Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle

Occupied Seattle #1

by Chris Kennedy

We thought the war against China would be fought in Asia, not Seattle. We were wrong.

Analysts have long prophesized that China would go to war to reintegrate the province of Taiwan. It isn’t a matter of “if;” it’s a matter of “when.” For decades, the only thing that has restrained China from taking Taiwan by force of arms is the American promise to defend it, even if that means World War III. To date, China has not been ready to go that far. But what if China figured out a way to put the United States on the sidelines of their fight to regain Taiwan? Would they do it then?

Drawn from today’s headlines, Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle is set in a not-too-distant future where China decides to invade Seattle to use American citizens as high-stakes chips in a game of nuclear blackmail. Will the United States get Seattle back?

Written by a former aviator with over 3,000 hours flying attack and reconnaissance aircraft for the United States Navy, including many missions supporting U.S. Special Forces, Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle is a look at one possible future that isn’t as improbably as you might think. Events in it are not only possible, they’re already happening. Could China attack the United States to get back Taiwan?

Yes.

Genres: Military Fiction, Alternate History, Thriller, Science Fiction

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 21, 2013

About the author

A Webster Award winner and three-time Dragon Award finalist, Chris Kennedy is a Science Fiction/Fantasy author, speaker, and small-press publisher who has written over 50 books and published more than 400 others. Get his free book, “Shattered Crucible,” at his website, https://chriskennedypublishing.com.

Called “fantastic” and “a great speaker,” he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions, and writing guild presentations. He is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, “Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores.”

Chris lives in Coinjock, North Carolina, with his wife. Follow Chris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ckpublishing/.

Reviews

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! If someone had told me that the US could be successfully invaded, I would have laughed but this book shows a realistic scenario that was quite sobering. Although it is set in the future, the premise is timely since some of the problems presented were caused by the government sequestration. The details in the book are especially appealing to people with a military background. I am looking forward to reading the next installment!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hey

hey guys
what if the PRC invaded Seattle because Taiwan
I could totally drop some military knowledge
TLA it up
no there's room guys because
BECAUSE
(I didn't develop any of the PLA characters)

guys

[Beth Agejew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been all that interested in military literature. However, I found Red Tide quite enjoyable. Mr. Kennedy makes it sound quite plausible that, given the proper planning, a foreign power could sweep in and occupy an American metropolitan area, thereby crippling the rest of the country (at least for a period of time). The big questions are how will the U.S. respond and can the threat be erradicated? I recommend Red Tide not only to fans of military literature, but also to devotees of thrillers and page turners.

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a style reminiscent of Clancy's Red Storm Rising the book tells the story of a Chinese plan to invade Taiwan and hold the US at bay by seizing Seattle, Washington. Set in the near future parts could be lifted from today's headlines.

The story is well plotted and laid out. In the beginning you are introduced to many seemingly unrelated characters and keeping the details straight is a little tricky. Once the plots converge you are grateful for the background details.

There is a second book in the series, so don't expect a resolution.

[Geryl D Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edge of my seat!

This book will leave you on the edge of your seat. It is a unique and thoughtful work on a possible military scenario that could happen. The book is well written and the author seems to know a lot about his subject.

[Chris Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. Lots of military jargon and not much character development but very engrossing. Looking forward to the sequel.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A military thriller with a scenario too possible for comfort; getting close to Clancy territory.

[J.R. Handley · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, let me say that none of what I’ll say in this section couldn’t be found on the back copy of the novel. I wanted to provide a spoiler free review, so here goes nothing! This novel is a very Red Dawn-esq story of what it might look like if America was invaded. In Chris Kennedy’s twisted imagination, China uses an attack on America to hide their campaign to reclaim Taiwan. It works, and an unprepared America quickly loses the Pacific Northwest. But despite how bloody things get, they can’t crack the will of the American people. Will the United States get Seattle back? It will, if a shot down F-18 pilot, a retired Navy SEAL, and a platoon of Army Rangers have anything to say about it.


Characters:
While it seemed like there was no main character in this novel, there were three that we’re told to watch for on the books blurb. So here goes a review of those people!

Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs: He is a fighter pilot for the US Navy who gets shot down during the opening salvo of the war and ends up leading a small band of disenfranchised troopers in a war against the occupying force.

Ryan O’Leary: He is a retired US Navy SEAL who’s taken to the hermit lifestyle when an invasion of his home forces him back into the fight. When Lieutenant Hobbs is shot down, he rushes to save him and together they take on the world.

Army Ranger Platoon: Just your average group of grunts who join in on the mayhem to resist the occupying forces. The provide the troops that O’Leary and Hobbs lead into the mouth of the Chinese Dragon.

While the novel’s blurb says that these were main characters, it didn’t really feel that way. There are too many characters popping in and out of this story, which meant I didn’t really get behind any of them. This made it even more important for the premise of the story to be compelling, but Chris provided that. The characters that were there felt hollow, because we only saw them briefly before they died. I was helped by my time in the service, because it let me relate to the characters but I don’t know that someone without my background would get out of the characters what I did. I will say, however, that even though there were too many characters to get close too I didn’t notice it until I sat down to write this review. Because the pace of the story kept me hooked, and deprived me of sleep, I’ll give the author 4 out of 5 Grenades.


Plot:
Like most of the military fiction I love to read, this was an action-packed novel. The story is set in modern day Seattle and follows a series of events that lead to China invading as a feint to keep the US from honoring our commitment to Taiwan. If you don’t know, the US has treaties with Taiwan that state America will defend the nation from China in the event of an attack. It was an interesting set up and premise, which had shades of Red Dawn in it. I loved Red Dawn, and consequently I loved this story. With my military background, I thought the way the military was portrayed was credible. I will say that the Chris Kennedy, a retired Naval Commander and fighter pilot, spent a lot of time addressing the air war. I’m not qualified to judge those situations, but from the outside looking in it was credible, which is all I needed. Why is the critique of the military in the “Plot” review section? Because in a military fiction novel, the tactics are integral to the plot. In this section, I give Chris 6 out of 5 Grenades!


World Building:
This is the second book I’ve read by Chris Kennedy, but I loved the first book written by him that I read so decided to give this one a chance. Further, this novel had solid reviews so I was sold, and gave it a chance. I wasn’t disappointed! After this novel, I went and bought every one of his published novels. This world was very flushed out, but it was set in the modern world so it had the advantage of the readers pre-existing world view. Regardless, the novel built on the modern world and made his divergent path extremely plausible. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series, and see where the war with the occupying forces in Chris’s world goes. This novel has been placed in the science fiction section on Amazon, but in the first book in this duology we see none of it. Other than that one complaint, it was a great book and I can’t wait to read the second book in this series, Occupied Seattle. I give the world building 5 out of 5 Grenades.


Description:
This book was chalk full of visualization, and you could definitely imagine yourself in this world. However, in some places Chris went a little over board with the explanation of the various military minutia. Maybe this is because I already know about some of this and don’t particularly care about military aviation? Others might have a different opinion here? Regardless, these flaws didn’t distract from the book to such a degree that I wouldn’t finish the series. While parts of it were a flop for me, I still give Chris a B+++ in this category!


Narration Quality:
The narrator, Craig Good, did an amazing job narrating this book. He didn’t bore you, or make you zone out because of his monotone. His performance didn’t feel robotic, like a machine was reading the novel too me. Instead, it felt like a friend was sitting with me reading an amazing story that he couldn’t put down. The voices of the various characters were cheesy and wonky, but overall it kept me engaged throughout the periods I was listening to this book. I would give him a 4 out of 5 grenades for his explosive performance. The only reason it wasn’t a 5 Grenade experience was the lack of voice acting for the various characters.


Overall:
I really loved this book, though the head popping was a bit jarring. However, this wasn’t really an issue for me because the story was so engaging that I couldn’t put it down. This novel was awesomely written and the cover was amazingly invocative. The military culture shown in this book was spot on, especially the nicknames, even though the author laid it on a bit thick. Again, with such a compelling story you won’t notice! As for the military equipment, well it was like a Naval Aviators porno, the amount of details given but I was able to skim over these details so I could enjoy the action in this story. Basically, Chris had me hooked from the beginning, and kept it going throughout the whole novel. It’s an amazing adventure, a look into Chris’s twisted imagination, and leaves you wishing that his therapist had a therapist. This is a book I would happily recommend, and an author I will definitely read again. Heck, I would even recommend that you buy the novel! But hey, it’s easy to spend someone else’s money!

If this book sounds like it’s right up your alley, check it out, you won’t regret it! Well, unless it motivates you to squeeze your fat body into your old uniform and you die from the shock to your system. And when you die, you end up in limbo, all alone. And since you’re alone, you go insane from the solitude. And in your insanity, you try to fly, but can’t. Instead, you’re left merged with the asphalt you fell onto at your failed effort to recreate Kitty Hawk. Stuck in the asphalt, your soul wastes away until there is no you left and you fade out just as Ragnarock begins. Yeah, it would suck to miss that so maybe you should tread lightly! Well yeah, I guess this could be bad for you. But hey, at least you got to see eternity pass you by as you fade into nothing. On second thought, be warned, fanboy/fangirl syndrome MIGHT kill you. Be wary, you were warned and if you have to go out like that at least enjoy the view from up there!

[John Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scary tale of how the Chinese (who play the long game so damn well) could possibly set up an invasion of the US to "allow" the re-unification of Taiwan without interference.

Using subterfuge so well, the Chinese acquire land to build cars in Seattle. They then organise a naval visit, and use disguised cargo ships to bring in heavy armour and anti-air. meanwhile, a passenger cruise is actually simply a troopship, as are several air flights.

They manage to seize most of Seattle and the surrounding area, with very few casualties, simply because no one expects them to do so, and so security is extremely lax. The area becomes a hostage to force the US to not do anything.

But there's a final twist that no-one except the Chinese Premier himself knows about. A Nuke is armed and in the area, presumably to kill everyone, including all the Chinese armed forces, and blame it on the US.

I look forward to reading of the fight back, in the second book in the series, "Occupied Seattle"

[Jim Kratzok · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a totally gripping story that makes me wonder if our military leaders have read it. The invasion is made to look so easy and the U.S. seems so complacent that it makes you wonder just when it will happen in real life. Not a good feeling at all....

It's obvious that Chris Kennedy's military background came in handy in the writing of this book. I'm no expert but have read so many military-fiction novels that even I can tell when an author has no clue about the various ranks and titles, weapons, and even the banter between characters. In books like this it sounds real. In others, not so much.

I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of the US invaded is interesting. The author spends a large portion of the book setting up the scenario on how the invasion happens.

In my opinion (and the reason I give this a 2 rather then 3 or 4 star rating), the details reach a point of distraction in many of the sections. Do we really need a paragraph detailing every single after market modification for every rifle, pistol, and tank that is introduced? Do we need ranges, stats, payloads for each missile? Its cool knowing the author knows all this but unless it becomes relevant in the next book, these details could have been condensed or glossed over in favor of more focus on the story line.

[grundoon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I needed a reset read. I knew it would be terrible, but c'mon, the premise is kind of irresistible, so hopefully the good kind of terrible. I suppose I'd never really considered what military fiction might comprise, so yeah, now I have some idea. And it might be just fine from that perspective, but I absolutely can't get past dialog that is nothing but explanation to the reader. Or why a book filled with weaponry minutia would need an introductory explanation of military time. Sure, part of me still wants the WOLVERINES! payoff, but I don't expect I'll be chasing it down.

[Marty Fried · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part one of two. It was a fun read, but I'll write more after reading part two.

The basic story is that the Chinese take control of Seattle as a bargaining chip to play after they take over Taiwan, to keep the US out of the battle, and to force us to allow them to keep Taiwan in return for getting Seattle back.

[Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent premise

This book has a decent plot but several things just don’t pan out in the story, such as during the first part the author keeps referring to softball but then he says our national pastime and that’s not softball. Then he spends too much time naming different weapons and not really enough time developing characters

[Christopher Reiff · Rating 3 out of 5]

These types of books are fun escapes for me. The author clearly knows the Puget Sound and Seattle area well, as descriptions of locations and references are highly accurate. My main issue with the book is that the plot relies heavily upon the US Military being unprepared and borderline incompetent, which made the broader story hard to believe from time to time.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story. Military scifi fans will probably like it. Alternate history fans might too.

[Ed Morawski · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a tough one for me because I really wanted to like this book. The story concept is great. The plot is workable, logical, and reasonable—outlandish to be sure, but possible. The author clearly has military experience so he knows what he's talking about. The problem is in the execution.

What attracted me to the novel was the mention of Taiwan as it relates to China. Taiwan is a country I know and love. China has coveted the island since 1949 (ignoring the fact that the native Taiwanese were never part of China and speak their own language) and want it but the United States stands in their way. However, somehow that aspect is mostly lost by the wayside as Taiwan is barely mentioned and the majority of the action is in Seattle.

The writing is amateurish. Often it appears juvenile as if it was written by a 12 year old trying to mimic adults. While there are thankfully no glaring typos or grammatical errors that I noticed, the author writes like someone uncomfortable with the English language. He repeats words and phrases endlessly which makes the book boring to read. 'He checked his notes. He checked his notes again. He consulted his notes. Minh checked his notes.' Note: You don't have to endlessly repeat this kind of stuff. It would have been helpful however if we occasionally knew who was speaking as many of the passages lack POV. More than a few times it also jumps back and forth past to present tense.

That brings us to the worst part for me: The dialogue. It is so stiff and lifeless that I cringed and it was really a chore to read. The author has no ear for dialogue. The characters all speak like robots. Please note: People do not talk like English professors—except amazingly the Chinese, who all use slang as if they spoke English their entire lives. Nothing flows smoothly. It is so often confusing about who is speaking and I had to go back over and over to try and understand what was being said by whom. I would respectfully suggest the author go out and record some normal conversations and listen to them over and over to get the phrasing and cadence down.

A quarter of the way through I was ready to quit. This is a book I can put down and never want to pick up. But I did finish just to give it a chance though it didn't improve much. It got a little better toward the end but maybe I just got used to it.

Then I realized the author committed what to me is the greatest sin of all: you have to read the sequel to find out what happens, even though this book is only 200 some pages. And I won't be reading the sequel.
Key suggestions for improvement: Smooth flow, snappy dialogue, don't repeat and use a Thesaurus. Finally: Make it one book!

With some improvements and polishing and a lot of editing, and combining the two books into one, this could be a great novel.

[Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging story, focusing at first upon the planning and logistics for an invasion of Seattle, and then upon its execution. Well written, with just enough exposition to prevent “Deus ex Machina” moments but just vague enough about overall details to allow the reader to think “what would I do in this situation and what do I think would happen next” … until those details are revealed, and the reader is rewarded with figuring out how close their thinking was to the author’s. I have not been this interested in a military fiction book since I first read “Red Storm Rising” in the early ‘90s. Have purchased second book to find out what happens next.

[Jonathan Bolder · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a great prequel. very informative, building strong characters. I listened to it on audible and found it satisfying. I read the theogony first and am enjoying the origins of those characters.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was okay, but to me it focuses too much on the Chinese as I don't think the US citizens would lay down so easy

[NANCY · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyed the book. Easy to listen to on road trip and now I have 2 more in the series to read.

[Jim]

You know, it's hard to say this, but I kind of wish this book hadn't been written by a veteran. Don't get me wrong, Chris Kennedy is a good author and Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle is a damn find book. It's just that when I read some of what's here (I'll explain in a bit) I'd prefer to believe that the author doesn't have a clue. I'd really like to think that it can't actually happen. When it's written by someone who has been there/done that, it's a bit worrisome on a real world level. I mean, when someone points out holes like this in our national defense I want to be able to reject what they're saying. I can't really do that when they're in a position to know what they're talking about.

Having said that, I really did enjoy this story. It's action packed and has believable characters behaving in a believable manner. I don't remember who it was, but someone posted a question on Facebook the other day inquiring as to whether or not you have to like the characters in a book to make it entertaining. My response was that a character doesn't have to be _likeable_ to be entertaining but I do have to have a rooting interest in the book. Red Tidedelivers precisely that. A lot of what happens in the book comes down to people not doing their jobs right. I don't like people who don't do their jobs right. Granted, they don't really have advanced notice that they're not doing their jobs right, but when you're dealing with the national defense not knowing is no excuse. Then again, I do have a rooting interest. I'm an American. I root for the home team.

This is the first book in (I believe) a duology and I've already bought the second one. It's that good. I had to. I couldn't stop myself. Honestly, I should've waited a week because I had just spent a bunch of loot on my munchkins but it wasn't going to happen. *SIGH* I wish I could say it was the first time I spent money on a book that I shouldn't have. I love it.

Red Tide is, as advertised, about a Chinese invasion of Seattle as a distraction for their main thrust into Taiwan. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say that the US starts this fight off in a bad way. I don't want to give up too much, but yeah, things don't look good for my boys. That's putting it mildly. 

The villains in Red Tide are actually pretty villainous while not being the type that cause unbridled hatred. They're Chinese diplomats and soldiers simply doing their jobs. Seriously. They're not the people making the decisions. They're the people following the orders. And follow the orders they do. If they might use a wee bit of subterfuge, well it is a war. That's how things go. If Sun Tzu recommended it, it probably makes sense to use it. I mean, not only is he still studied by every military on the planet, but he was actually Chinese. I get why they do what they do. I'd do the same thing in their situation. 

I really like that fact. Kennedy's villains are not just cardboard cut-outs. I mean, I loved Battle: Los Angeles but the people who complained that we didn't know a lot about the aliens weren't wrong. Kennedy gets something I think a lot of authors miss: Everyone is the hero of their own story. The Chinese people in Red Tidearen't dastardly villains cackling in their lairs like Cobra Commander in a bad episode of GI Joe. They have planned well. They follow the plan well. They don't see themselves as bad people. They believe they're doing the right thing. The Americans may disagree, but the Chinese are not interested in the opinions of the Americans. 

It's worth mentioning that the Chinese are as humane as they can be. I mean, it's war and people die. The fact remains that they only kill when they have to and several of the steps they take are clearly meant to avoid kill people unnecessarily. These are reasoning human beings who do what they need to do but don't do more than that. I've never met Kennedy personally but he seems to be a warrior with a respect for other warriors. I like that. 

My one bitch about Red Tide is that sometimes I felt a bit like I was being talked down to. Kennedy was obviously aware of the fact that he is a Naval Aviator writing for a primarily civilian audience. Sometimes he gives a bit more of an explanation of various terms than I really feel is necessary. Maybe I'm not the best judge of this, I've read military fiction of one type or another for a few decades now and I've studied military history. Someone was actually goofy enough to give me a history degree after I wrote long papers about the security of the Manhattan Project and the involvement of the Heer (the German Army) in the Holocaust so I probably have a better understanding than most. The fact remains that there were times when I felt like I was being talked down to. If I had more time I'd try to find someone who hadn't done all the reading I have and see if they felt the same way. 

Other than that though, this is a really strong story. Kennedy's military experience really shines through. There are a couple of aerial combat sequences that just work, and I can easily see why. Kennedy also seems to have a solid grasp of planning and executing an operation from an officer's point of view. It sometimes irks me that the officer is almost always the star of the story, but this time it makes sense. Kennedy himself is an officer so of course that's how he's going to write his books. And maybe I should just stop whining because the other two books I reviewed this weekend centered around and enlisted man and a mustang.