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Beyond Visual Range
The Speaker of the House has scheduled a vote on a resolution to impeach the president of the United States. With exaggerated piety the Speaker declares "The president has violated his oath of office. Among other crimes, he ignores the sovereignty of other nations, including our allies, using unmanned drones to assassinate their citizens without due process."
In response to what they view as a legislative coup, a rogue military element threatens to break with 250 years of tradition and use military force to overthrow the government.
Facing impeachment and an apparent unlawful insurrection among the ranks of the military, the president is not sure who he can trust. He turns to a Florida-based drone team, wheelchair bound Major Samantha Miller and her crewmate, Airman Rebecca Armistead, to counter the military threat.
Unusual events and unexplained aerial phenomena, including the downing of Major Miller's F-35 and the sabotage of her drone missions, focus attention on outer space.
The X-37B, a remotely piloted space-craft, has returned to Earth after spending a reported two years in space. Its mission is top secret. There is evidence that the military has lost control of the craft when it makes an unauthorized return to the heavens.
The battle moves to outer space. And in the end, our heroines must deal with an enemy Beyond Visual Range.
In response to what they view as a legislative coup, a rogue military element threatens to break with 250 years of tradition and use military force to overthrow the government.
Facing impeachment and an apparent unlawful insurrection among the ranks of the military, the president is not sure who he can trust. He turns to a Florida-based drone team, wheelchair bound Major Samantha Miller and her crewmate, Airman Rebecca Armistead, to counter the military threat.
Unusual events and unexplained aerial phenomena, including the downing of Major Miller's F-35 and the sabotage of her drone missions, focus attention on outer space.
The X-37B, a remotely piloted space-craft, has returned to Earth after spending a reported two years in space. Its mission is top secret. There is evidence that the military has lost control of the craft when it makes an unauthorized return to the heavens.
The battle moves to outer space. And in the end, our heroines must deal with an enemy Beyond Visual Range.
- GenresFiction
240 pages, Paperback
Published April 17, 2020
6 people are currently reading
587 people want to read
About the author
Tom Collins
10 books25 followersAUTHOR AND ENTREPRENEUR
M. Thomas (Tom) Collins writes from his home in Franklin, Tennessee, where his characters come to life and frequent familiar places in the bucolic middle Tennessee landscape and the majestic mountains of Western North Carolina.
A pioneer entrepreneur of the information technology industry, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ALM publication, Law Technology News, for his contribution to the use of technology in the legal services community. Citytech, a London-based publication, called him an “outstanding individual and visionary” when he was named as one of the Top 100 Global Tech Leaders. Although now retired from the commercial world, he continues to write and speak on leadership and management as well as pen his series of Mark Rollins Adventure mysteries and his short story series, Stories from Applewood Manor.
Additional information:
Tom Collins earned his master’s degree from the University of Alabama in 1965 and began his career as a CPA with Price Waterhouse (now PwC). He left PwC in 1968 to pursue the emerging business opportunity that followed IBM's consent decree allowing the use of IBM computers for the purpose of providing services. It was the birth of the information technology industry. After serving as one of the principals of Compass, Inc., and then Vice President of NLT Computer Services, he joined with four associates to establish the public company Endata, Inc. Collins began Juris, Inc. in March 1986. When Juris was purchased by LexisNexis in 2007, it had become the leading U.S. provider of financial and business information systems for multi-partner law firms.
APPEARANCES, LECTURES, AND READINGS
Tom Collins is available for selected readings and lectures.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
(5)mysteries
M. Thomas (Tom) Collins writes from his home in Franklin, Tennessee, where his characters come to life and frequent familiar places in the bucolic middle Tennessee landscape and the majestic mountains of Western North Carolina.
A pioneer entrepreneur of the information technology industry, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ALM publication, Law Technology News, for his contribution to the use of technology in the legal services community. Citytech, a London-based publication, called him an “outstanding individual and visionary” when he was named as one of the Top 100 Global Tech Leaders. Although now retired from the commercial world, he continues to write and speak on leadership and management as well as pen his series of Mark Rollins Adventure mysteries and his short story series, Stories from Applewood Manor.
Additional information:
Tom Collins earned his master’s degree from the University of Alabama in 1965 and began his career as a CPA with Price Waterhouse (now PwC). He left PwC in 1968 to pursue the emerging business opportunity that followed IBM's consent decree allowing the use of IBM computers for the purpose of providing services. It was the birth of the information technology industry. After serving as one of the principals of Compass, Inc., and then Vice President of NLT Computer Services, he joined with four associates to establish the public company Endata, Inc. Collins began Juris, Inc. in March 1986. When Juris was purchased by LexisNexis in 2007, it had become the leading U.S. provider of financial and business information systems for multi-partner law firms.
APPEARANCES, LECTURES, AND READINGS
Tom Collins is available for selected readings and lectures.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
(5)mysteries
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 9, 2020
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
Drone pilots are doing their thing, bombing a site, when suddenly an unknown missile appears, and blows up a hospital. The drone pilots, both women, are framed for the incident. Fortuitously, one of the women is friends with Mark Collins, sort of a freelance 21 century Captain Picard. He's a problem solver, and he and his team get to the bottom of a vast conspiracy and coup.
Not bad.
Drone pilots are doing their thing, bombing a site, when suddenly an unknown missile appears, and blows up a hospital. The drone pilots, both women, are framed for the incident. Fortuitously, one of the women is friends with Mark Collins, sort of a freelance 21 century Captain Picard. He's a problem solver, and he and his team get to the bottom of a vast conspiracy and coup.
Not bad.
August 17, 2020
The thing is, I really wanted to like this book. The premise of two female drone pilots uncovering an extinction level weapon being used against the citizens of Earth is awesome and really up my ally. However, I just walked away feeling let down.
My biggest issue with the book is that we are told and not shown so much of the story. Most of it takes place in one "situation room" or another. For example, in chapter 18 Rebecca is relaying all of her information gathering and intel on the X37B and its just being explained over the phone. It is a missed opportunity to show her potentially in action gathering intel, getting in sticky situations and getting out of them. But instead its just a phone call.
We also don't really get to know our two main characters all that intimately. We are told about them in a passive way and learn about their histories, but we never get any insight into how they think or what they feel. Nothing. Also....there was no need for the detailed inclusion of Rebecca's rape. It could have been mentioned, but I don't think the blow by blow was needed. Also, also, why did Rebecca get sidelined towards the later half of the novel? Sam kind of took over as the primary character and I'm not 100% sure why that is.
Additionally, while I understand this is part of the Mark Rollins universe I felt the addition of Mark Rollins into this story didn't really add anything. It would have been more interesting to see these two women tackle their problems together with perhaps Mark as a backup character, mentioned but not given much page time. I found his addition to be as unnecessary as the two mentions of him being a cancer survivor and working out.
Overall I just feel let down by a book that had so much promise.
My biggest issue with the book is that we are told and not shown so much of the story. Most of it takes place in one "situation room" or another. For example, in chapter 18 Rebecca is relaying all of her information gathering and intel on the X37B and its just being explained over the phone. It is a missed opportunity to show her potentially in action gathering intel, getting in sticky situations and getting out of them. But instead its just a phone call.
We also don't really get to know our two main characters all that intimately. We are told about them in a passive way and learn about their histories, but we never get any insight into how they think or what they feel. Nothing. Also....there was no need for the detailed inclusion of Rebecca's rape. It could have been mentioned, but I don't think the blow by blow was needed. Also, also, why did Rebecca get sidelined towards the later half of the novel? Sam kind of took over as the primary character and I'm not 100% sure why that is.
Additionally, while I understand this is part of the Mark Rollins universe I felt the addition of Mark Rollins into this story didn't really add anything. It would have been more interesting to see these two women tackle their problems together with perhaps Mark as a backup character, mentioned but not given much page time. I found his addition to be as unnecessary as the two mentions of him being a cancer survivor and working out.
Overall I just feel let down by a book that had so much promise.
February 22, 2021
This was a GoodReads giveaway win of a Kindle ebook. I won this book a while ago, but lost track of it when my old Kindle took an unfortunate spill.
Parts of this book reminded me of Dale Brown's work and the high tech private venture backing the good guys. I liked how Collins took parts of recent political events and formed a somewhat credible story. I had been introduced to the "High Frontier" concept a long time ago, so that was no surprise for me. The ending could have been stretched out a bit more. I did not see nearly enough of the bad guys to get me to hate them. (Why are villains so obsessed that they let petty insults get in the way of the bigger goal?) And orbital physics will not let you achieve a low stationary orbit over a fixed location without a large energy expenditure. Striking a spot on the ground from orbit is a bit more complicated that depicted. A simple and small on-board guidance system would ensure accuracy. After all, they spent a lot more money just to get in all up into the air after all.
This is subtitled to be a Mark Rollins Adventure series and Rollins does play a key role, but his part is really only a minor character this go around. I assume any books that follow will bring out a new central hero each time with Rollins in the background.
Have a GoodReads.
Parts of this book reminded me of Dale Brown's work and the high tech private venture backing the good guys. I liked how Collins took parts of recent political events and formed a somewhat credible story. I had been introduced to the "High Frontier" concept a long time ago, so that was no surprise for me. The ending could have been stretched out a bit more. I did not see nearly enough of the bad guys to get me to hate them. (Why are villains so obsessed that they let petty insults get in the way of the bigger goal?) And orbital physics will not let you achieve a low stationary orbit over a fixed location without a large energy expenditure. Striking a spot on the ground from orbit is a bit more complicated that depicted. A simple and small on-board guidance system would ensure accuracy. After all, they spent a lot more money just to get in all up into the air after all.
This is subtitled to be a Mark Rollins Adventure series and Rollins does play a key role, but his part is really only a minor character this go around. I assume any books that follow will bring out a new central hero each time with Rollins in the background.
Have a GoodReads.
September 6, 2020
I usually enjoy a military/spy novel but this was a disappointment. No real action until chapter 8 and most of the remaining book was dialogue in a situation room. The ending was rushed. I received this book through a Goodreads drawing.
July 30, 2020
It was a very intriguing story. I enjoyed the detail that the author put in the story.
August 27, 2020
I thought the premise was good but the ending occurred to quickly.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews