Strike Force

Patrick McLanahan #13

by Dale Brown

Moving from the Pentagon to the Middle East, filled with intrigue, adventure, and danger, this is the latest adrenaline-pumped military thriller from the New York Times bestselling master When a military coup in Iran leads to a crackdown on religious jihadists, it seems as if a new era is dawning in the Middle East, especially when the new leader, General Buzhazi, seeks to normalize relations with both America and Israel. But the Iranians are not really interested in peace . . . In the guise of pursuing and destroying Islamic militants, Buzhazi is planting thousands of Iranian Pasdaran special-ops troops throughout the oil-rich Kurdish region of northern Iraq, and in a lightning quick operation brutally occupies the territory.Unveiling its new military might, it invades northern Iraq, catching the world―and America―completely off-guard. To regain control of the region, America will rely on her own ultimate Patrick McLanahan and his team of special high-tech operatives. Filled with the latest cutting-edge weaponry, geopolitical intrigue, high-flying suspense, and a colorful cast of characters, Untitled promises to be one of New York Times bestselling author Dale Brown’s best.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Military Fiction, Adventure, Suspense, Action, War

576 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Former U.S. Air Force captain Dale Brown is the superstar author of 25 consecutive New York Times best-selling military-action-aviation adventure novels: FLIGHT OF THE OLD DOG (1987), SILVER TOWER (1988), DAY OF THE CHEETAH (1989), HAMMERHEADS (1990), SKY MASTERS (1991), NIGHT OF THE HAWK (1992), CHAINS OF COMMAND (1993), STORMING HEAVEN (1994), SHADOWS OF STEEL (1996) and FATAL TERRAIN (1997), THE TIN MAN (1998), BATTLE BORN (1999), and WARRIOR CLASS (2001). His Fourteenth Novel AIRBATTLE FORCE will be published in late Spring 2003... Dale's novels are published in 11 languages and distributed to over 70 countries. Worldwide sales of his novels, audiobooks and computer games exceed 10 million copies.

Dale was born in Buffalo, New York on November 2, 1956. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Western European History and received an Air Force commission in 1978. He was a navigator-bombardier in the B-52G Stratofortress heavy bomber and the FB-111A supersonic medium bomber, and is the recipient of several military decorations and awards including the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Combat Crew Award, and the Marksmanship ribbon.
Dale was also one of the nation's first Air Force ROTC cadets to qualify for and complete the grueling three-week U.S. Army Airborne Infantry paratrooper training course.

Dale is a director and volunteer pilot for AirLifeLine, a non-profit national charitable medical transportation organization who fly needy persons free of charge to receive treatment. He also supports a number of organizations to support and promote law enforcement and reading.

Dale Brown is a member of The Writers Guild and a Life Member of the Air Force Association and U.S. Naval Institute. He is a multi-engine and instrument-rated private pilot and can often be found in the skies all across the United States, piloting his own plane. On the ground, Dale enjoys tennis, skiing, scuba diving, and hockey. Dale, his wife Diane, and son Hunter live near the shores of Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a book I just picked off the shelf in the library. Not a bad book and it is well written. It was a bit too technical at times to hold my interest. It is not the type of genre I read, but I appreciate reading different books. Although it is fiction, I believe some of the military items talked about are probably real or close to it. It really shows how power can destroy when one person has it.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been several years since I’ve read a Dale Brown book. The first few novels were pretty good reads, especially the excellent first one, Flight of the Old Dog. But they’ve been on a steady downhill pace ever since until I finally gave up on them. But I like to use the month of December to do some housekeeping on my reading list and that sometimes includes returning to series such as this one to see if my attitude has changed.

This 13th novel in the series has a decent storyline about a high ranking Iranian, a former enemy of the US, plotting a coup against the Iranian government. Since this aligns with US interests, they decide to play the long game and support their former enemy. Patrick McClanahan is now a three-star Air Force general and a special advisor to the president and therefore in the perfect position to steer the US response. I did enjoy the main plot elements of the story and even admired the way the author managed to balance the overwhelming technological advances of the US versus the rest of the international players, especially Iran. Those with the coolest toys don’t always win. For those unfamiliar with this series, we’ve been on a slightly alternate timeline since the first book, a world in which there have been more Air Force-led battles and wars than our own, almost of all of which have been instigated by the maverick McClanahan and his super-secret team of manly-men and wonder-women Air Force warriors.

There is a fair amount of techno-babble, as expected, but less than I recall from previous books in the series. I guess there is a certain audience that eats that stuff up. For me it really interferes with the story-telling though, and this is coming from me, a career Air Force officer. The author makes some attempts at distinguishing the many characters from one another but ultimately, they remain fairly one-dimensional. It was nice though to see a number of the weapons systems from previous books in the mix this time around. Not only do we get the new technology of the “Black Stallion” space planes, but we also revisit other state-of-the-art aircraft, the Tin-Man battle suit and even the Silver Tower.

Overall, I thought this was OK. What had turned me completely off the series in the last book was McClanahan’s complete and udder disregard for following orders. He has done this many times and never gets punished but rather promoted even when his actions cost hundreds of lives. It is simply unrealistic on so many levels. Apparently his approach to life has rubbed off on those around him because in this book, a close friend of his (and present since very early on in the series) does the same thing at the cost of his own life.

I will likely read another of these at some point, simply because I have them on my shelves…but I am in no rush to get to it.

[Mike French · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unless you are an Aeronautical or Aerospace Engineer,it is easy to bogged down as Brown describes each high tech item to the Nth degree. I find by skipping over most of the high tech explanations the story moves along nicely! This series has a lot of recurring characters, so best to read from beginning.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dale Brown is a master technical writer. This is a typically good novel full of excitement. 9 of 10 stars!

[Nigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good outing for Brown providing you can ignore the many times that Patrick once again feels it right to ignore the chains of command and to believe that all the men and weapons systems under his command in Dreamland are in fact his to use as he sees fit.
The overall plot of this story centres around a civil insurrection in Iran and whether of not the US should get involved to try and help Iran move to a more secular democracy and away from government by religious zealots.
As expected that battle scenes and the political shenanigans are well written, descriptive and believable even when it comes to scenes with the high tech fictional weapon systems of Dreamland, Brown makes them seem commonplace and believable.

[John Lietzke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of 'Strike Force (Patrick McLanahan Book 13)' by John Lietzke

This is the 13th book I have read in the Patrick McLanahan Series. Overall I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars. I would say this book will keep the reader curious and on edge.

[Bernie Ideker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not finish book. Similar to Mr. Brown’s book, Silver Tower, author impresses reader with his knowledge of weapons, aircraft, and other military devices. Impressive but such details drags down the story. Books are too long. I’m done with this author.

[Stephen Washburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strike Force

Another excellent story. Mass upheaval in Iran as multiple organizations try to take over the country. The US attacks to take out numerous missile sites. I hate seeing members of the team getting killed off though the way they are though.

[Raoul Jerome · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't care for this one much. Very disjointed plot. Had trouble keeping track of who was who and what they were all doing. Not sure they knew. Maybe I've just worn out my deciphering skills for the McLanahan series.

[Connie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Read...

Fast and furious...a little too much redundant info on the type of bombs used; but another one hard to put down! For some reason they are not in order...or there are other books in between...

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another technology filled military thriller with the President's staff trying to keep McLanahan's hands tied.
This time an out of favor Iranian general is trying to stage a coup to pull the mullahs from power.

[Donn Lorber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting futuristic war w space planes and Iran. Very long and complex military jargon but interesting.. Dale Brown writes complicated scenarios

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This outing of McLanahan & Co. finds them in hot water.... again. This was faster-paced that a couple of the last books with more action and less exposition.

[Castle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finally quit on page 140. Book just could not hold my interest at all.

[Y. Altman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book with fantastic narrative. Feel like you are IN the battle and never sure where things going until you are THERE!

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exciting , fun story with interesting trch. "soon" to be introduced to the field...

[Fred Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realize it is just a novel but it is hard to believe General McLanahan could get away with disregarding that many orders or that the President would be that aggressive.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope

[Mike Kaska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strike Force

Thrilling, fast pace, action packed, an excellent read leaving you wanting to read what's coming next! I would highly recommend it!

[Stewart Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved It!

I'm running out of books by my favorite authors, so I went in search of some new ones. This novel is fast paced, interesting, and fits the bill for pleasurable reading. I'm definitely going to read more of Mr. Brown's books,

[George · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I am a fan of the genre, I thought "Strike Force" a very poor example. The story was a bit disjointed, and it got bogged down in the minutiae that typifies a Dale Brown novel. He knows little of the inner workings of the White House and the government -- it shows. However, if you want to know the switch position of the bombing system, it's right there in the book. Further, if a general officer had done half the things that McLanahan has gotten away with, he'd be in jail. And we haven't seen a POTUS since Reagan with the cahones to approve execution of the operations in this book, even if the technology existed. If Brown spent half the time with character and plot development that he does with "switchology", we'd have a decent book. I stopped listening half way through and fast forwarded to the end. Even that, wasn't particularly satisfying. I've put off Dale Brown for awhile; as I have other authors who can occupy my time.

[Ultan]

THE BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF IRAN . . . BEGINS IN SPACE.
When a disgraced former Iranian military chief of staff engineers an insurgency that threatens to destroy the theocratic regime in Iran, a new era appears to be dawning in the Middle East . . . but one must be wary of old enemies.
On the run from the theocrat's terror army, the Pasdaran, and unable to count on support from his friends in the regular army, rebel leader General Hesarak al-Kan Buzhazi desperately turns to his old nemesis, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, for help. Unwilling to commit American forces in an Iranian civil war, and with time running out, the President authorizes McLanahan to utilize a new and top-secret fleet of globe-crossing spaceplanes, the XR-A9 Black Stallions, led by test pilot and astronaut Captain Hunter Noble. Within hours, McLanahan's Air Battle Force turns the tide, possibly changing the course of history in the Middle East for generations.
The advent of almost instantaneous global reach, along with the reactivation of America's first military space station, Silver Tower, has rekindled fears of a space arms race, and the growing insurgency in Iran is threatening to erupt into a worldwide jihad. But McLanahan finds himself embroiled in even more bitter battles at the White House, between those who support his space-based military initiative-and those who are working secretly to undermine it. When McLanahan is forced to fight his political and personal battles back at home, it's left to Hunter Noble and his team of young American space engineers to keep the fires of freedom in the Middle East from exploding completely out of control.

Charged with rebuilding America's long-range attack force devastated in Edge of Battle, Special Adviser to the President Lt. Gen. Patrick McLanahan shocks everyone by proposing to build a force of spaceplanes, able to attack any target on the globe within minutes. The project is led by test pilot Captain Hunter Noble. Just then, Iran's theocratic regime falls victim to a swift military coup that reveals its immense military power to the world. The new self-appointed Iranian president, General Buzhazi wants to normalise relations between Israel and the United States. Buzhazi appeals to the world for help in hunting down terrorists, he argues that only he has the resources to stop radical fundamentalist Islam, and the world responds favourably. Hunter Noble secretly launches several reconnaissance satellites over Iran to monitor Buzhazi's powerful forces. Soon the satellites reveal Buzhazi's real plan, planting thousands of Iranian Pasdaran special-ops troops throughout the oil-rich Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The U.S. tries to re-establish a strong military presence in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula, but Iran has the upper hand now, and the U.S. government realises it is in danger of losing control of the entire Middle East. But Hunter Noble is already working up a plan to strike back, showing the real power of the spaceplane force.

[Deyth Banger · Rating 5 out of 5]

"December 12, 2017 – page 267
61.81%
December 9, 2017 – page 244
56.48%
December 9, 2017 – page 242
56.02%
December 2, 2017 – page 152
35.19%
December 1, 2017 – page 132
30.56% "This book is written by an expert."
December 1, 2017 – page 132
30.56%
November 29, 2017 – page 124
28.7%
November 28, 2017 – page 111
25.69%
November 17, 2017 – page 81
18.75% "9 Chapters all of them are very long."
October 22, 2017 – Shelved
October 22, 2017 – Started Reading"


P.S. - Is it for real?

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is 12 discs but it listens pretty quickly. There's plenty going on that makes the time spent listening to this book go by smoothly. I've never read or listened to any of Dale's books before. I liked this one well enough I'll probably listen to another, perhaps even read one.

Things I should have found out before listening to this: is this book part of a series? It is. Where's it at in the series? Most recent, I think.

So, I basically found this book near the end of the story. Not that I think it matters much. This book takes place in the future. And there are plenty of references to things that happened before this book, so it probably would have helped had I listened or read to these stories in order. But I enjoyed this one just fine, not having done so.

As with any audiobook the reader is tremendously important. Christopher Lane did a great job.

The quick and dirty: it's a military suspense adventure novel that takes place in a well imagined future that has a strong basis in the world today. For me the best part of the book was all the fancy military tech. A lot of cool toys. It's got some story lines that really don't get tied up, in my opinion. And then there are some that seem to jump ahead big chunks of time in just a paragraph or two. I suppose if you're talking about global events like war that's the way things go. And the loose ends give you somewhere to start your next book.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

PB - 546Pgs
synopsis from Dale Brown's site. (heads still fuzzy and not ready to come up with my own. Typical Brow Dreamworks military thriller.

THE BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF IRAN . . . BEGINS IN SPACE.

When a disgraced former Iranian military chief of staff engineers an insurgency that threatens to destroy the theocratic regime in Iran, a new era appears to be dawning in the Middle East . . . but one must be wary of old enemies.

On the run from the theocrat's terror army, the Pasdaran, and unable to count on support from his friends in the regular army, rebel leader General Hesarak al-Kan Buzhazi desperately turns to his old nemesis, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, for help. Unwilling to commit American forces in an Iranian civil war, and with time running out, the President authorizes McLanahan to utilize a new and top-secret fleet of globe-crossing spaceplanes, the XR-A9 Black Stallions, led by test pilot and astronaut Captain Hunter Noble. Within hours, McLanahan's Air Battle Force turns the tide, possibly changing the course of history in the Middle East for generations.

ISBN - 978-0-06-117369-1, Military/Thriller, Pages - 432, Print Size - R, Rating - 4

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

In number 13 in the McLanahan series we are brought to Iran where a once loyal follower of the theocratic regime is disgraced and scapegoated and decides to unite numerous disenfranchised parties to revolt against the regime.

Naturally, for the series, Russia is in the mix and there's plenty of high tech weaponry and a focus on action over realism.

I found mid way through the book the story got a bit bogged down in politics and seemed to skip a vital link between the first and second halves of the story line. Whether this was done for dramatic purposes or merely a plot oversight I couldn't quite work out, it was distracting nonetheless.

Overall, a good entry in the series which fits well in the universe of books including a tie in to the stand alone novel Silver Tower.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

This was my 1st read of a Dale Brown book. Jacket said his books "brim with sophisticated weaponry." That is so true. I think the author devoted more energy to the weapon descriptions than to character development. Characters that I knew, and shoudl be sympathetic to, died -- and I hardly cared.

Interesting to posit an air vehicle that can go in atmosphere or outer space. Also interesting to see how sub-factions on the 'other' side from the U.S. might react differently to the same events. Also, I did like how the reader thinks at the last page the hero, McLanahan, has saved the day - only learn to learn in the page's final grafs that he has caused a new crisis.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed the McLanahan series of books, but this one seemed to have some MAJOR plot holes. It's like a couple of chapters got trimmed from the middle. McLanahan gets in trouble for "doing it his way", which is normal for him. The president grounds him AND his space plane and orders him not to launch any more surveillance satellites. There is also a senator making waves. She doesn't like ANY program that's not in HER district. One chapter later, McLanahan is launching everything he has, no one balks, and the senator is never heard from again. Other than that, it was a pretty good story.

[Gerrit · Rating 2 out of 5]

How would the world-view of Americans change if we developed a surface-to-orbit bomber that can go dozens of times faster than the speed of sound? The Black Stallion is a prototype spaceplane which causes turmoil internationally and domestically.

Very heavy on military, particularly Air Force, terminology; fortunately, Brown includes a glossary for the novel. Moves relatively quickly but seems slower because chapters span up to 50 pages.
Characterization and prose style is sacrificed for entertainment, which is ok considering the genre. Moderate profanity (with a full range of words).

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this on CD and it was abridged. Maybe that is why I had trouble finding it worth only 2 stars instead of 1 or 0. There was so much Air Force jargon that it was difficult to tell who was the good guy and who was the bad. Parts of it seemed disjointed from the rest of the story. This may have been the fault of the abridgment. I sometime wonder if authors even bother to check the copy of the abridgment before they sign off on it. Don't bother with this one. Spend your time on something useful..... like pealing carrots.