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The Red Collusion

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One man's hunger to conquer leads Moscow and Washington to the verge of WWIII.

It’s 1981, and the Cold War is at its peak. The leader of the Soviet Union, General Secretary Yermolov, instructs Defense Minister Marshal Budarenko to go on a limited military operation that will put an end to the civilian uprising in some of the Warsaw Pact states. But Marshal Budarenko has other plans.

The Marshal, a WWII hero and red-army legend, is a tough, militant man. He begins conspiring behind the USSR leader’s back, forming an intricate scheme that will allow him to move mass armed forces towards West Germany, and beyond.

In the face of this emerging threat, the US and NATO allies declare the highest alert level and are left with no choice but to start deploying their nuclear warheads. WWIII seems inevitable.

Set against a complex historical background, David Yaron weaves a thrilling, sophisticated story, which seems completely realistic. Yaron's writing is minimalistic yet full of details that only a military expert can recount, keeping the reader in constant suspense.

252 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 30, 2019

287 people are currently reading
195 people want to read

About the author

David Yaron

4 books

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5 stars
148 (40%)
4 stars
130 (35%)
3 stars
62 (16%)
2 stars
17 (4%)
1 star
9 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for P..
Author 1 book11 followers
February 14, 2020
What might have been

This is what I would call a classic Cold War thriller. It offers a vision of what might have been and indeed the reader could indeed wonder how often this was indeed what unfolded behind the scenes.
39 reviews
March 31, 2019
A excellent military/political thriller until page 164. It then fell apart because of incorrect military actions and phrases. At his point the novel lost its grip on the reader from believable to absurd.

Up to page 164 this book was gripping and believable,then it fell apart due to bad military phrases and actions. It lost its creitability with a reader of military fiction.
89 reviews3 followers
March 28, 2019
Major yawn....

Somewhere in the course of listening to Army's (GBR) narrative (text to speech) I found myself drifting off in mid-paragraph. Maybe it was more Russian (content) then necessary. I may re-read this...later.
18 reviews
May 9, 2019
Tom Clancy - lite

It was an interesting book. The premise is a common one, but with a few unusual twists. It is sort of aTom Clancy book but shorter and less complicated. It was an enjoyable read.
594 reviews6 followers
August 19, 2020
Games of War

Well written story of war strategies, of how not to go to war. Entertaining and interesting, this book keeps your attention throughout. Written with some humor, the book also shares some creative thinking of world powers.
4 reviews
March 1, 2022
This book appears to have anticipated what the Russians are doing in Ukraine in 2022.
The author appears to know the mentality of the way Russian leaders think to justify the use of military force in neighboring countries. This book is a very good read and highly recommended.
Profile Image for Sara Avrams.
309 reviews6 followers
April 20, 2019
Gripping

Exciting, challenging and fun to read. The characters were not jusit a bunch of evil villains, but actually believable human beings. I like that.
778 reviews
March 3, 2020
Red Collusion

Ehh.... Petty far fetched and improbable. Started fairly slow and didn’t make much sense. In the end it was on ok read. I give it a mild “thumbs up”.
14 reviews
May 11, 2020
A disappointing story

This was a well written story. Right up to the final chapter. I felt like it ended 2 chapters too soon. It really leaves you hanging.
5 reviews
March 17, 2021
Awesome Story

This was so fast moving that I think I set a new personal record in reading a book from cover to cover. Just could not put it down. Surprise ending.
613 reviews1 follower
September 17, 2021
Well written and very fast paced.

This was indeed a thriller with the world hanging on while a madman tries to control Russia. I will definitely read more from this author
4 reviews
March 11, 2023
Excellent, meets all the rules of the genre. The story is very dramatic, I would love to see a filmed version of the book
Profile Image for Boris Feldman.
783 reviews84 followers
May 13, 2019
A less-detailed version of the early Tom Clancy. Reading this officially marks the beginning of my summer reading season!
Profile Image for Captain Dady Mody.
95 reviews2 followers
December 17, 2019
Frighteningly gripping as to what can happen if there are only a few, or a total lack of checks & balances in a politically nuclear environment as prevails in todays age.
A very enjoyable & engrossing book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It was quite a believable & worrying scenario.
51 reviews
November 30, 2019
Page Turner

Sure kept my interest enough that I read it in one sitting. Close enough to the world situation to be very frightening. I recommend this book. E
Profile Image for Grady.
Author 51 books1,822 followers
March 15, 2019
‘The world’s two superpowers are on the brink of war.’

Author David Yaron is an intelligence Lieutenant-Colonel (Ret) in the Israeli Air Force, and is now a commentator and publicist on military and security issues on various newspapers and websites. His novels to date have been prescient as predictions of world military affairs in the Middle East. Now he turns to another credible threat and makes his case completely solid while being a fascinating and thrilling read.

David makes his postulate clear n writing this book: ‘During the last decade of the Cold War, which ended in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, I was accompanied by a more professional and experienced eye, since I was then an IAF intelligence officer. In recent years, President Putin has made it his business to remind all of us that the Cold War may very well return.’
When a writer of the expertise of David Yaron creates a novel about the possibility of our approaching WW III the story becomes even more ominous than simply a possibility, and that is one of the many reasons this novel works so well. Add to that the gift of creating credible characters to enhance not only the rising tension of the plot but also reference to factual data and the book becomes a story worthy of translation into a screenplay.

Opening the story in1989 in the Russian cemetery wherein are buried Russia’s military heroes and cultural icons - Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev – and Vladimir Petrovich Yermolov, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ’Unlike Joseph Stalin, Yermolov had been loved, not feared.’

And the story progresses from there – ‘It’s 1981, and the Cold War is at its peak. The leader of the Soviet Union, General Secretary Yermolov, instructs Defense Minister Marshal Budarenko to go on a limited military operation that will put an end to the civilian uprising in some of the Warsaw Pact states. But Marshal Budarenko has other plans. The Marshal, a WWII hero and red-army legend, is a tough, militant man. He begins conspiring behind the USSR leader’s back, forming an intricate scheme that will allow him to move mass armed forces towards West Germany, and beyond. In the face of this emerging threat, the US and NATO allies declare the highest alert level and are left with no choice but to start deploying their nuclear warheads. WWIII seems inevitable.’

The quality of the writing further solidifies the enviable stature of author David Yaron, This is one mesmerizing and thrilling novel, worthy of the attention of all readers – and award judges!
Profile Image for Doug Hohbein.
117 reviews
November 17, 2019
An extremely quick read that kept my interest fairly well. I liked the author's knowledge of military hierarchy and political maneuverings on both sides of cold war. A lack of European involvement and a laughingly simple plot kept this book from a higher rating. I probably won't look for more from this author.
21 reviews
August 17, 2019
A great story, but the writer’s style forced me to reread many paragraphs.

Explanation: I am used to a paragraph break when the speaker changes to another speaker. This author packs two or more conversation segments by two individuals into one paragraph by the use of double quotes. The dialogue of each character is surrounded by double quotes. So the reader must carefully parse the paragraph to find where one speaker stops and the other starts speaking. This looks something like

“.....do you think so?” “Yes I certainly ....”. “I’m glad to hear....”

The foregoing is actually character 1, followed by character 2, followed by character 1 again - all in the same paragraph!

It’s been awhile since my 5th grade grammar studies? Have the rules of grammar changed? Perhaps it’s because the author is an Israeli? Are the rules different, or has the book suffered from translation and editing laziness?
111 reviews3 followers
August 14, 2019
So scary about the unending proximity of nuclear war

Where does fact start and fiction end in this authentic overview of the yawning gap between the ethics of Russia and USA? It's scary cos it identifies how easily nuclear war can start when ruthless ambition exceeds common sense for the human race. The message I got was to watch the integrity of the leaders of those two empires. Right now in 2019 this book can be predictive. Let's hold our breaths. It's like Kennedy and jrdchek 40 yrs ago....
Profile Image for Allan Cohen.
6 reviews1 follower
August 18, 2019
Excellent

I’m not usually a military fiction reader, but the description and the author’s bio grabbed my attention. A little bit of a slow start (the character’s names take some work), but it quickly picked up and moved forward with both expected and unexpected turns and twists. All in all, a good read.
1 review
November 5, 2019
War

It is one of the best if not the best war book I have ever read not many books can keep me locked in 4 days but it was excellent
49 reviews
August 11, 2019
Russia Vs. U.S. Cliffhanger

A senior Russian military officer decides to begin THE major conflict leading to WWlll with special insights from key military sources. They almost reach their objective!
8 reviews
August 30, 2019
Great plot, characters

The challenge is keeping track of the large cast of characters but it is worth the effort. Unique plot and distinguished characters. You will ask yourself if it really happened and you never knew.
1 review
September 23, 2019
A 4.75 Star thriller!

Great plot. A brilliant piece of political/military intrigue. One factual error that upset me (I am a retired Royal Navy Weapons Engineer), Royal Navy ships are referred to as HMS Victory, not as the HMS Victory = Her Majesties Ship Victory.
10 reviews
August 7, 2019
Good Read!

Good plot, portrayal of characters was helpful, ending was excellent and could have been manipulated in different ways. Enjoyed book and will follow author. Thx.

8 reviews
August 19, 2019
Fast paced thriller

Well written suspenseful tale they keeps you involved until the very end. A short novel packed with action and intrigue.
3 reviews
August 26, 2019
Could not put it down.

Could not put it down... the more I read, the more involved I became. I plan to read David Yaron's other books as soon as possible.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

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