China Conquers Taiwan

by Ted Halstead

“This is but one of many ‘China invades Taiwan’ books on the market, yet far more fun to read than the author’s competitors because the action scenes are a mixture of traditional and unusual characters all thrown together inside a fast-moving plot.”- Amazon Review

If China uses enough firepower to overwhelm Taiwan’s defenses, will what is left be worth having?
China’s leader has now decided the answer is - yes.
In a war on this scale, can the Russian Agents make a difference?
Their orders are to do so, or die trying.
American Presidents have said since 2022 that they would defend Taiwan if it is attacked by the PRC. But how far will America go to keep that promise?
All the way to nuclear war?
Will Japan help defend Taiwan? And what about America’s other allies in the region, like Australia and South Korea?
However the war ends, it will be the largest armed conflict since WWII.
And may start WWIII.

306 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2023

About the author

Ted Halstead served twenty-five years in the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer, most of it overseas, and was promoted to the Senior Foreign Service after his second tour at US Embassy Riyadh. His tours included four years at US Embassy Seoul, and two years at the East Asia Pacific Bureau in DC. He is a National War College graduate, and served for three years at a regional US military headquarters.

Reviews

[Reg Botterill · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting take on a potential situation.

Very realistic approach to this current problem.
Made to seem a bit too simple to solve.
Nevertheless it is a good read and have many interesting technical details.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the books in the series so far, this one features the least of the FSB agents and more so the Chinese PLAN and PLAAF characters introduced in books 5 and 6. Grishkov and his family are getting ready to retire in France and somehow the French DGSE. Their boys have grown up and are now attending university in Paris. To quote Murtaugh: "I am too old for this sh*$". (Need to keep this PG on Goodreads).

Eli Wade and SpaceLink (sounds a lot like an Elon Musk? but with a lot more patriotism and an axe to grind with the PRC in the series) make another appearance. Halstead serializes a lot so you would have to read books 5 and 6.

I always like reading Halstead's author notes at the end. Since he and all the other military technothriller authors with military or government backgrounds are banned from using classified data, they have to make a lot of best-guess assumptions or rely on open sources. In a real shooting war, would Japan and S. Korea actively aid the Taiwanese? Halstead would like to think so. Why? Both Japan and S. Korea have modern, professional militaries with lots of common airframes with the US plus their own native designs. Plus, RIMPAC - joint exercises - happen every year even during COVID. That means the US, Japanese, and Koreans know how to work together. Thus it is not a stretch but a ripped from the headlines.

[Bill Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ted Halstead doesn't disappoint with the last in the series The Russian Agents. In this final book, you see the setup for the next series which is said to be about French Agents. What I like most about Ted Halstead's books is they take a look at America and the World from a different prospective which this series from the Russian prospective and the next from the French prospective. I highly recommend this book and the series, for those who like action, great characters and twists.

[Bruce Tamanaha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good military fiction

A plausible possibility, the reunification of Taiwan with the PRC.

Boris, Vidya, and the other Russian agents infiltrate the PRC and Taiwan to help thwart the PRC invasion.

The United States entered the war after the PRC attacked US bases in the Pacific and Japan. The US doesn't hesitate to act.

The book is exciting and provides an accurate picture of a real situation. I enjoyed the book.