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Patrick McLanahan #7
The Tin Man
Patrick McLanahan and his team embark on a high-tech battle against crime in the USA – in the spectacular new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Flight of the Old Dog and Fatal Terrain.
The master of military adventure creates the ultimate one-man army…
In another action-packed thriller of unrivalled authenticity, former pilot Dale Brown brings back his ever-popular hero Patrick McLanahan – this time at the centre of an undeclared war exploding on the streets of America.
Now retired, McLanahan works for a company developing cutting-edge strategic devices for the armed forces. But when his rookie-cop brother is shot by terrorists, he transforms himself into a high-tech weapon of war. Protected by a new carbon-filament bodysuit that can instantly harden into stronger-than-steel armour and armed with almost-superhuman powers he can barely control, he embarks on a personal mission of revenge that will send his life spiralling towards disaster.
The master of military adventure creates the ultimate one-man army…
In another action-packed thriller of unrivalled authenticity, former pilot Dale Brown brings back his ever-popular hero Patrick McLanahan – this time at the centre of an undeclared war exploding on the streets of America.
Now retired, McLanahan works for a company developing cutting-edge strategic devices for the armed forces. But when his rookie-cop brother is shot by terrorists, he transforms himself into a high-tech weapon of war. Protected by a new carbon-filament bodysuit that can instantly harden into stronger-than-steel armour and armed with almost-superhuman powers he can barely control, he embarks on a personal mission of revenge that will send his life spiralling towards disaster.
436 pages, Paperback
First published May 18, 1998
277 people are currently reading
1242 people want to read
About the author
Dale Brown
151 books1,132 followersFormer U.S. Air Force captain Dale Brown is the superstar author of 25 consecutive New York Times best-selling military-action-aviation adventure novels: FLIGHT OF THE OLD DOG (1987), SILVER TOWER (1988), DAY OF THE CHEETAH (1989), HAMMERHEADS (1990), SKY MASTERS (1991), NIGHT OF THE HAWK (1992), CHAINS OF COMMAND (1993), STORMING HEAVEN (1994), SHADOWS OF STEEL (1996) and FATAL TERRAIN (1997), THE TIN MAN (1998), BATTLE BORN (1999), and WARRIOR CLASS (2001). His Fourteenth Novel AIRBATTLE FORCE will be published in late Spring 2003... Dale's novels are published in 11 languages and distributed to over 70 countries. Worldwide sales of his novels, audiobooks and computer games exceed 10 million copies.
Dale was born in Buffalo, New York on November 2, 1956. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Western European History and received an Air Force commission in 1978. He was a navigator-bombardier in the B-52G Stratofortress heavy bomber and the FB-111A supersonic medium bomber, and is the recipient of several military decorations and awards including the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Combat Crew Award, and the Marksmanship ribbon.
Dale was also one of the nation's first Air Force ROTC cadets to qualify for and complete the grueling three-week U.S. Army Airborne Infantry paratrooper training course.
Dale is a director and volunteer pilot for AirLifeLine, a non-profit national charitable medical transportation organization who fly needy persons free of charge to receive treatment. He also supports a number of organizations to support and promote law enforcement and reading.
Dale Brown is a member of The Writers Guild and a Life Member of the Air Force Association and U.S. Naval Institute. He is a multi-engine and instrument-rated private pilot and can often be found in the skies all across the United States, piloting his own plane. On the ground, Dale enjoys tennis, skiing, scuba diving, and hockey. Dale, his wife Diane, and son Hunter live near the shores of Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
Dale was born in Buffalo, New York on November 2, 1956. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Western European History and received an Air Force commission in 1978. He was a navigator-bombardier in the B-52G Stratofortress heavy bomber and the FB-111A supersonic medium bomber, and is the recipient of several military decorations and awards including the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Combat Crew Award, and the Marksmanship ribbon.
Dale was also one of the nation's first Air Force ROTC cadets to qualify for and complete the grueling three-week U.S. Army Airborne Infantry paratrooper training course.
Dale is a director and volunteer pilot for AirLifeLine, a non-profit national charitable medical transportation organization who fly needy persons free of charge to receive treatment. He also supports a number of organizations to support and promote law enforcement and reading.
Dale Brown is a member of The Writers Guild and a Life Member of the Air Force Association and U.S. Naval Institute. He is a multi-engine and instrument-rated private pilot and can often be found in the skies all across the United States, piloting his own plane. On the ground, Dale enjoys tennis, skiing, scuba diving, and hockey. Dale, his wife Diane, and son Hunter live near the shores of Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
April 17, 2008
I didn't like this book. The premise sounded so exciting, and I kept thinking it has to get better when it gets to the action. There were so many instances of Dale Brown using outrageous scenarios that just aren't realistic. The main character is like a wimp that doesn't have any common sense, yet he works with his friend on these outrageous experiements that never really do any good.
At the time of reading the book, I was on a underway on a Navy ship working over 18 hours a day / 7 days a week. I threw the book across the room when I came to a section that was something like this:
The police officers met in the briefing room. Their clothes were ragged, most of them hadn't combed their hair or even showered. It was no wonder with them working more than 12 hour days for 2 weeks.
12 hour days for 2 weeks? Are you serious? I looked at information about the author and he's a retired Captain in the Air Force. Well no wonder 12 hour days for 2 weeks seem like hell to him. Things like this go on and on - I ended up tearing up this book at the end and flinging pages all over the mess decks. Several times while reading it I threw it down and stomped on it.
Why did I keep reading? It's like watching a bad movie... I just can't stop and I wonder how it's going to end. I've swore off Dale Brown books and I swore to punch him in the face if I ever met him (though I don't think I could cause he looks like a nice guy). I've been told this is not his best work.
At the time of reading the book, I was on a underway on a Navy ship working over 18 hours a day / 7 days a week. I threw the book across the room when I came to a section that was something like this:
The police officers met in the briefing room. Their clothes were ragged, most of them hadn't combed their hair or even showered. It was no wonder with them working more than 12 hour days for 2 weeks.
12 hour days for 2 weeks? Are you serious? I looked at information about the author and he's a retired Captain in the Air Force. Well no wonder 12 hour days for 2 weeks seem like hell to him. Things like this go on and on - I ended up tearing up this book at the end and flinging pages all over the mess decks. Several times while reading it I threw it down and stomped on it.
Why did I keep reading? It's like watching a bad movie... I just can't stop and I wonder how it's going to end. I've swore off Dale Brown books and I swore to punch him in the face if I ever met him (though I don't think I could cause he looks like a nice guy). I've been told this is not his best work.
January 20, 2011
Neo-Nazi terrorists decide to raise hell in the Valley. A defense consultant decides to go head to head against them, while having a baby with his ex-military wife, inventing impossible weapons and armor, nursing his rookie cop brother back to health! Right on Bro!
This book really has no purpose but to satisfy the author's craving for impossible technology plot devices. The characters are all stupid, annoying, opaque, one dimensional stereotypes. The story is not interesting, and promises nothing but implausible techno garbage at every turn.
I can't really say there is any good mass market paperback fiction out there. You get what you get. This is sort of tech-fiction porn for people with absolutely no knowledge of anything who find amazing technology like the Segway or Roombas exciting. I suppose people think they're learning something by reading this kind of techno-thriller. I used to feel smart while reading Crichton. I was 5 though.
This book really has no purpose but to satisfy the author's craving for impossible technology plot devices. The characters are all stupid, annoying, opaque, one dimensional stereotypes. The story is not interesting, and promises nothing but implausible techno garbage at every turn.
I can't really say there is any good mass market paperback fiction out there. You get what you get. This is sort of tech-fiction porn for people with absolutely no knowledge of anything who find amazing technology like the Segway or Roombas exciting. I suppose people think they're learning something by reading this kind of techno-thriller. I used to feel smart while reading Crichton. I was 5 though.
April 25, 2013
I bought this for 25 pesos (0.61 dollars), and it didn't even seem worth it.
The protagonists' characters are so inconsistent that by the end of the novel, I felt like I disliked them as much as the antagonists. Patrick McLanahan seemed to have lost all sense of intelligence he gained from the first six books; in Tin Man, he rushes head-on with no sense of rational thought.
The protagonists' characters are so inconsistent that by the end of the novel, I felt like I disliked them as much as the antagonists. Patrick McLanahan seemed to have lost all sense of intelligence he gained from the first six books; in Tin Man, he rushes head-on with no sense of rational thought.
July 28, 2017
It's Tim man
Lot of action. Story line makes you wonder if there could be technology like that to combat terrorism. It makes you feel warm when the good guy overcomes the situation.
Lot of action. Story line makes you wonder if there could be technology like that to combat terrorism. It makes you feel warm when the good guy overcomes the situation.
May 23, 2019
Dale Brown has built his storylines around a fun politcally charged thruthism.
March 11, 2017
A very technical read. I enjoyed the advanced technology devices in this book. It was a slow read for me because of all the chemical, scientific terms and the vast number of groups, gangs and different characters. It's not the kind of book I normally read but it would be a great read for people that normally read this genre of books. I did not see the ending coming although I did know it wasn't only about the drug world.
July 8, 2020
This is one of the beginning novels where Patrick Mclanahan starts to incorporate technology into his tactics when fighting those who use the lastest types of guns on the market to hurt others. Patrick is already involved in creating methods to keep soldiers from dying, using a material that withstands certain types of impacts. The designer of this material is Jon Masters, a savant beyond his years, who never had the chance to develop emotionally in personal relationships. He, Jon, wants to use this material to help make transportation safe from destruction. But Patrick along with his group of militants use the material to develop a special protective suit that protects the wearer from damage from most types of weapons. They even figure out how to avoid injury from knife attacks.
The reason Patrick uses this suit was to go after the people who were terrorizing the area of California, starting with killing all members of a certain biker group called the Brotherhood who were also in charge of dealing meth. I was so reminded of Breaking Bad when I heard the description of how to make the product. Obviously this novel was written during the big meth situation in the 1990s.
But this novel also addresses something that is happening in our current times, the politics that hinder the police from doing the correct job of removing crime off the streets. Even back in the 1990s, the rich demand that their specific areas be clear of criminals but don't want to spend the money in the budget to take care of the real problems, like removing the drug makers who are the source of the problem. Everything has to appear good in the presentation to the public, but no money is being spent. A defunding of funds to the police by the politicians which make efforts to correct and solve crimes even harder.
Patrick is mainly trying to motivate the police to do their job by finding and leaving them hints of the source of corruption because he was upset about how they released the two men who almost killed his brother, Paul, leaving him disabled that he needed prosthetics. Paul after undergoing therapy learning to use his prosthetics is able to go back to work on active duty after he helps remove the major criminal from continuing his path in life.
The Tin Man in this book refers to the person wearing a special suit.
The reason Patrick uses this suit was to go after the people who were terrorizing the area of California, starting with killing all members of a certain biker group called the Brotherhood who were also in charge of dealing meth. I was so reminded of Breaking Bad when I heard the description of how to make the product. Obviously this novel was written during the big meth situation in the 1990s.
But this novel also addresses something that is happening in our current times, the politics that hinder the police from doing the correct job of removing crime off the streets. Even back in the 1990s, the rich demand that their specific areas be clear of criminals but don't want to spend the money in the budget to take care of the real problems, like removing the drug makers who are the source of the problem. Everything has to appear good in the presentation to the public, but no money is being spent. A defunding of funds to the police by the politicians which make efforts to correct and solve crimes even harder.
Patrick is mainly trying to motivate the police to do their job by finding and leaving them hints of the source of corruption because he was upset about how they released the two men who almost killed his brother, Paul, leaving him disabled that he needed prosthetics. Paul after undergoing therapy learning to use his prosthetics is able to go back to work on active duty after he helps remove the major criminal from continuing his path in life.
The Tin Man in this book refers to the person wearing a special suit.
April 14, 2009
Not the best book I have read
February 12, 2011
Awful awful book!
Read
February 18, 2022
Though many of the sycophants of the MCU and its recent audience exploiting assembly line film series probably blissfully ignore the date of origin, IRON MAN's been around since 1963 and a whopping 35 years prior to Dale Brown's THE TIN MAN. Clocking in as book seven of the McLanahan series, THE TIN MAN is quite the departure for the Air Force top secret ace pilot usually working on defense materiel best kept quiet for national security and follows in the footsteps of the 1997 North Hollywood shootout, after which the law enforcement outcry for more armor and better weapons reached a fever pitch. Enter 'The Ultimate Soldier Program'...
It's 10 years before BREAKING BAD dazzled audiences, and meth is the fastest growing drug problem in the country and represents a $200 million business in CA, albeit an illegal one, with super labs a la Gus Fring and Walter White's crank mecca sprouting up like mushrooms. In essence, THE TIN MAN is ROBOCOP meets UNIVERSAL SOLDIER meets DIE HARD 3 and re-imagined for two brothers, Pat and Paul McLanahan--one a seasoned (Air Force) warrior, the other a rookie cop, whose only desire is to help those who need help and nailing the predators. Everyone wants to be like Mike--just that Paul wants to be like Pat. Before you can hum "Oh Danny Boy," there are double bagpipes at a triple cop funeral. It's prosaic and a brother with furious anger, financial means and connections is out for poetic justice.
Stuck with a Dollar Store version of Tony Stark, the plot could've taken a turn for the better if the drug epidemic angle had been properly leveraged. It's all a pretty elaborate ruse to cover an end-game robbery, resulting in a low rent version of IRON MAN with elements of ROBOCOP and ROBOCOP 2, a good helping of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER, part ROCKETEER, part DEATH WISH, and some BREAKING BAD. The DIE HARD / DIE HARD 3 angle with a German speaking para-military force wreaking havoc in Sactown is certainly interesting, and the astute reader might be able to pick up some rudimentary German phrases that the terrorists use.
Weighing in on the plight of modern engineering and its planned iterations, McLanahan the elder, wielding a force absorbing powersuit that renders him virtually invincible, suffers constant battery problems with the uparmored man-corset, as his ruthless vigilantism exposes him to so much blunt force trauma that shock absorption drains the battery. Down the road, this obviously could and can create problems, but as the TV series said, "We can rebuild him. We have the technology." Usually putting a straight laced do-good, American loving righteous patriot to paper, it's quite apparent that Dale Brown was having a lot of fun writing THE TIN MAN. For those who are obstinate about having their thrillers ground in unwavering realism, THE TIN MAN may ring a tad hollow. Everyone else, sink into the pages and soar to the height of adventure where man meets machine, and tangos meet justice, THE TIN MAN is a techno-thriller that aims higher than just a one man-army--it's truly more than meets the eye.
April 3, 2020
This book is clearly better than the preceding book in the series, though it doesn't mean that it's a great book. This time Jon Masters has invented a magical armor that protects against bullets, but as always in Brown's books, all decision makers are idiots and doesn't understand that it could be useful. I think this is what Brown gets the most wrong. Decision makers are not idiots. They make mistakes and may have the wrong/different priorities, but they usually make decisions that at the time, from their point of view, make sense. Not so in Brown's books. He's just treating them as idiots which makes those interactions very unrealistic.
In this book we get to meet Patrick McLanahan's younger brother Paul McLanahan, rookie police officer.
In this book we get to meet Patrick McLanahan's younger brother Paul McLanahan, rookie police officer.
August 9, 2021
A much different Patrick McLanahan novel. This time he is not flying around in a Megafortress or Stratafortress. This time he is on the ground. He puts on a bodysuit that can instantly harden into a protective armor.
When his younger brother, Paul, a rookie cop severely injured in a shootout following a robbery, Patrick becomes a one-man army. The enemy is within. His targets are international terrorist turned drug lord Gregory Townsend and his Aryan Brigade. They are out to destroy government authority in pursuit of the racist ideology. But they don't count on The Tin Man being around at the end.
If you have read the Dale Brown novels and are a fan of the Patrick McLanahan series, this is a good one. I enjoyed it.
When his younger brother, Paul, a rookie cop severely injured in a shootout following a robbery, Patrick becomes a one-man army. The enemy is within. His targets are international terrorist turned drug lord Gregory Townsend and his Aryan Brigade. They are out to destroy government authority in pursuit of the racist ideology. But they don't count on The Tin Man being around at the end.
If you have read the Dale Brown novels and are a fan of the Patrick McLanahan series, this is a good one. I enjoyed it.
November 2, 2020
Pretty sure this was the only Patrick McLanahan series book I read. I will forever be grateful to this book for introducing me to the futuristic body armor worn by the protagonist that I was sure was going to be the future of self-protection. Turned out not to be the case, at least not as of 2020...
July 15, 2017
Vigilante + Robocop = The Tin Man. That about sums up the story that took nearly 500 pages to tell.
Quite wordy. Quite descriptive. Good character development. But lengthy and a lot could have been cut from it that was irrelevant to the storyline.
I don't recommend this book.
Quite wordy. Quite descriptive. Good character development. But lengthy and a lot could have been cut from it that was irrelevant to the storyline.
I don't recommend this book.
September 20, 2017
Reading out of order
Great book I read the following book before I read the Tin man and they fit together seamlessly neither lacked from knowledge of the other but it was good to get the basis for the book that follows tin man
Great book I read the following book before I read the Tin man and they fit together seamlessly neither lacked from knowledge of the other but it was good to get the basis for the book that follows tin man
December 12, 2017
I couldn't even finish this book. I held on for 350 pages waiting for a pay off and it was just more of the same - clueless main characters bumbling through the story. Will probably not read Dale Brown again.
February 15, 2019
Meh, soso
I didn't find much compelling with this book which is the first Patrick McClanahan book I have read. There are glimpses that Brown can be a good storyteller yet overall this one was flat. Supporting characters were richer and more interesting than the hero.
I didn't find much compelling with this book which is the first Patrick McClanahan book I have read. There are glimpses that Brown can be a good storyteller yet overall this one was flat. Supporting characters were richer and more interesting than the hero.
September 5, 2020
Tim Man
Worst book I've read so far of the Patrick McLanahan series. Too many things that were not realistic, a general using the suit and fighting others. It would have at least been more realistic if Funny had been wearing the suit.
Worst book I've read so far of the Patrick McLanahan series. Too many things that were not realistic, a general using the suit and fighting others. It would have at least been more realistic if Funny had been wearing the suit.
August 24, 2023
Different but decent read
I enjoy the Patrick M series. This was a bit unusual but still a good read. I grew up in Sacramento but have been gone for along time. All of the Sacramento references stirred up good memories
I enjoy the Patrick M series. This was a bit unusual but still a good read. I grew up in Sacramento but have been gone for along time. All of the Sacramento references stirred up good memories
August 29, 2024
Not the best Brown book I've read, but it was fun enough. Taking place in Sacamento, near where I just escaped (moved) from, it was interesting to read about the old stomping grounds. Except for the weather and old friends, I don't miss it at all.
August 4, 2017
Exciting read!
Nonstop action from page 1. Exciting plot and ( spoiler alert ) the good guys win! I just could not put this book down.
Nonstop action from page 1. Exciting plot and ( spoiler alert ) the good guys win! I just could not put this book down.
January 28, 2018
Great read
As usual Dale spins a great tale. Action from front to back! It has an ending you sure don't see coming!
As usual Dale spins a great tale. Action from front to back! It has an ending you sure don't see coming!
June 11, 2018
Good change of pace from series,very important to read in order ,book makes you wonder why they haven't built some of those cool toys lol or have they ,
November 5, 2018
A fairly quick read, but at times I found myself wondering where this book was going. After this one I'm a little hesitant to give any more of the Patrick McLanahan series a go.
October 4, 2019
Great suspense
Really great read. It keeps you glued to the book. It has action, suspense , romance all a really good book needs
Really great read. It keeps you glued to the book. It has action, suspense , romance all a really good book needs
January 14, 2020
Very primitive
February 27, 2020
Reread this book last week. Again it did not disappoint.
October 5, 2020
Good read. Good plot. McLanahan brothers strike again. Neat twists. A little preposterous on the suit, but that's ok. Bad guys lose, good guys win... works for me!
March 11, 2021
Добра идея,но не добре реализирана
September 6, 2021
Fantastic.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews