Crossfire

by J.C. Pollock

A CIA-controlled Soviet scientist unexpectedly flees to Czechoslovakia where he tells a beautiful skating coach vital information before he dies, leaving ex-marine Adrian Delaney to smuggle her out of her homeland

Genres: Thriller, Military Fiction, Fiction, Action

341 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

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

[Steven Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a life-long Metal Gear Solid fan, often delving into learning obscure trivia about the series. When I learned that there was a novel called CROSSFIRE that had made a large impact on the second game in the series, METAL GEAR 2: SOLID SNAKE, I knew I had to get my hands on it. It took a little hunting on Amazon's used book section, but I finally got my hands on it.

Before I actually cracked it open and got to reading, I did a little research on the author. JC Pollock is a bit of an enigma. It seems that he wrote seven books, as well as a direct-to-DVD film starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. His jacket biography states that he's a member of both the Special Operations Association and the Special Forces Association. A few unconfirmed sources say that Pollock is an intelligence community veteran, serving with the CIA during Vietnam. He's gone into obscurity since, which could potentially jive with his being former IC.

What further jives with that assertion are the details within CROSSFIRE. The basic plot (avoiding spoilers) is that the CIA has developed technology that could potentially shift the balance of the Cold War in favor of the United States, but a key asset responsible for overseeing the implementation of that tech has panicked and decided to defect. Langley scrambles an attempt to extract the asset, using soldiers from 10th Special Forces at Bad Tolz, Germany; specifically, Master Sergeant Frank Kessler, who served in Vietnam with MACV-SOG. After a first rescue attempt results in total mission failure, Kessler is tasked with recruiting Adrian Dulaney, a playboy who served in the Marine Corps during Vietnam. Together, they work to salvage the mission.

Given the details that Pollock includes in CROSSFIRE about both Langley and Special Forces indicate that either he truly is an IC veteran or is an extremely good researcher. One potential easter egg is that one of Kessler's teammates is named Shumate. Those who know SOF history in the 1970s and 1980s will immediately remember Sergeant Major Walter J. Shumate, a Special Forces legend and one of the men who assisted Colonel Charlie Beckwith in standing up Delta Force. The detailed five-paragraph operations order in one of the chapters also indicates either first-hand knowledge of military operations or a knack for research. I tend to lean towards Pollock being the real deal. I've pored over dozens of books over the years about the IC and SOF written by both insiders and outsiders, and the way the prose is written reminds me more of the former than the latter.

The action scenes are not the crispest, but they are solid enough and accurate enough to be entertaining and informative. The characterization is strongest with Kessler and Dulaney, along with Olympian figure skater Hana Cernikova and Czech secret policeman Josef Masek (who is an excellent example of a sympathetic antagonist). The rest of the characters, on the other hand, could use additional characterization. Also of note is how the prose seemed to really hurry up at the end, focusing on pushing the plot along instead of letting it breathe and grow organically. Those two points combined cost CROSSFIRE a star.

Still, it is a very entertaining book, and if you can get your hands on it, I'd certainly recommend it.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1985, in Prague, a Russian CIA undercover agent decides it's time for him to retire, exfiltrate and live out his days in a safe, quiet location somewhere in the U.S. of A. His intention is to bring with him critical data regarding the Russian missile program. Unfortunately he has a heart attack and dies before the CIA can get him out. An elaborate plan is devised to find and retrieve the spy's briefcase and the invaluable missile plans. This is a good story but you must survive this author's penchant for detail, for instance, if I had been able to stay awake I would now, in all probability, be able to design and build the guidance
system for an ICBM. It's a good story.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good 90's era Special Forces/Spy thriller. It entails the run and gun extraction of an asset from Russian Controlled Area. It's pretty typical of the Cold War era fiction. I enjoyed it as a good bit of fun.

[Mdi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book of Pollock's that i read and it hooked me! I really like the self reliance of the character and the overall theme of justice. It's action packed.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deze spionagethriller in volle koude oorlog is een echt ouderwets mannenboek, zoals er tegenwoordig te weinig geschreven worden.
Hoewel groots van opzet, met locaties op 3 continenten en gestoffeerd met veel technische details, raast het verhaal verder van begin tot eind

[Jhun Lumabad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action, adventures, spies, romance and comedy very nice story.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heh metal gear

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised at how well I enjoyed this book. Better than I thought. Good adventure story.