or hangnail. I love flying, and I love well-spun flying yarns, but landing a Beech Bonanza after a bomb has exploded on board stretches the limits of credibility for me. I have to wonder what kind of self-respecting assassin plants a bomb in a Beech Bonanza that only blows the engine off its mounts. One would think that a power like China would arm its operatives with enough C4 to obliterate such a tiny plane, but that would have brought this book to a mercifully quick close.
I'm also becoming weary of China as the main protagonist with current military thriller authors. Coyle invented a conflict with the Hungarians and the French that was refreshing a few years ago. Larry Bond wrote a great book involving the South Africans. The last three books I've read in this genre have centered around China doing something dastardly to conquer Taiwan. It's a worn out plotline, and I wish these guys would move on. There are plenty of potential adversaries out there, but this current crop of authors seems to lack the collective will to sit down and develop a plot that introduces something new to the genre. For a lesson on how that can be done, I would recommend the Honor Harrington series, written by David Weber. If you're a military sci-fi fan, and you enjoy well-written, engaging books, look no further than David Weber.
Sorry I can't comment on the end of Dancing with the Dragon, but I just couldn't slug my way through it. Pure drudgery.
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Title: The Last Phoenix by Richard Herman ISBN: 0066209765 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 23 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Acts of Vengeance by Robert Gandt ISBN: 0451207181 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: With Hostile Intent by Robert Gandt ISBN: 0451204867 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 10 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Stephen Coonts' Deep Black by Stephen Coonts, Jim DeFelice ISBN: 0312985207 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Primary Target by Joe Weber ISBN: 0425172554 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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