Dancing with the Dragon

Scott Dalton & Jackie Sullivan #3

by Joe Weber

Scott Dalton and Jackie Sullivan, intelligence specialists and former military pilots, are called in to investigate the mysterious mid-air destruction of two American fighter planes. As they proceed, they are surprised to learn that the loss of two navy jets is just the latest in a series of seemingly unrelated, and previously unexplained losses of American combat aircraft. It soon becomes clear that the culprit is China, using a ship-mounted laser to target American aircraft.

Relations between the two global powers deteriorate, ultimately to the point of armed conflict. As the United States begins to achieve decisive battlefield success, the finger of the Chinese president is poised over the nuclear button.

Genres: Military Fiction, Mystery, War, Thriller

Audio Cassette

First published February 4, 2002

About the author

Joe Weber is a former USMC carrier-qualified fighter pilot. His novels have appeared on the best-seller lists of the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, the Associated Press, and the Chicago Tribune.

Mr. Weber holds a Master of Science Degree in Aviation Management. He is an Airline Transport Rated pilot with over 10,500 hours of flight time in 43 different types of aircraft, ranging from aerobatic biplanes and high-performance military jets to four engine transports. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1970-1975. A carrier-qualified fighter/attack trained pilot, he graduated first in his class from advanced naval jet pilot training in Kingsville, Texas, in 1972. After his release from active duty, he flew commercially until 1989 when his first novel was published. Mr. Weber is a native of Enid, Oklahoma, and lives in Northwest Arkansas with his wife, Jeannie

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this overall, but the ending was really reminiscent of the author's DefCon One story. It moved at a fast pace and held my interest throughout. I felt the author did a nice job of incorporating "real world events" around the time the book was written (such as the collision of the Chinese fighter with the U.S. reconnaissance aircraft that forced it to land on a Chinese airbase, or how the Chinese gained control of the Panama Canal after the U.S. left Panama in the latter portion of the 20th Century) into the story. The character development was okay - I did not really feel too much emotional involvement with either of the two main characters or "their supporting cast". Well, it was okay and weird, I guess, as it felt like the protagonists were lovers but they never really acted like it. It was like they were on the cusp of it or something on the one hand but then you had moments where it seemed like they truly did have some kind of intimate relationship. Also, I did not realize this was the third book in a series, so while I am sure some of the comments made in the book refer back to one of the earlier two adventures you do not have to read those books to be able to enjoy this book.

I think the most frustrating part of the book for me was how "omniscient and omnipresent" the villains were in the book. It was like the villains had henchmen everywhere and knew everything "our heroes" were going to do and yet they still could not kill either hero or fully stymy their plans. I strongly dislike it when authors do that - when they make villains super-smart or have this worldwide organization that is virtually untouchable only until it is time for them to become inept to allow our heroes to succeed in some part of their mission or to just survive.

Also, the weapon did not fully make sense to me. Early in the book, the Chinese are able to shoot down military aircraft that are flying at high rates of speed without any apparent issues or difficulties. But then, at the end of the book (or maybe the latter third of the book), they suddenly are no longer able to shoot aircraft down that are flying all over the sky. Instead, the aircraft have to be flying some kind of "stable flightpath" so that the lasers can be manually fired from the freighters to shoot down the aircraft. Yet that means they still have to lead the aircraft somehow because even with the laser traveling at the speed of light it still has to travel some distance to hit the aircraft and it seems like the aircraft (especially the jet fighters) should have been flying fast enough for the "gunners" firing the laser weapons to have a harder time hitting the flying aircraft. The lasers have to be fired manually and do a crazy amazing job of hitting their targets until it is time for them to start missing their targets and not be able to shoot them down.

The ending turned out to be exactly what I expected. I found myself briefly wondering if he was truly going to the Chinese launch a new/second round of nuclear missiles at the U.S. of A. and force the U.S. to launch an overwhelming retaliatory strike. However, I assumed he would have the Chinese president either be deposed or suffer some kind of stroke or debilitating energy that would allow new people to take over and back down from WWIII occurring. As I said, the ending turned out to be almost exactly like DefCon One in my opinion, but it has been years since I last read that book so some of my memory is a bit fuzzy on how it ends, exactly. I mainly remember the rhetoric and the Russian aggression increasing over the course of the book until the point was reached that both sides were going to launch nukes and then something happens to the Russian president and peace is achieved once this hardliner is out of the way. I cannot lie, though - there was some tension inside of me as I drew near the end and wondered "will he or won't he . . . .?" in terms of how the author was going to end the book.

I did enjoy the "technical aspects" of the laser and how it worked. That was pretty cool and strongly reminded me of various articles I would read in technical magazines like Popular Mechanics or other similar magazines throughout the 80s. It also reminded me of some of Tom Clancy's work, in some ways, so that was cool, too. It was a great idea, I thought, to have the lasers placed onboard freighters that traveled around the globe hauling cargo to hide their advanced weaponry onboard. I felt the author did a nice job explaining how such a device might work as a weapon and how it might work onboard a naval-going vessel. I also liked that they used a holographic device as a distraction so that they could use the laser to shoot down unsuspecting aircraft. Not that I wanted else to die, but I thought it was a clever idea that worked rather well in the book.

The invasion and retaking of the Panama Canal was short, sweet, and fun to read. One of those moments where "everything worked perfectly" and the author is able to vent his frustrations about poor U.S. foreign policy choices and allow those poor decisions to somehow be rectified (usually through the judicial use of U.S. American military power in a decisively forceful manner).

I will say this - the author did a nice job with describing the EF-4 Phantom drone (I think that is how it was designated; I don't have the book in front of me to double-check) and how it was operated. I thought that part of the book was also well-written, and I did not realize that older fighter planes had been altered so that they could be flown remotely and used as drones for various missions, so it was a fascinating moment for me. I will not lie - the author did a great job of describing the horror that was felt when the drone crashed into the Russian-Chinese freighter and destroyed it. I felt the horror of the characters and felt horrified myself - probably one of the better-written parts of the book (after the last thirty pages of the book; even though I guessed how it would end, the author still did a great job of generating tension while finishing the last few pages of the book).


I also enjoyed the moment when the U.S. attack submarine surfaced underneath one of our heroes and surprised the heck out of him. When the (second) freighter exploded like it did, I assumed there must have been a U.S. submarine nearby and that turned out to be the case.

I think the most interesting thing about this book is that it was written just over twenty years ago and yet it feels like it is just as relevant today as its "message" might have been (probably was, in the sense of being some kind of "prophetic warning") at the time it was written. We see China building island bases in disputed areas the South China Sea that allow them to project their power without needing aircraft carrier battlegroups and threaten vital shipping lanes in the region. It is a "fascinating" book in terms of how relevant the geopolitics in the book are for today.

I do not know what else to say. On the one hand, it felt like it took a while to build up its steam, but once it got going it never stopped. On the other hand, I do not know how "smoothly flowing" the narrative was; I felt it was broken up a bit in points and somewhat choppy. At the same time, it still held my interest from start to finish (especially as it drew near the end - I did not want to put it down) and I found myself enjoying more of it in the latter portion of the book. All in all, I would probably rate it 2.6-2.8 stars rounded up to 3 stars. I am glad I read the book.

[Juan Rivera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recurring themes in the books: love and war.

How far could a war with China go? It is now perhaps the second or third most powerful militarily in the world. But as in the “art of war”, he is waiting for his moment to come, for him to be in a position to truly win. And with patience, that time will come for them.

In "Dancing with the dragon" they manage to have a weapon superior to the West, but with this, do they manage to surpass the United States?

Entertaining.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

The insights of this author as to operations of air craft and carriers. This is a great book

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone is zapping aircraft, primarily US military aircraft, and the evidence seems to point to China. How do you confirm what is happening and who is responsible--call in Scott Dalton and Jackie Sullivan, former military and CIA operatives. With an undeclared war raging around them, they are called on to undertake a couple of "impossible" missions in an attempt to prevent escalation to a declared war. From Florida to Colorado to California, and on to the Far East, the story has almost non-stop action, and a very high body count. The clandestine operations of Dalton and Sullivan are a bit of a stretch, putting them on the very thin line between a successful mission and a world disaster for extended periods of time.

[Roger Scherping · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great plot: an all out war with China. The plot is deeply and intelligently thought through and presented in a very believable manner. The book is very smoothly written, with two protagonists who were believable and very easily identified with.

I thought some of the things in the plot that happened to Dalton and Sullivan were a little simple and seemed too convenient and predictable, and I never did figure out the completely platonic relationship between them. I also thought the very knowledgeable author went into a little too much detail on the planes and ships.

But overall a very good book. I'll definitely read more by Weber.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final 50 pages carried with the book, with the majority of the rest and unexciting. Almost feels like a video game, with the two heroes of the book going from one crisis to the next and succeeding. An average book at best.

[Bob Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Believable plot

A story that pulls you in and an ending that makes you wonder what took so long. The Red Chinese don't allow individuals to run so far from their baseline. Enjoyable journey.

[John Lobenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Exciting

This book kept me hanging on the edge of my seat till the very end. Having been a part of the cold war in SAC this was a real scenario we hoped sod never happen. Great Book!!!

[YAHWEH · Rating 4 out of 5]

If ever there has been a book that close to real headline news it is Dancing with the Dragon... the possibilities exposed in the book keep page after page a mouth-watering read.

[Ken30MU · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mom recommended another Weber book, but this is all Audible had. Not good, but I forced myself to finish it. Just a lame story that goes off on some technical tangents.

[Bill Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!!!

Couldn't put it down, just kept reading till it was done. Well I have a new author to devour, thanx

[James Benoit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in realistic battle flow.

This is how we wish it were. How it would be with real leaders. No pussyfooting around, just stomp 'm and come on home!