Centrifuge

by J.C. Pollock

After witnessing the murder of his ex-Green Beret commander, Mike Slater learns that he and the two surviving members of his unit are marked for murder because of something that happened just before the fall of Saigon

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Military Fiction

10 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1984

About the author

J.C. Pollock is a mysterious figure who wrote several strong selling adventure/action novels over an eleven-year period (1982-1993) and then abruptly dropped off the radar. He is a topic of speculation on the Internet and many suspect that he was a CIA agent attached to the SOG during the Vietnam War, but this has had not been confirmed or denied. It appears that his life is like the novels he wrote.

Reviews

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike Slater, our hero, is a Viet Nam, Special Forces veteran. He is now a peace loving owner of a dog training facility and kennel. He gets a telephone call one night from his last commanding officer to join him in Maine for a couple of days of fishing. He flies up to Maine in his pontoon aircraft, lands on the lake and soon after greeting his old commander, Bull Brooks, Mr. Brooks is shot and killed and it soon becomes clear that the assassin intends to take Slater out as well. From there it escalates and Slater learns that he is being pursued by both the CIA and the KGB. This one is not short on action.

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good adventure story made you not want to put it down.A lot of combat very well writing.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent read. As a thriller it has great intrigue and lots of suspenseful action. The twists and turns of the story kept the pages turning with ease. Highly recommend.

[Balkron · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Rating Scale:
1 Star - Horrible book, It was so bad I stopped reading it. I have not read the whole book and wont
2 Star - Bad book, I forced myself to finish it and do NOT recommend. I can't believe I read it once
3 Star - Average book, Was entertaining but nothing special. No plans to ever re-read
4 Star - Good Book, Was a really good book and I would recommend. I am Likely to re-read this book
5 Star - GREAT book, A great story and well written. I can't wait for the next book. I Will Re-Read this one or more times.

Number of times read: 2

An interesting and fun read.

Characters - Very good character development. You connect with the main character.

Story - This is a good story. It keeps you interested.

Overall - I recommend this book. It keeps you interested and entertained. A good book.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a couple of Mr. Pollock's other books, and they were well-written and better than average thrillers. This one, however, is his masterpiece. Apparently a combat veteran of Special Forces & SOG, this author's talents are wasted on fiction and would be put to much better use if he were to write his memoirs. As, at least to my knowledge, the overwhelming majority of records pertaining to SOG have finally been declassified, I would hope that many more of the surviving members of that unit would write memoirs. As for 'Centrifuge', I would recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys a well done & riveting thriller.

[John Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a hell of a long time ago, and the only thing I really remember was the main character was paranoid and kept a razor blade in his mouth in case he got tied up (which he does). He was a Vietnam vet who gets tangled up with the CIA and Russian spies.

[M. D. Millsap · Rating 5 out of 5]

J.C. Pollock was doing Tom Clancy before Tom Clancy was doing Tom Clancy. With that said, if you like some Tom Clancy, would most likely enjoy some Pollock as well. Pollock’s “The Dennecker Code” was published in 1982, two years before Clancy would hit the scene with 1984’s “The Hunt for Red October.”

And though Tom Clancy would go onto bigger fame than J.C. Pollcok, this does not mean that the Clancy works were superior in story or quality. This book, “Centrifuge”, came out the same year as Clancy’s debut novel.

There is a lot of heart in this story, which is somewhat odd for the men’s military action genre. The story is centered around Mike Slater, an ex-special forces soldier, who now has a quiet civilian life owning a training school for attack dogs. When he visits is old commanding officer to answer a few questions, events transpire that drag him back into a world of violence. One of the things that really made the book stand out for me was how human Slater felt. He did not want to back into action. He did not feel like one-man-army. He had real world concerns and seemed to make the most logical decisions he could under the circumstances.

Motivation was well handled for all the characters. Everyone acted to fulfill their own personal goals and agendas and it was the unintended (mostly) consequences of these choices that moved the plot along instead of forcing the characters to do things because of the plot.

The military tactics and description of equipment is so spot on that parts of this novel could be used as a training manual.

If you are looking to scratch that military itch, and don’t mind going back in time to a post-Vietnam era, give Centrifuge a look.

[Joe O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding; when his previous commander is killed in front of him, a former Vietnam Special Forces and CIA member finds that someone is trying to kill members of his old unit, and ends up squaring off against a Soviet hit team and faces duplicity from former intelligence colleagues

[Theresa Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story Well written

[Mdi · Rating 4 out of 5]

great action packed book.

[Hfhfhhfhhfhh · Rating 5 out of 5]

its a good book