OT - What espioange/war novels do you read? [SURVEY]

"Guy Alcala" wrote in message
. ..
Marc Reeve wrote:
Clive Cussler is apparently finally retiring. (Though there will be two
new series "From the NUMA Files" and one other, which will have
Cussler's name prominent on the cover but actually written by someone
else.

Yeah, I've already seen one of those in the library. Somehow I had no
urge to
read it ;-) Still, Cussler seems to have had fun with his life, and been
able
to do what he wanted to. There are worse things to be than a purveyor of
mindless escapism, and I always enjoyed the picture of his latest car on
the
back cover of the dust jacket.

Actually, the NUMA files (Steve Austin) books are comparable to the Dirk
Pitt books. Cussler seems to have picked his writer well seems to be giving
guidance, and has the courtesy to put the writer's name on the cover from
the get-go. None of this "Thanks to Joe Schmoe for his assistance" on the
dedication page stuff!

Hey, they're not high literature, but as swashbuckers they make fine
reading.

George --currently in the middle of Charles Siringo's "A Cowboy Detective"

"Ed Rasimus" wrote :
On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 15:53:08 +0100, "Paul J. Adam"
wrote:


1) Who are you favorite espionage/war authors and why?

Derek Robinson, Mark Berent, John Del Vecchio, Steven Coontz, Barrett
Tillman all wrote one or more good books that I've kept.

I'll probably see Mark this week in Nashville at the annual River Rats
Reunion. He's the real deal, a true fighter pilot and a good guy (a
lot like Tom "Bear" Wilson whose fiction has eroded a bit since the
original F-105 Weasel trilogy that drew so heavily on his war
experiences.) I'll mention to Mark that he's got a nascent fan-club in
the UK.

And here in New Zealand as well. I didn't have any trouble getting paperback
copies of his excellent Rolling Thunder series, now sitting very well worn
next to my Nelson DeMille collection. If he ever gets the urge to take up
writing again I'd be more than keen to read the result.


2) Who are your least enjoyable espionage/war authors and why?

Of the ones I've read and can remember, Dale Brown (too much
ubertechnology), . . .

Funny how tastes change. What was entertaining at fourteen becomes quite
unreadable later in life.


Dare I say "that's what you get" when you put the Nav in charge? ;-))


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

And that book is first on the list next time I'm feeling financial enough to
go ordering from Amazon again (shipping costs are a right pain).

Cheers,
Simon

On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 23:20:32 GMT, Chad Irby wrote:

In article ,
John Cook wrote:

On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 12:53:23 -0400, Eric Pinnell see my web site
wrote:
I don't read much war fiction, but one book by Gaz Hunter "shooting
gallery" stuck in my mind, rather real in its descriptions, I liked
Steven King but have waned a bit due to his last two, One warning
though 'Ice Station' by Matthew Reilly...

Now thats a unintentionally funny _funny_ book... has anybody read it
without giggling??

No, but I read through Reilly's following book "Area 7," and all I could
think was that it was written by someone who was really, _really_ trying
to get something made into a movie with a lot of special effects, and
damn the reality.


Ice station had a Eurofighter Typoon shot down after launching a Nuke
by six F-22's, (hold on !! - So far no problem!), it was where it
happened!!! around 200 miles from Wilkes Ice station in Antartica,
that sort of thing irratates me when reading, because then I'm
thinking OK the Typhoon presence is semi explained by a VC-10 Tanker
thats been shot down 200 miles from Wilkes, and it could have taken
off from a Carrrier (its possible just like a C-130.)

But where do 6 F-22's come from, the nearest land mass IIRC is New
Zealand OZ or Cape Horn, where did they come from and how the hell do
they refuel...Ah the logistics would be on par with the Black buck
raids.

You have to suspend your disbelief as by this time the French
legionaires, UK SAS and US special forces had all made an appearence
at the Ice Station, fortunately for our hero mutant giant walruses had
eaten half of them Oh, and Killer whales, and a top secret stealth
plane is discovered, obligatory chase in Hovercrafts across the ice
shelf, couple of dips in the Ross sea - Oh! the reality just 'Oozes'
from the pages

By the time you read the last page, you wish the hero had eaten by a
Giant Mutant Walrus!!.

As entertainment goes its good, I'm still grinning about it...



Cheers


John Cook

Any spelling mistakes/grammatic errors are there purely to annoy. All
opinions are mine, not TAFE's however much they beg me for them.

Email Address :-
Spam trap - please remove (trousers) to email me
Eurofighter Website :- http://www.eurofighter-typhoon.co.uk

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 14:45:52 +1200, "Simon Ferguson"

"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

And that book is first on the list next time I'm feeling financial enough to
go ordering from Amazon again (shipping costs are a right pain).


Good news looms then, since Random House will be releasing it in
paperback in September at only $6.99. You might hold off until around
Christmas and double up with Phantom Flights, Bangkok Nights which
will come out of Smithsonian in hardback.



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

"John Cook" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 23:20:32 GMT, Chad Irby wrote:

In article ,
John Cook wrote:

On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 12:53:23 -0400, Eric Pinnell see my web site
wrote:
I don't read much war fiction, but one book by Gaz Hunter "shooting
gallery" stuck in my mind, rather real in its descriptions, I liked
Steven King but have waned a bit due to his last two, One warning
though 'Ice Station' by Matthew Reilly...

Now thats a unintentionally funny _funny_ book... has anybody read it
without giggling??

No, but I read through Reilly's following book "Area 7," and all I could
think was that it was written by someone who was really, _really_ trying
to get something made into a movie with a lot of special effects, and
damn the reality.


Ice station had a Eurofighter Typoon shot down after launching a Nuke
by six F-22's, (hold on !! - So far no problem!), it was where it
happened!!! around 200 miles from Wilkes Ice station in Antartica,
that sort of thing irratates me when reading, because then I'm
thinking OK the Typhoon presence is semi explained by a VC-10 Tanker
thats been shot down 200 miles from Wilkes, and it could have taken
off from a Carrrier (its possible just like a C-130.)

But where do 6 F-22's come from, the nearest land mass IIRC is New
Zealand OZ or Cape Horn, where did they come from and how the hell do
they refuel...Ah the logistics would be on par with the Black buck
raids.

You have to suspend your disbelief as by this time the French
legionaires, UK SAS and US special forces had all made an appearence
at the Ice Station, fortunately for our hero mutant giant walruses had
eaten half of them Oh, and Killer whales, and a top secret stealth
plane is discovered, obligatory chase in Hovercrafts across the ice
shelf, couple of dips in the Ross sea - Oh! the reality just 'Oozes'
from the pages

By the time you read the last page, you wish the hero had eaten by a
Giant Mutant Walrus!!.

As entertainment goes its good, I'm still grinning about it...

Reminds me of one at the local library, called "Red Tide" or something,
written in the late 1990s.

New York City is invaded by about 50 Chinese Diesel-Electric subs, complete
with deck guns(!) and landing parties, who are fought by the NYPD. There are
a couple US Navy ships mentioned in the part I had read up to (In the City
harbor for some reason) but no other US defenses.

Don't think a campy tongue-in-cheek book like that would fly today....

Cheers


John Cook

Any spelling mistakes/grammatic errors are there purely to annoy. All
opinions are mine, not TAFE's however much they beg me for them.

Email Address :-
Spam trap - please remove (trousers) to email me
Eurofighter Website :- http://www.eurofighter-typhoon.co.uk