Tiger's Claw

January 21, 2013
Following 2011's A Time for Patriots, China is the bad guy in the 18th entry of Brown's long-running Patrick McLanahan series, set in 2014 & 2015. A 21st century Cold War looms after the Chinese test a new ballistic missile, and tensions ratchet up further when a US reconnaissance plane disappears somewhere over the South China Sea. The crisis tests the mettle of President Kenneth Phoenix, who fears that he's presiding over a "failed republic". Saving the day falls to Bradley McLanahan, son of "the hero of the American Holocaust, space hero, the greatest strategic bombing expert since General Curtis LeMay." Even though his father is retired from service, he naturally lends a hand as the clock ticks down to the prospect of all-out war and the threat of nuclear weapons hovers over the continental US. The assured writing and deft plotting keep things moving forward, and Brown again proves that he's a more-than-adequate substitute for Tom Clancy.

March 1, 2012

It's 2014, and, thanks to a big trade surplus, the Chinese have radically expanded their military presence in the Pacific. Meanwhile, Patrick McLanahan and his Sky Masters have been tasked with renovating the U.S. weapons system, a project that takes them to Guam--which sets off the Chinese. One preemptive strike later, there's war in the Pacific. Classic Brown for Brown fans; the one-day laydown on August 14 and 125,000-copy first printing says a lot.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.