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Alan Craik #5
Force Protection
From the acclaimed author of Top Hook and Hostile Contact, the fifth exhilarating tale of modern espionage and military adventure featuring US Navy intelligence officer Alan Craik – sure to appeal to the many fans of Tom Clancy and Dale Brown. Alan Craik and his US Navy battlegroup confront two new international, organized crime and a massive storm at sea. Alan is back on the aircraft carrier USS Thomas Jefferson, using the latest radar technology to monitor smuggling craft in the Indian Ocean between Pakistan and Somalia. As a break he is sent ashore to assess the port of Mombasa for a forthcoming liberty visit. While the battlegroup remains at sea because of a brewing storm, he arrives in Mombasa safely. But he is hardly on the beach when a US Navy support ship is blown up at the dockside. Chaos ensues, and further acts of violence. Soon – cut off from support by the storm at sea – Alan is charged with the task of tracking down the faceless people behind these apparently motiveless terrorist attacks.
- GenresThrillerMilitary Fiction
536 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
8 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Kent
25 books26 followersPseudonym of writers Kenneth M. Cameron with his son Christian Cameron.
Series:
* Alan Craik
Series:
* Alan Craik
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 2, 2019
Force Protection continues on from Hostile Contact, this time around Alan, Mike, Rose, Dick & Harry are drawn into a suspected Islamic terrorist attack when a dhow (traditional Arab sailing vessel) filled with explosives powers into the side of a US Navy merchant ship killing a visiting Admiral and numerous sailors as well as disabling the ship in the Kenyan port it is visiting. Simultaneously a riot starts in the nearby Kenyan town destabilising the region and causing a violent response from the Kenyan National Police.
An explosion later targets a US Aid office in Cairo and a naval officer is tortured and murdered, a systematic web of terrorism appears to be targeting US interests in the region and Alan & Mike are at the forefront of the investigation.
As far as excitement goes it's better than Peacemaker but not quite on par with Top Hook, the bulk of the book is pretty good leading to an excellent closing however I did feel that it lacked the enthrallment that Top Hook had. This may be due to the plot which doesn't quite hold up to the prior books level of realism and is kind of a bit left field and could almost be interchanged with practically anything and not really affect the story too much. The instigating factors of the plot are almost secondary to the actual unfolding of it.
All that said, it's still an interesting and entertaining read.
An explosion later targets a US Aid office in Cairo and a naval officer is tortured and murdered, a systematic web of terrorism appears to be targeting US interests in the region and Alan & Mike are at the forefront of the investigation.
As far as excitement goes it's better than Peacemaker but not quite on par with Top Hook, the bulk of the book is pretty good leading to an excellent closing however I did feel that it lacked the enthrallment that Top Hook had. This may be due to the plot which doesn't quite hold up to the prior books level of realism and is kind of a bit left field and could almost be interchanged with practically anything and not really affect the story too much. The instigating factors of the plot are almost secondary to the actual unfolding of it.
All that said, it's still an interesting and entertaining read.
November 20, 2017
A US warship has been attacked. Lieutenant Commander Alan Craik's wife is almost killed in an attack on her. And there is evidence that another attack is being planned. Are these incidents related? And, can Craik and his team figure out what is going on before anything else happens?
I read this whole book, but I must say I wasn't terribly impressed by it. Perhaps if I had read earlier books in the series, I would have enjoyed this one more. The author uses many acronyms - such as AVS, CIC, MARI and dozens more - and doesn't explain them in the text. Like I said, perhaps if I had read other books in the series, I would be more familiar with these.
Also, the story is told from many points of view. Although this can provide a window into the thoughts of more than one character at a time, it can also become confusing, as is the case with this story.
I read this whole book, but I must say I wasn't terribly impressed by it. Perhaps if I had read earlier books in the series, I would have enjoyed this one more. The author uses many acronyms - such as AVS, CIC, MARI and dozens more - and doesn't explain them in the text. Like I said, perhaps if I had read other books in the series, I would be more familiar with these.
Also, the story is told from many points of view. Although this can provide a window into the thoughts of more than one character at a time, it can also become confusing, as is the case with this story.
December 3, 2024
good book
April 21, 2025
Kinda like it. It's not too bad.
October 6, 2016
This story isnt extremly exciting or different. I think for me this is because the writting didnt really flow and I noticed a lot of military slang scattered through out the book that I had no idea what they meant. It is a perfectly ok novel however.
July 16, 2010
good action. kept my interest throughout.
November 20, 2012
Kent's Force Protection won't win any prizes for originality or classic story telling but it will gain fans for the amount of action and interest it creates.
November 30, 2007
read 05.xx.05
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews