It’s 1981, and the Cold War is at its peak. The leader of the Soviet Union, General Secretary Yermolov, instructs Defense Minister Marshal Budarenko to go on a limited military operation that will put an end to the civilian uprising in some of the Warsaw Pact states. But Marshal Budarenko has other plans. The Marshal, a WWII hero and red-army legend, is a tough, militant man. He begins conspiring behind the USSR leader’s back, forming an intricate scheme that will allow him to move mass armed forces towards West Germany, and beyond. In the face of this emerging threat, the US and NATO allies declare the highest alert level and are left with no choice but to start deploying their nuclear warheads. WWIII seems inevitable. Set against a complex historical background, David Yaron weaves a thrilling, sophisticated story, which seems completely realistic. Yaron's writing is minimalistic yet full of details that only a military expert can recount, keeping the reader in constant suspense.
This is what I would call a classic Cold War thriller. It offers a vision of what might have been and indeed the reader could indeed wonder how often this was indeed what unfolded behind the scenes.
A excellent military/political thriller until page 164. It then fell apart because of incorrect military actions and phrases. At his point the novel lost its grip on the reader from believable to absurd.
Up to page 164 this book was gripping and believable,then it fell apart due to bad military phrases and actions. It lost its creitability with a reader of military fiction.
Somewhere in the course of listening to Army's (GBR) narrative (text to speech) I found myself drifting off in mid-paragraph. Maybe it was more Russian (content) then necessary. I may re-read this...later.
It was an interesting book. The premise is a common one, but with a few unusual twists. It is sort of aTom Clancy book but shorter and less complicated. It was an enjoyable read.
Well written story of war strategies, of how not to go to war. Entertaining and interesting, this book keeps your attention throughout. Written with some humor, the book also shares some creative thinking of world powers.
This book appears to have anticipated what the Russians are doing in Ukraine in 2022. The author appears to know the mentality of the way Russian leaders think to justify the use of military force in neighboring countries. This book is a very good read and highly recommended.
Frighteningly gripping as to what can happen if there are only a few, or a total lack of checks & balances in a politically nuclear environment as prevails in todays age. A very enjoyable & engrossing book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It was quite a believable & worrying scenario.
‘The world’s two superpowers are on the brink of war.’
Author David Yaron is an intelligence Lieutenant-Colonel (Ret) in the Israeli Air Force, and is now a commentator and publicist on military and security issues on various newspapers and websites. His novels to date have been prescient as predictions of world military affairs in the Middle East. Now he turns to another credible threat and makes his case completely solid while being a fascinating and thrilling read.
David makes his postulate clear n writing this book: ‘During the last decade of the Cold War, which ended in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, I was accompanied by a more professional and experienced eye, since I was then an IAF intelligence officer. In recent years, President Putin has made it his business to remind all of us that the Cold War may very well return.’ When a writer of the expertise of David Yaron creates a novel about the possibility of our approaching WW III the story becomes even more ominous than simply a possibility, and that is one of the many reasons this novel works so well. Add to that the gift of creating credible characters to enhance not only the rising tension of the plot but also reference to factual data and the book becomes a story worthy of translation into a screenplay.
Opening the story in1989 in the Russian cemetery wherein are buried Russia’s military heroes and cultural icons - Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev – and Vladimir Petrovich Yermolov, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ’Unlike Joseph Stalin, Yermolov had been loved, not feared.’
And the story progresses from there – ‘It’s 1981, and the Cold War is at its peak. The leader of the Soviet Union, General Secretary Yermolov, instructs Defense Minister Marshal Budarenko to go on a limited military operation that will put an end to the civilian uprising in some of the Warsaw Pact states. But Marshal Budarenko has other plans. The Marshal, a WWII hero and red-army legend, is a tough, militant man. He begins conspiring behind the USSR leader’s back, forming an intricate scheme that will allow him to move mass armed forces towards West Germany, and beyond. In the face of this emerging threat, the US and NATO allies declare the highest alert level and are left with no choice but to start deploying their nuclear warheads. WWIII seems inevitable.’
The quality of the writing further solidifies the enviable stature of author David Yaron, This is one mesmerizing and thrilling novel, worthy of the attention of all readers – and award judges!
An extremely quick read that kept my interest fairly well. I liked the author's knowledge of military hierarchy and political maneuverings on both sides of cold war. A lack of European involvement and a laughingly simple plot kept this book from a higher rating. I probably won't look for more from this author.
A great story, but the writer’s style forced me to reread many paragraphs.
Explanation: I am used to a paragraph break when the speaker changes to another speaker. This author packs two or more conversation segments by two individuals into one paragraph by the use of double quotes. The dialogue of each character is surrounded by double quotes. So the reader must carefully parse the paragraph to find where one speaker stops and the other starts speaking. This looks something like
“.....do you think so?” “Yes I certainly ....”. “I’m glad to hear....”
The foregoing is actually character 1, followed by character 2, followed by character 1 again - all in the same paragraph!
It’s been awhile since my 5th grade grammar studies? Have the rules of grammar changed? Perhaps it’s because the author is an Israeli? Are the rules different, or has the book suffered from translation and editing laziness?
So scary about the unending proximity of nuclear war
Where does fact start and fiction end in this authentic overview of the yawning gap between the ethics of Russia and USA? It's scary cos it identifies how easily nuclear war can start when ruthless ambition exceeds common sense for the human race. The message I got was to watch the integrity of the leaders of those two empires. Right now in 2019 this book can be predictive. Let's hold our breaths. It's like Kennedy and jrdchek 40 yrs ago....
I’m not usually a military fiction reader, but the description and the author’s bio grabbed my attention. A little bit of a slow start (the character’s names take some work), but it quickly picked up and moved forward with both expected and unexpected turns and twists. All in all, a good read.
A senior Russian military officer decides to begin THE major conflict leading to WWlll with special insights from key military sources. They almost reach their objective!
The challenge is keeping track of the large cast of characters but it is worth the effort. Unique plot and distinguished characters. You will ask yourself if it really happened and you never knew.
Great plot. A brilliant piece of political/military intrigue. One factual error that upset me (I am a retired Royal Navy Weapons Engineer), Royal Navy ships are referred to as HMS Victory, not as the HMS Victory = Her Majesties Ship Victory.
Good plot, portrayal of characters was helpful, ending was excellent and could have been manipulated in different ways. Enjoyed book and will follow author. Thx.