Shuttle Down

Chopper Ops #3

by Mack Maloney

When the U.S. Space Shuttle--and its cargo, a top-secret spy satellite--makes a forced landing in western China, the Chopper Ops team is sent in to recover the shuttle or destroy it before anyone can seize control of its cargo, a mission that sends the team deep into China and into the desolate Bershewr region of Pakistan. Original.

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2000

About the author

Mack Maloney is the author of numerous fiction series, including Wingman, ChopperOps, Starhawk, and Pirate Hunters, as well as UFOs in Wartime – What They Didn’t Want You to Know. A native Bostonian, Maloney received a bachelor of science degree in journalism at Suffolk University and a master of arts degree in film at Emerson College. He is the host of a national radio show, Mack Maloney’s Military X-Files. Visit him on Facebook and at www.mackmaloney.com.

Mack Maloney is the Pen name for BRIAN KELLEHER

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the final book of the three in the Chopper Ops series. It's another tense techno-thriller with the team sent to China to recover a shuttle that's downed after having captured a spy satellite, which is just the beginning of a rather complicated quest will lots of side trips and adventures in dangerous territories. There are some rather unlikely bits, but the clear and concise prose carries the story. I'd suggest reading the first book, at least, prior to this one, in order to get to know and understand the characters. Not really especially memorable, but fun.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overview of book:
This is the third in a series by Mack Maloney. Same characters are involved again in this story, with some added characters.

Basically, a military space shuttle has been shot down, and has crashed somewhere in southwest Asia. It is carrying a top secret item, and apparently a lot of the countries in and around the crash site know it. So, there is a race to get to the site of the crash, which is assumed to be located somewhere near the border of Kyrgyzstan and China, in a region called the Paswar. In one word, a no man's land. Involved countries are: the Chopper Ops group from the U.S., China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, India, and a few elements from the Taliban of Afghanistan. A small war ensues as all of these small forces converge on a large volcanic crater in the Paswar, trying to get to the shuttle which is lodged in the snow and ice. Lots of bloodshed for nothing.

Meanwhile, Smitz is sent on a wild goose chase by the CIA to find who is behind the stealing of a Soda-Can shaped blimp. This chase eventually leads him to Pakistan. Also, Ricco and Gillis go into training in the Nevada desert on extracting a vehicle stuck in a crater, which eventually leads them overseas to help out the other Chopper Ops crew.

Behind this all is the terrorist mastermind, that supposedly, is worse than Osama, and Saddam, named Zim. He has his own troops out to retrieve this shuttle and its precious cargo.
So, who gets to space shuttle first is the way this whole things plays out, with a twist.

Likes: Action, plot twist toward the end, geographically descriptive.

Dislikes: Although it is fiction, it basically is far fetched, especially a 600 pound terrorist mastermind. Maloney tends to delve into sci-fi with his novels, like the direction he took the Wingman series in, with Starhawk, causing me to end with the last Wingman book. The prior in this series is much better, called Zero Red.

Finally, make sure you read the first two before reading this, to understand the characters and their backgrounds. This book was published in Dec. 2000, and the way the ending is, this could be the last in the series, but Maloney has been known to take a few years off from writing on one series.

[Kenneth C · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could only read about two-thirds of this book before finally giving up, realizing I didn't even care what happened at the end. The plot, characters, and action sequences are so ridiculous it made Lord of the Rings seem realistic. Maloney may know the names and numbers of different aircraft and weapon systems, but there's no way he's a pilot or has ever served in the military, or apparently even handled a firearm. He seems to have no regard whatever for the high degree of skill and training it takes to be a military pilot, whether of a 747, a sophisticated heavy-lift helicopter, an F-15 fighter, or a light attack helicopter. It's not something even the best of the best can pick up in 30 minutes after reading a few pages of the aircraft's manual. That was evident simply from the way he describes the controls and handling procedures for any of the helicopters, and the series is called Chopper Ops, for goodness sake! For the last half-hour of my reading, before I gave it up, I was just trying to find a single page that didn't have something stupid or ridiculous on it. The book failed that test, and I decided it wasn't worth it to continue. Save your time and money and avoid this book, and probably any others by Maloney.

[Carroll E Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good









Good book, great writer. Have read a lot of his books. That started with the Wingman Series. Hope he continues to write more.

[dean potts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting!!

Good details. A good read. A true book to not want to put down

Interesting!!
I would recommend it to all action readers.