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Invasion America #2

Invasion: California

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The invasion of California has begun, threatening to trigger World War III.

In the second book of the Invasion America Series, Greater China and its South American allies control Mexico. Their armies are poised on the Rio Grande, ready for the next phase of the North American conquest.

It is 2039. The Chinese are launching their secret weapon against the American border fortifications. At the same time, an amphibious fleet steams toward San Francisco. The Chinese have formed the Pan Asian Alliance and signed a war-pact with the South American Federation. Glacial cooling has brought the Earth to the brink of starvation. Now, U.S. soil is the most valuable commodity in the world, and the aggressor powers plan to divide it amongst themselves.

America is down but she is not out. The military has some deadly surprises for the invaders, but it may not be enough. Enemy wave assaults, vast armor battles and new drone fighters turn the war into a seething cauldron of mass destruction.

INVASION: CALIFORNIA is a disturbing and controversial technothriller vast in scope, written by bestselling author Vaughn Heppner. To find the first book in the series, search for INVASION: ALASKA.

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 19, 2012

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About the author

Vaughn Heppner

135 books570 followers
You can visit Vaughn at www.vaughnheppner.com

I was born in Canada and remember as a small boy crawling in my snow-fort. I closed my eyes, and when I tried to open them, they were frozen shut. I didn't panic, but wiped away the ice crystals, unglued my eyes and kept on building my tunnel. Those were great days! I moved to Central California before seventh grade and couldn't believe I lived in a land where oranges grew on trees and you could pick grapes from the vine.

I used to wonder what I wanted to do with my life, what kind of work specifically. I was miserable not knowing and bordering on desperate. Then one day a friend gave me his typewriter. I began working on a novel. A different person told me it was much easier on a computer, so I bought one and began getting up at 4:30 A.M. each morning before work, writing for three hours. My eyes were unglued once again as the pang of misery left my gut. I knew exactly what I wanted to do: write. So now that's what I do, I write, and write, and write, and I love it.

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5 stars
186 (32%)
4 stars
239 (41%)
3 stars
121 (20%)
2 stars
28 (4%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Mike (the Paladin).
3,148 reviews2,217 followers
July 16, 2013
Well...I suppose I'm well and truly hooked (sorry about using "well" twice there, and I guess this makes 3 times, oh well...er four times).

Anyway these books have drawn me in. I read the first and went into it not expecting much but really liked it. So with this one I was expecting more...and wasn't disappointed. If you're looking for an intellectual military novel where the deep emotional lives of the participants, their lovers, their wives and husbands, their families are examined for the meanings of life.....then what are you doing here?

This is a fast moving serious look at war in the near future. The results of today's political situation and the policies now in place are on display and portrayed with more accuracy than is comfortable. The action of this book is nonstop yet the plot the characters and the interest are undiminished. The emotional toll of war is touched on, I don't want to give the wrong impression. It just doesn't overwhelm the story or the book itself. The political points are well buried in the text and I doubt most will even notice most of them unless they become more obvious later.

So, this is the second book and I'm recommending it. This writer seems to me to be assuming the mantle of techno thriller writers like Larry Bond ( Red Phoenix), Tom Clancy (Red StormRising), and Harold Coyle Team Yankee. Military action with "few errors" (he talks about the recoil of American assault rifles and their "climbing" as their fired. The M16 has little recoil and little climb, unlike the AK47. The book is 30+ years in the future but the rifles seem to be based on the M16 and the M4 so....anyway. Lots of action, lots of thrills, lots of quality writing.

I plan to get the next, due out this week.
Profile Image for Nigel.
1,055 reviews7 followers
January 28, 2021
This is another excellent geo-political war thriller that continues with the story started in Invasion Alaska. There was only one real flaw in the story and that was that the story takes place so long after the first one that there are only a handful of characters common between the two books. Normally you expect a large number of characters to continue from story to story in a series.
The invasion of California turns out to be a high-tech version of WWI with soldiers, armour and ammunition being eaten up a fast rate of knots, with very little material gains in terms of ground being gained. There are the usual heroic deeds by key characters that turn the tide of the war and leave the reader slightly astounded that any of those involved could ever survive.
The battle scenes are excellent well done, and even the use of high-tech futuristic weapons (laser, drone tanks etc.) fit seamlessly into the battles. The political aspects of the storyline are also excellently well done. We see the leaders of both the US and Chia battling both their conscience over the right choice of actions as well as having to struggle to keep their own positions secure against those who would supplant them.
The story continues in Invasion Colorado and I for one cannot wait.
Profile Image for Keira F. Adams.
438 reviews9 followers
March 26, 2016
Rife with weird typos, takes itself very very seriously, overly didactic sessions where the author espouses his theories on and philosophies, bizarre geographical errors (Santa Cruz doesn't have a port and would be terrible for it, dude, and its basically surrounded by mountains), hammy dialogue.... and after all that.... I'll admit I totally enjoyed it. Ill probably never read it again, but its a fine "B-Movie" action romp. Just don't take it too seriously. 2.5 Stars.
Profile Image for Aildiin.
1,488 reviews35 followers
April 6, 2013
This book isn't going to win any award but it kept me entertained and that's all I was expecting from it.

It is the second book in the Invasion Americas serie by the same author.
It takes place in a near future and describe a war between China and America where China is the invader.
1 review
April 20, 2021
See below

Disturbing of the possibility of a world turned so upside down
But a pretty realistic plot considering the divisive politics around the worlds nations , the nationalism and isolationist attitudes we are seeing couple that with a dramatic change in climate and who know# what nations will do.
Profile Image for Teah Herrera.
19 reviews
November 9, 2022
Amazing Reading!!!

Story line was impressive. Great direction and awesome path. The book kept me interested the entire time!!! Looking forward to the next read!!!
27 reviews1 follower
June 9, 2024
Well erm! how to say this

The story line 3/4 stars, the proof reading no stars, the padding around the story line 1 star, the senseless attempts to justify the un-sanctionable are ridiculous and add nothing to the story. So if you want to read a story about an aggressor who the author attempts to make look pathetic whilst they ridicule the under dog who loses anyway, this is the series of books for you. So if you want to read about America getting its ass kicked down load now.
Profile Image for Patti.
773 reviews20 followers
May 24, 2022
When I initially started reading this series, I put it under the category of alternate history, even though it was about the future. I did that largely due to the weaponry. Although it’s set 20 years in the future, I didn’t see the types of weapons being developed described in the books. I also thought the United States falling so far from the pedestal of a world leader was pure fiction. I might have been right about the weapons, but the condition of the United States as described might be more true than I wanted to believe.

Invasion: California is the second book in the series. A series of environmental events have caused the earth to cool off, making American farmland quite valuable. Having been repelled in their invasion of Alaska in the previous novel, the Chinese set their sights on invading from the south through Mexico and take aim at California. They control Mexico through a Pan Asian Alliance involving Brazil and Germany seems poised to invade from Cuba.

The United States is suffering from the consequences of overspending. They are down but not out. They have weapons in development to counter the invasion, but much of it is untested and untried, and also under-produced.

To read my complete review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
Profile Image for Chris.
139 reviews7 followers
July 5, 2014
Another very plausible scenario of what could very well happen in the near future if those in power here in the US continue to draw down our military. The action was continuous, it was very hard to put the book down at night and go to sleep. The Behemoth tanks are a great addition to the story and are something that very well could be built with our current technology possibly on a smaller scale but with the same rail guns as these use. To go on much further would provide too many spoilers so I'll just end here by saying I really enjoyed the book, looking forward to Invasion:Colorado and I'd highly recommend this book and the entire series to anyone interested in what I'd consider a near future Techno-Thriller.
Profile Image for Henri Moreaux.
1,001 reviews33 followers
September 3, 2016
Set in 2039 the novel is about a Chinese invasion of America, specifically California.

It's not a terrible book, like a B grade action movie it has its merits. Those merits include detailed fighting scenes, futuristic weapons, drones a plenty, plausible invasion scenarios and choreographed battles. It also however has some geographical errors (there's no port in Santa Cruz, nor is it suitable for such) and the characters are rather shallow - but then this sort of detail isn't important for the target audience either.

It's entertainment for a rainy day.
Profile Image for RJ.
2,044 reviews13 followers
March 2, 2014
Interesting, quite interesting. Plausible, especially if you accept the star wars technology introduced in the book. The main characters are good although you don't get to know them all that well. The execution of the Chinese assault and the future technology are what keep me listening. We staved off the west coast landing by doing what we do best. I'm looking forward to the next book and the introduction of new players towards our demise.
Profile Image for Aden.
92 reviews2 followers
August 4, 2015
OK. If you like incredibly detailed accounts of war and weapons coupled with oddly wooden characters then this book is for you. I am not a fan of any of those things so....not for me. It did have a few interesting ideas about the future of war.
17 reviews
October 22, 2015
Great book. The plot is intricate and the pace carries momentum all the way through.

The book has the right kind of technological level, if we consider at what point in the future this story happens, and apply the logical evolution of technology up to that point.
Profile Image for Brian Parker.
Author 6 books35 followers
May 16, 2013
This book was well written. Not as good as the first, but I still liked it. There were a few glitches in the Nook version though.
8 reviews
June 7, 2013
A really fun book, I've already pre ordered the next book in this series.
Profile Image for Shaft.
604 reviews2 followers
July 15, 2013
Starting to really like this series
Profile Image for Matthew.
203 reviews4 followers
September 17, 2013
Following on in the series, another good action book.

Starting to get a bit old that America is not making much headway though.
Profile Image for Deirdra Halley.
92 reviews10 followers
January 31, 2014
These are really very good reads if you like vivid military action and massive destruction.
Profile Image for Luis.
16 reviews
July 7, 2014
Great book, continues where the first book ended with the Chinese trying to takes us out. Like how the characters remain the same, with more issues and going all out to defend the US.
10 reviews
March 22, 2015
I am enjoying this series. Again, the only thing I can really truely find that bothers me is hardly any actual dates through out the story. Other than that, that's it.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews