Shadows of War (Red Dragon Rising, #1) in SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group

May 28, 2014 Mike (the Paladin) rated it liked it

Shelves: action, military-fiction, military-fantasy

I've read a couple of other books by Larry Bond...and I liked them better than this one. This book forces me into my "3 star mode". I've had at least on person who follows my reviews take to task for three star ratings. He or she wanted me to come down more "for or against" each book. The thing is of course that you can't...all books aren't pass or fail.

This book is "synopsized" as a war fiction. It's more an extended first chapter of a war fiction. The book does cover the beginning moves in wha I've read a couple of other books by Larry Bond...and I liked them better than this one. This book forces me into my "3 star mode". I've had at least on person who follows my reviews take to task for three star ratings. He or she wanted me to come down more "for or against" each book. The thing is of course that you can't...all books aren't pass or fail.

This book is "synopsized" as a war fiction. It's more an extended first chapter of a war fiction. The book does cover the beginning moves in what will possibly be WW3. It is however more a very politically loaded story of a CIA agent trying to get a scientist who happens to be the sole survivor of his group. He also has a visual record of the Chinese invading Vietnam.

Look the book was written in 2009 when everyone was gleefully telling us we were going to be destroyed by global warming. The action in the book is taking place basically in our present and we're supposed to be paying $14 a gallon for gas, the world has collapsed due to said global warming and so on.

So, wade through all the political rhetoric...the book opens with a few thousand words on it. Each "part" of the book also "pauses" to "read us in" on the global warming catastrophes. We get fake headlines, news stories and so on. It's a set up for why the war is happening. Take it with a grain of salt...

Well, unless of course your really into it and are still looking for our demise due to global warming (recently renamed climate change since we've had a couple of the coldest winters on record instead of having an average of being 5 degrees hotter or something) then you will enjoy the opening and the interludes....

Anyway, skip, skim or read them, whatever is your..."bag".

Now the body of the book is good. Bond can tell a story (as you may know) I liked Red Storm Rising on which he collaborated with Tom Clancy. I liked Vortex. He can write. I intend to follow this series (in no small reason as this is as I said much like an extended first chapter). I still have hope that we will actually get a "technothriller"....

There are some good scenes, the characters are pretty well drawn and there's some action. Not a loss overall, but it could have been a lot better had maybe the rational for the "war" not been so politically loaded.

I have the next book from the library.

So I'm an optimist....try it yourself see what you think. ...more

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Jun 19, 2016 Lee rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction-spy-covert-op-books, larry-bond

This book sets a scenario in the future where due to Global Warming China is suffering and becoming even more aggressive towards its neighbors. The book is all about an invasion of Vietnam and the actions of the US to try and hold them up in addition to getting evidence that China started the conflict out to the world. It follows several characters a US scientist with proof the Chinese started the conflict. A CIA agent trying to get him out of the country and a Chinese commando seeking to track ...more

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Nov 24, 2009 Mark rated it liked it

Shelves: spy-thriller, political-thriller, tech-thriller, military

Larry Bond and Jim DeFelice's latest political thriller...epic scale aling the lines of the Clancy derivative Red Storm Rising which bond helped write...This one works in rapid climate change leading to great internal pressures in China...the Chinese premier seeks to distract the Chinese masses by warring on the traditional Chinese enemies in Southeast Asia...the US wants to avoid nuclear confrontation and preserve world peace so it rescues a scientist who is a witness to the invasion and has ph ...more

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