Red Tide

by M.P. Woodward

“An adrenaline-laced naval thriller ripped straight from tomorrow’s headlines.” —Jack Carr, #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  Red Sky Mourning    

From the  New York Times  bestselling author behind the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan Jr. books and former U.S. Naval Intelligence officer comes a gripping and timely military thriller. 

America’s Navy is stretched to the breaking point. China’s combat fleet grows. And both countries compete for access to advanced semiconductor chips produced only in Taiwan. When the Chinese strike first, casualties mount and high-tech arsenals are exhausted. It’s a war of attrition—and the Chinese are winning.    

Rear Adm. Will Cole outgoing operations officer (N3) of the Pacific Fleet is on the brink of retirement. After a thirty-year career, he’s ready to settle down, rebuild his marriage, and pass the torch to the next generation of the “Fighting Coles”: Their oldest, Henry, flies F-18s. Their middle son, Jamie, is a merchant marine officer. Their daughter, Lucy, has a high-tech job with a defense contractor. 

But all plans are scrapped when war drums start beating. The Pacific Fleet commander sends Cole stateside to challenge a hardened political bureaucracy into getting serious about the threat to peace in the Pacific. Proven right when the missiles start flying, Cole is ordered to do the destroy the Chinese fleet and retake Taiwan—before it’s too late. He’ll risk everything in a final fleet amphibious action—his career, his Navy, and his family.

With the pacing of a master storyteller and a flair for riveting action sequences, M. P. Woodward captivates readers while raising important questions about the U.S. Navy’s ability to remain the world’s guarantor of a free sea in the twenty-first century. From the halls of Washington to the mountains of Taiwan to the waters of the South Pacific,  Red Tide  is the story of America at war, as depicted through the eyes of one courageous naval family.
 

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Military Fiction, War

401 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2025

About the author

M.P. Woodward is the NYT bestselling author of the Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan Jr. books (SHADOW STATE, LINE OF DEMARCATION, and TERMINAL VELOCITY). His latest war fiction thriller RED TIDE, A NOVEL OF THE NEXT PACIFIC WAR comes out 9/16/25. He has also authored the Handler CIA espionage series from Penguin Random House (THE HANDLER and DEAD DROP). He served as a Naval Intelligence officer before transitioning to a career in tech.

Reviews

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good novel. A compelling read. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is it length. Hate to say it it's too short! The author spends the first 100 pages or so introducing the characters, but then the real action is too condensed with key events not even described but simply stated as having occurred. It has been described as similar to Red Storm Rising, but is not comparable to that early Tom Clancy novel.

[Bradd Buckingham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slow and boring.

Basically a soap opera with with a Tom Clancy spin. Maybe Herman W. Winds of war kind of thing. Wanted like it, but not.

[Ethan · Rating 1 out of 5]

We’ve reached genuine critical mass when it comes to “modern techno thrillers in the form of Red Storm Rising”. The fact that the Naval Institute Press published this novel astounds me. The least of the issues with this book is the complete and utter lack of coherent dialogue. It’s just not how real people talk. The real issues come from its utter divorce from an understanding of doctrine or the technical capabilities the author claims to have researched. Within visual range dogfights, contested amphibious landings, and the mere brushing away of cyber and space effects as a minor inconvenience within a contested multidomain environment are the smallest issues. This author’s understanding of unit capabilities and doctrine in the United States is 80s-vintage at best. I can forgive some discrepancies on research of the People’s Liberation Army, but I cannot forgive such errors on basic understanding of U.S. capabilities in a novel that claims to be a “novel of the next Pacific War”. Utter garbage.

The author simply does not know ball.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read a book that reminded me so much of the early Tom Clancy Jack Ryan books. This book had the technical details that Clancy was famous for, along with all the action/drama you would expect. I also enjoyed the inner dialogue with Will, as you could see him trying to always have the proper response in every situation. At first, I was concerned that the gaps in time where we "missed" things happening would be an issue, but those gaps all got filled in after the fact with the details we really needed - so we didn't waste any time reading extraneous detail. Overall, great story and HIGHLY recommend.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as fast paced as some military techno thrillers but it still delivers- especially the final quarter. I thought the private lives of the characters melodramatic and not necessary. My gut was wrong on the fates of pretty much everyone.

[Andrew Greenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantadtic Novel

I greatly enjoy this fantsdtic book. While I enjoy his writing in the Tom Clancy universe it’s a shame it limits his own novels.

[Xenofon R · Rating 1 out of 5]

Average story,not very believable and inaccurate in many areas. The distances in battles are a joke ( i can not believe that modern aircraft carriers are 200 miles apart and stay hidden! ) and how come an invasion in taiwanese soil comes with no answer from the armed forces of the country? Not a great story.

[Kent Bunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It should have easily been a 5* read.

Overall the story is great. But about halfway in, the author introduces tech that is pivotal to the resolution of the story. And unfortunately that tech is just complete fantasy land bullshit that took me completely out of the story when it hit.

Also, the third act of the book was VERY rushed compared to the slow burn buildup. I'd have been totally fine with the story being stretched out to a second or even a third book if that's what it took, but instead we got a lightning fast resolution, it felt like. And then a quick afterward set a year later.

There was a ton of promise here, and it just fell short.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Either 3 or 4 stars. I'll figure it out at the end.

It was an interesting story. It starts out with a prologue, then jumps back in time 30 days and proceeds forward to catch back up with "the present." Because of this, it felt like it both took a bit of time to build up while moving forward at a decent pace.

The character development is so-so; I did not find myself caring much for the core group of "main characters." There was one moment that I guess was supposed to be sad or emotional, but it fell flat for me (when Kelly briefly mourns the loss of her former lover to combat). I think the "saddest part" for me was Henry giving his life to take out the Japanese carrier Fujian because as important as it was, it also felt so pointless. I think it was because of Henry's "downward spiral" after the loss of the Stennis followed by his RIO (or whatever Ripper would be called) and so-on. I don't think his story was written well enough for me to feel a lot of sympathy for him.

I do think the author does a solid job of creating a sense of hopelessness for the United States and Australia (as they seem to be the two primary countries followed by the Philippines opposing China ). The United States gets its teeth kicked in a time or three before things change and China is on the receiving end of getting her lumps. Of course, the beatdown involves untried technology involving drones that conveniently work with a fairly high degree of success. We get a moment where there is a momentary danger to the final mixed fleet heading towards Taiwan, but the attacking mainland fighters and bombers turn out to be a non-issue after all.

The moment of the Stennis being sunk strongly reminded me of two moments. It reminded me of the Nimitz being hit by Russian missiles in Red Storm Rising as well as the moment towards the end of Thunder on Erebus when not one but three American carriers are destroyed by missiles (granted, those missiles were launched from Russian submarines); Payne Harrison's rendition was a stronger shock and had more of an emotional punch to it then what happens in this book, but it was still a moment of sorrow to read about the Stennis and its group sinking to the bottom of the Marianas Trench with most hands lost.

The Stennis and its group being loss was brutal, but then you had all of the B-2s being destroyed because the Chinese were thinking "outside of the box" and were able to detect them as they attacked. Captain Kyle Wallace and his destroyer squadron being taken out was not nearly as sad or as much of a shock as the B-2 squadron being shot down, but it was still a bit of a surprise. I thought the destroyer squadron might do more damage before being taken out. The amphibious group being shot to pieces was not as big of a shock due to Wallace's command being sunk; I think what was more of a shock was that there were as many survivors as there were. The moment when Tate commandeers two of the LCACs and escapes the Wasp before she sinks was not as suspenseful as it could have been, but it was still a powerful moment when Tate says that the LCACS were now focused on rescue and not heading to Taiwan.

I kind of wondered if the author was going to go down the route that Ralph Peters did in Red Army the way this book was progressing. I would not have been surprised if he had chosen to do so as it would have been an unexpected twist, to have the "miracle weapons" of the drones fail and the Americans be pushed back across the Pacific and China now becoming the dominant power in the Pacific (and the world).

There were some weak moments in the book, no lie. However, I think the "strongest part" of the book was how the author "went outside the box" in terms how to defeat the American forces throughout most of the book followed by how the Americans were able to come back and drive the Chinese out of Taiwan.

At the same time, it is not like other authors have not written stories involving drones and drone-based weapons platforms. Many of Dale Brown's books involve warplanes (mainly bombers) turned into remotely piloted vehicles and capable of inflicting huge amounts of damage. Not just bombers but other smaller drone platforms capable of causing mass chaos and destruction. The Bin Laden Plot by Rick Campbell uses sea-based drones and submerged drones (drone submersibles?) as an integral part of the story. And there was a series of books I never read that involved drones being hijacked and used as terrorist weapons, so this is not necessarily a new concept, but I still felt like the manner in which it was presented (as being antithetical to current U.S. naval doctrine and force projection) was fairly accurate because we do seem to be stuck trying to fight new wars using the last war's technology and tactics.

I feel like it is a 3.5 stars. I felt like it wanted to be a worthy contender of sitting next to Red Storm Rising if Clancy's book had taken place in the Pacific instead of in Europe. I don't know that it reached "those lofty heights", however. It has solid moments in it, however, that had me almost sitting on the edge of my seat. I think, though, the book could have been longer or the story told in maybe two books to flesh it out better as the narrative takes a long time to slowly build up to "the turning point" and then the story "is over" (with a jump to "a year later" and all that such a jump entails in order to neatly wrap things up). I kind of felt cheated with the ending, actually, because of the "tension" that actually did build up within me due to the slow burn of the narrative, and at the end, I was, "That's IT?!?", hahahah! I think that sense of feeling cheated knocks it down to 3 stars for me; otherwise, it would have been four stars (3.5 rounded down). The book has a killer image on the cover, however - no lie that that cover caught my eye and made me want to read it, and in the end I am glad that I took a chance and read it.

[Steven Netter · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ MY FULL REVIEW AT Best Thriller Books



Make sure to check out the full review

[Josh Brand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Positives:

Competency porn. Like watching Apollo 13, or reading about a real, successful American military operation, or indeed an old Jack Ryan book, it’s always thrilling to read about hard-working folks excelling at their jobs when up against a threat. This book has plenty of competent characters across the spectrum of heroes and villains.

Pacing. As a first-time reader of his, M.P. Woodward’s best attribute - for me - is his economy of words and thus time spent in each “scene.” The story is laid out quite cinematically as though the writer almost anticipates a Hollywood adaption and that results in a thrilling pace.

Fun. Despite my complaints below I still cruised through this thing because I was genuinely having a blast with the story in the same way you watch a good Sunday afternoon melt-on-the-couch movie. It’s not for the Oscar’s, it’s for a fun blockbuster.

Negatives:

Clunky jingoism. Listen, I like Clancy books. I like military-based stories. I love a basic good guys vs bad guys story. I chose to read this book. I 100% expect jingoism but Red Tide’s has the affect the old Navy tv ads the book jokes about at one point. The STORY itself and the success - the competency porn - of the characters persevering on behalf of their country should be the jingoism itself. Including unprovoked lines such as, “the world needs the US Navy,” feels like it should come with a footnote for how to contact your local recruiting office.

Characters. Specifically women. We have Cole’s wife and daughters who have ZERO personality or story stakes besides “patriotic and supportive woman-in-wait,” to their husband and boyfriends.

Sarah is apparently an amazing silver-tongued liaison to a senator yet we never once get to see that skill in action.

There’s Afra who serves the purpose of being raped and owning an inn. She kills her attackers, suppresses what happened, and succeeds at the mission. The end of her arc.

And Li is just a cold-blooded honey-pot, controlled by men higher above her and manipulating the ones below her via sex and bitchiness. And then at the end there’s a joke about her being waterboarded. A waterboarding joke in 2025. It’s not even that it’s all that offensive, it’s just eye-rollingly tired like a bad joke from an edgy coworker in 2005.

Other women in the book are shown to be leaders in their field or perhaps skilled at their job but always subordinate to a higher male character.

And look I get. It’s the armed forces. There are much more men in charge than women but to lack a single main female character who has even an attempt at a character arc that isn’t directly affected by their romantic relationship to a man is just wild. Both of the Cole sons could’ve been gender flipped to be armed forces daughters amongst others.

The male characters aren’t much better in terms of having actual story arcs. There are really none to speak of at all in fact. Will Cole becomes an Admiral and uses a self-help book’s platitudes (that sound like quotes from a motivational daily calendar) in order to succeed against nothing? He does his job and then is promoted and then wins the fight. These bits of life advice work perfectly for him every time. The end of his arc. The only drama in his life - a hinted at previous almost-divorce - has already been dealt with beyond Woodward killing the man who Cole’s wife cheated with…

Sorkin is like a Q-branch type with cancer who is never challenged and then beats cancer like he beats the Chinese fifth platform.

The Cole sons learn to be MORE patriotic and arrive on time. The end.

And the Chinese. Well, they’re cold, calculating rapists. And that’s it according to this book.

Yes, I came for a blockbuster and that means not analyzing Red Tide like it’s for Oprah’s book club, but part of fun - for me - is not rolling my eyes between the actual fun because a writer in 2025 can’t figure out what to do with women besides make them supportive sacrificial lambs, or cartoon villains who only taunt and kill and have no personal lives.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

While based on an interesting topic with so many interesting rabbit holes, this book is incredibly predictable. This is one of those novels where the bad guys have all of the answers up until the last 100 pages when we “figure it out” all of a sudden. The authors takes some major leaps regarding technology that the Chinese may or may not have but assumes that we have none of it. To me it was just hard to believe.

I was actively laughing that we would plan a contested beach invasion without air superiority in the second act. Like really ? The chapter was framed like that was going to be a big shock that we failed.

It was also totally unrealistic that the admiral Cole would be totally cool with his wife actively in love with the other captain throughout the book. The passages where she describes her love for Wallace was cringeworthy, why is she still with her husband if this is the case ? Why is he still with his wife when she’s day dreaming of this dude and he knows about it ?

Now that all of the bad is out of the way I will say this book kept me engaged throughout and wasn’t miserable to read. I enjoyed the authors efforts to include all of the of the ship building challenges. Overall if you have Spotify premium go ahead and give this book a listen it’s not the worst.

[Curtis Edmonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite micro-genre right now; books whose premise is that the Chinese are going to invade Taiwan and they are going to kick our asses so hard, you guys. Cautionary tales about what the Chinese are going to do next. This one isn't nearly as imaginitive, in that it doesn't have subplots about the Chinese taking control of all Allied tech through subtle changes in microchips (although there is a lot of stuff in here about microchips) or the Chinese doing something completely unexpected like packing in a couple of armored regiments in container ships and taking out Pearl Harbor. But the let's-completely-obliterate-an-American-carrier-group subtext is here, for sure.

The problem, of course, is that the first part of things (the Chinese use their technology edge and land-to-ship missiles to wipe out our naval deterrent) is much more likely than the second part of things (the US develops its own technology muscle using some sort of unexpected prowess and kicking ass). But it's a lot of fun to read and who knows how the actual war is going to turn out if there ever is one.

[Squatch_AK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Tide feels like a modern answer to Red Storm Rising—tight, tense, and built for today’s world. M.P. Woodward writes with the same kind of authority and insider detail that made Tom Clancy and Larry Bond so good, but his focus is sharper. The story moves fast, the characters feel real, and the stakes hit close to home.

Where Clancy painted on a global canvas, Woodward zeroes in on the people caught inside the machine—operatives, analysts, and decision-makers all walking the line between duty and survival. It’s grounded, believable, and filled with that quiet intensity that keeps you reading long past when you meant to stop.

If Red Storm Rising defined the Cold War era, Red Tide captures the tension and uncertainty of ours. It’s smart, authentic, and flat-out compelling. I’m already looking forward to whatever M.P. Woodward writes next.

[Douglas Pasley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend Red Tide

Review: Red Tide by M.P. Woodward
I picked up Red Tide after seeing a recommendation from Jack Carr, and I’m glad I did. This book was a fast-paced, high-stakes thriller that pulled me in from the first chapter. Woodward not only builds suspense and delivers great action but also creates a genuine emotional connection with the Cole family.
The story balances intensity and humanity in a way that made me feel both joy and sadness as it unfolded. It’s rare to find a thriller that hits that emotional depth while keeping such relentless momentum.
Red Tide is an unexpected gem — smart, gripping, and deeply personal. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys authentic, character-driven espionage thrillers.

[Ernest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed listing to the book and only have one minor comment. When Admiral Cole was landing on the USS Lincoln to me it implied he looked through the windshield of the aircraft and saw the Lincoln which from my experience is impossbile if you are strapped in since the seats in a C-2a Greyhound face aft not forward. In the final Henry Cole is flying a FA-18 with anti-air and 3 lazer guided bombs. He gets in a furball with Chinese aircraft and does not jettison his bombs. Now I'm not a pilot but I would suspect he would have to give himself a better air to air configuration if he had of. Will not say the outcome due to it would be a spolier for others.
Overall an excellent story!!

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just couldn’t put it down.

I’m sure there was a lot of technical detail that was left out or gotten just plain wrong, but I think if the book had spent too much time on realism the story would have gotten bogged down. At the same time, it was just detailed enough to be believable and the general ideas regarding the technology of future war were credible and well-presented. I really liked it.

[Guy Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written techno thriller based in naval strategy and geo political reality.The various characters be it an Admiral and his family, all who contribute to the war effort which resulted from a Chinese seizure of a vital computer chip manufacturing plant in Taiwan and various advanced tech battle strategies made it an enjoyable bur disturbing read if this is a future conflict.
Many years ago read a series of books Red storm rising which were similar.
I did enjoy this book.

[Varnum Bayless · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright - how it ended felt a bit cheap, and I found the family aspect a little contrived, but there were some interesting aspects. I think a more nuanced exploration of the Chinese side would’ve been better - as is, they felt a little one dimensional, though I suppose that’s at least in part due to the author’s ideological bent, which bled through at a few points. Still, I liked the descriptions of how modern technology is changing the nature of naval combat

[Topher Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Tide by M.P. Woodward is fast-paced, full of action, and totally felt like a summer blockbuster movie in book form. Not saying it’s going to win any literary awards, but it’s super fun and hard to put down. Think tense naval battles, political drama, and high stakes that keep you turning pages. Characters aren’t super deep, but who cares when the story moves this fast? Definitely a crowd-pleaser. If you want a fun read for the weekend or beach, this one’s a solid pick!

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook

This was an interesting action novel, following the "fighting" Cole family of Naval officers during a near-future hypothetical naval war between the us and China over Taiwan chip manufacturing.

Overall I enjoyed this military action story, but the American exceptionalism themes were a bit overdone and the characters and dialogue were wooden and indistinguishable at best. The premise, of the next phase of military supremacy, was interesting and compelling.

[Ronaele Whittington, D.S.W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over view of conditions and possibilities: reality check

This story surveys the many layers and dimensions of war. People of all countries engage in conflict and peacekeeping, willingly or as ordered by government and military authorities. Woodward shows how war becomes personal, political, bureaucratic, competitive, and creative. Can China be contained?

[James Winchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone said a new coming of the Tom Clancy great Red Storm Rising, 100% agree. Great story on what could happen anytime over in the South China Sea, M. P. took his knowledge of the subject and put it on paper and made a masterpiece. Sad, decisive action, and gripping story all combined into a book.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a story of the next potential battle that the USA could face. It is also a story on tactics and technology and the things we should do to be ready. It is also a story of a family, like many of our military families, that have dedicated themselves to the safety of our country. Openly showing the joys, the challenges and the sorrows. Well worth the read.

[Stacia Pache · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Tide is everything I look for in a thriller—timely geopolitical stakes, explosive military action, and a plot that never lets up. M.P. Woodward writes with precision and heart, delivering characters I rooted for, cried with, and despised. Hands down the best book I’ve read this year.

[Greg Demchick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overhyped

Hardly comparable to a Tom Clancy work
Short of any meaningful technical or in debth details regarding realistic tactics or equipment specifications
Combat scenarios are minimal and nonviable

[Killian Pache · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling book that kept me on the edge of my seat and turning pages through the whole thing. I loved the technical details as well as how the multiple subplots all tied together and became relevant to a very rewarding ending and pay off to the book. Loved it!

[Edgar Guedez · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT WAR THRILLER

This is a wonderful and extraordinary war thriller, with a great plot and Wells develop characters. Several books about China and the USA going to war had been published recently. But this book has different twists in the plot and is well-written.

[Bob Chaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional

Revealing, exciting and fulfilling. A study in military tactics and strategy with personal insights and bravery. Further character insights of keen patriots and abysmal enemies built a story you could not ignore.

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really kind of fascinating read. The characters were interesting and he did a good job of drawing the reader into their lives. I found some of the technical stuff to be a bit much, but it didn't turn me away.