Glory Zone: In a Future World, War Is Fought By the Old, Not the Young

by Gordon Gumpertz

In his new novel Glory Zone, author Gordon Gumpertz writes about a future world of clone banks, gene cures, perpetual war, and love found late in life. The world's nations have merged into two mega-states, bitter enemies locked in a bloody war in the Northern Mountains -- a war fought by the old, not the young. Jeff Granger, drafted into the army on his sixty-fifth birthday, has been brainwashed from an early age that his people will be conquered and enslaved if the brutal enemy breaks through. His patriotic duty is to defend the homeland by fighting and dying in a just cause. Jeff suspects a hidden agenda in the conflict and sets out to unmask a vicious war that few survive. Dark forces thwart Jeff at every turn, but he refuses to give up. In the army he meets his true love, fellow soldier Rachel Chan. Rachel joins Jeff on his perilous journey.

364 pages, Paperback

Published June 20, 2016

About the author

Gordon Gumpertz, author of action/adventure novels Tsunami, Red Hot Sky, and Life's Blood, began writing fiction after wrapping up a successful advertising career. He headed a Los Angeles ad agency that served Procter & Gamble, Honda Motors, Blue Shield, Mitsui Bank, Quaker State Oil, and Kawasaki, and handled a blue chip list of national and regional clients in fast food, banking, insurance, fashion, and food manufacturing.
In addition to serving as agency president, Gordon kept his hand in as a copywriter and guided the creative campaigns of many of the agency's clients. He was also active in advertising industry affairs, serving as president of the Western States Advertising Agencies Association, and on the Board of Governors of the American Advertising Agencies Association.
Gordon is a third generation Californian. He was born in San Diego and raised in Oxnard,
CA where his father was a grower and shipper of California vegetables. After a four-year stint in the army he finished his studies at UCLA, graduating with a BA in Sociology. He learned to fly at Santa Monica airport, became instrument rated, and has enjoyed hundreds of hours of cross country flying, including trips to New York, and La Paz in Baja California.
Gordon has a son, a daughter, and two grandchildren. He and his wife Jenny live in Palm Desert, California, and will celebrate their 40th anniversary next year. His favorite pastimes are reading, traveling, cruising, tennis, and hiking, as a member of the Sierra Club.
While doing research for his novels, all of which have underlying natural disaster themes, he became interested in earth science and started blogging on natural disasters and other earth science subjects. He posts a weekly blog on tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, droughts, meteor strikes, rogue waves, plate tectonics, and related topics at www.tsunaminaturaldisasteer.com.
Gordon is a member of the Palm Springs Writers Guild. In addition to his adventure novels, he writes short stories that have won gold and silver awards in national and regional competitions. He is presently working on his fourth novel, and hopes to write several more before they finally put him out to pasture.

Reviews

[Carol Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glory Zone opens with the sentence, "This was the time of evening when the flicker bombs came in." From this hook to the final chapters, you step into a plot driven by ongoing action, suspense, and tension. You meet characters who take risks to serve the common good like Jeff Granger or who are driven to serve their own good like the General Counsel.

Author Gordon Gumpertz has created a world of the future based on absolute power and rampant greed, a result of a complacent populace, over-population, and planet abuse. Unscrupulous leaders depend on war to solve problems and stay in power, war with a twist. Compulsory military service and a chance to be a hero begin at age 65. The reasons for the war and the way it is fought ultimately make Granger question the rationale and seek solutions. But people are afraid.

Set many years in the future, Glory Zone's story lures you to draw modern day parallels as you follow Granger. He fights to stop the war, encountering obstacles at each turn. His plans for survival of man and the planet are put to the final test during a political campaign pitting the status quo against change.

This book will entertain, keep you on the edge of your seat, and nudge you to think about our current world. Imaginative and clever writing combine to make a good, fast-paced read.