Chopper Ops

Chopper Ops #1

by Mack Maloney

America's worst nightmare has come true. The ArcLight 4 -- the most technically advanced, armed cargo plane ever created -- has vanished off the face of the earth.A specialized team of elite helicopter pilots has been sent into Saudi Arabia to retrieve it.

They are the Chopper Ops, and they have only one chance to succeed...

One chance in hell.

Genres: Military Fiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 14, 2011

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

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a quick and fun read. The basic concept of a group of seemingly unsuitable misfits brought together for a secret black ops mission is nothing new, and it works as well in this story as anywhere else. There is some nice mysterious plot elements lurking around in the background that we never get to the bottom of but I'm guessing that we will learn more in the following books in this series.
I would have given the book another star had it not been for what I thought were some rather ridiculous details of the story. For example, the modifications made to the choppers to make their controls more like a large transport jet and make it easy for the pilots (who had never flown a helicopter before) to make the transition. Some of these did make a little more sense as the story progressed, but it was enough for me to reflect it in my review.
However, Mack Maloney writes well for this sort of story and his writing flows well and is easy to read. This is the first of his books that I've read, but I do have his Pirate Hunter books waiting for me on my shelf. These may have just jumped up the stack a place or two.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot better then I expected, I read a lot of trash and figure this late 90s military action book would fall in to that category. Though it was really well written with well defined characters, plenty of intrigue, and action. The plot is that a rag tag group of milirary personnel from all branches are brought together to go find an experimental flying gunship that went missing 10 years ago. However it has returned taking out a diverse range of targets.

Highly recommended, a really fun read. Looking forward to the others in the series and more from the writer.

[John Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

The CIA have lost a plane... Back during Desert Storm, the CIA lost an "experimental" C-130 gunship. Ten years later, that gunship has started showing up around the world, attacking innocent victims and attracting the attention of the CIA again.

They put together a group of soldiers and aviators to fly in, save the crew, and steal back the plane, using Mi-24 Hind helicopters, and other ex-Russian helicopters.

It's not a great book, but the characters kept me interested enough to want to finish it. I hope the second book is better.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice if a little unrealistic military action story featuring a band of misfits (a standard of Maloney's work) facing overwhelming odds in the Middle East on a covert mission. Some of the twists are a little over the top and the resolution is left a little up in the air (that was an aviation fiction joke), but it was a fun read.