Task Force Blue

Rogue Warrior #4

by Richard Marcinko

Richard Marcinko's #1 New York Times bestselling autobiography, Rogue Warrior, brought SpecWar combat out in the open. But only fiction could tell the whole, unrestricted tale in two more explosive New York Times bestsellers—Rogue Red Cell and Rogue Green Team. Now the Rogue Warrior's back in a raw, authentic novel of relentless action and suspense.When the Rogue Warrior and his elite SEAL team, Task Force Blue, storm a hijacked 727 in Key West, a hostage is killed—and Marcinko must pay. Facing court-martial and removal from the Navy, his is recuited by the Defense Intelligence Agency to erradicate a secret right-wing terrorist infrastructure. Combating a brutal enemy force, and pursued by the FBI, Marcinko maneuvers through a political, military, and bureaucratic minefield, adhering to the ultimate Commandment of SpecWar -- there are no rules -- win at all cost!

Genres: Fiction, Military Fiction, Action, Adventure, Military Thriller, Audiobook, Thriller

404 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 1996

About the author

Richard Marcinko is the author of the Rogue Warrior thrillers and is a living, breathing hero honored with the silver star and four bronze stars for valor, along with two Navy Commendation medals and other honors. After serving in Vietnam, he went on to start and command SEAL Team 6, the Navy's anti-terrorist group, and Red Cell, a high-level anti-terrorist unit. Marcinko keeps his hand in the field as the president of a private international security company and now lives in Warrington, Virginia.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/richar...

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rogue Warrior and Co try to rescue a hijacked jet, despite bungling bureaucrats. It isn't wholly successful, and he finds himself in the doghouse, chasing the organization responsible off the books. It turns out to be linked to a Perot wannabe.

Another decent entry in what is probably the best Men's Adventure series of the 1990's.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than Marcinko's (RIP) bio, this may be my favorite of the Rogue Warrior books. The idea of militia's is a little generic, but the politics behind it and how the bad guys are able to access classified information are better than the average thriller.

Besides, after almost three years at the Pentagon myself, I can completely agree with just how bad computer security was back in the 90s and early 00s. Truly idiotic in some cases.

That aside, Marcinko and his boys tore through the bad guys like a fire hose blowing through tissue paper. Some of the better firefight scenes I have read anywhere. The ending is worthy of an early Bond film, but better there as well.

Find it! Buy it! READ IT!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Marcinko's style! These are fun reads, page turners that you can put down and pick up later with no problems.

[Eric Sandoval · Rating 5 out of 5]

They just keep getting better and better

[* · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wonderful details illustrated by R.M. made it seem as though I was there with him and his team. The first mission SEAL Team Six was deployed to Florida, in the middle of a lake, looking out at a grounded 727 aircraft. It's raining and very dark, yet they came prepared with night-vision goggles. I don't want to potentially spoil it, but it is an amazing experience being able to envision myself with the team as R.M. walks us through step-by-step what his team did. Now, the way R.M. described himself as well as his team, would ruin it because it's not simply describing what they look like, but the way they speak, the way they act, it's very believable. I took some real life tips from this book because he would describe the problem that they are faced, and exactly how to deal with it. There are so many examples I could use, but I don't want to spoil it, as I have mentioned before. If you are curious as to why I am saying this, read the book for yourself, you will not be disappointed. This is by far the most interesting book that I have read in many years, mainly due to the fact that R.M. does a very well job of grabbing hold of the reader's imagination and shows them what he saw. This concludes my review, if it seems at all interesting to you, I recommend reading it for yourself.

[Christopher Piehota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still good after all these years (but not as good...)

I used to love these books by Marcinko and decided to re-read this book. It was still entertaining but the info was dated (naturally over time) and some of the factoids were a bit off. The action was mediocre (by today's standards). Overall, this re-read of this was entertaining but did not take me back to better (and younger days).

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all of Marcinko's books, I find this one to be the best, combining intra-organizational turmoil and turf building with a healthy dose of action. Told in his characteristics style, Marciano doesn't pull any punches here talking about the physical demands of this line of work on an aging body, and keeps just enough uncertainty in the plot that it doesn't become formulaic or predictable

[Tom Weissmuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like Green Team, this was a page turner. It was fun, funny, and filled with action and adventure. By the finale, you wanted the bad guys to lose real bad and the good guys to win. The book did it’s job. Very entertaining.

[William Lotten · Rating 5 out of 5]

They just keep getting better

[Greg Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this one and it was read by the author who is a navy seal not a voice actor but that aside I really liked the story and the dialogue.

[Wayne Tallant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

I like the usual Marcinco style. He talks like many of my friends do. If you like Richard Marcinco, you won't be disappointed

[Kurt Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly fewer fucks than the first three

[Donald Trump · Rating 2 out of 5]

Low Energy!
** 2 Stars.

[Marci · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are hard for me to rate. I picked them up at the local community lending library and didn't have any preconceived notions about the books going into reading them. My first reaction was horror at the language, loose morals, and drinking. However, I feel very strongly about what a great job the men and women in the armed forces are doing protecting the members of our country and was horrified/intrigued by the thought that some of these adventures might actually be what those people are involved in. I did mark this section of the book,

Some in these militias are convinced that hte New World Order is the most dangerous threat America has ever faced. According to these folks, there is a huge, secret conspiracy involving the United States govenrment, the World Bnak, the International Monetary Fund, and hte United Nations, all of which will somehow combine to bankrupt the United States, then take over the country and occupy it with U.N. troops.

Now, I don't hold with the latter conspiracy. And I've spent too much of my life working for the government to believe that it can act as one entity. But I respect--and would defend--the rights of these militia members to education themselves, to speak their minds, to defend and protect themselves, and to train as they see fit to do.

Having said that, I must also tell you that, since we are a nation of laws, I believe that anyone who actively conspires against the government to bring it down by violence is nothing more than a terrorist--and should be treated as one, just the way we've dealt with the perpetrators of Oklahoma City. The sons of bitches ought to be fried. The Constitution, which I have taken an oath to preserve, protect, and defend, guarantees all of us the right to protest. Well, protesting is one thing. Sedition is another. ---pg. 66

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I finally managed to get the fantasy in this series. After diving into the swamp that is W.E.B. Griffon, reading something as frank and action-packed as this was wonderful. It's stupid, but it still has all the little technical details that make it feel real. You're still dealing and a horribly abrasive protagonist and the story is his ego trip, but if you view it like a child telling a story, it's a lot better.

"And then I shot the bad dude, but the untraceable poison in my bullets made his head explode! My boss complained, but I called him a communist and spat in his face! YEAH! I AM THAT AWESOME! And then everything exploded! THE END."

Hardly high art, and I worry about the people who take it too seriously, but fun for what it is.

(I'm ashamed to have these books on my shelf.)

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the same vein as his previous books, Although it's interesting reading this since it was written pre 9/11. I think some of the things he talks about have changed and it's almost hard to remember that time when security was more lax than it is now for gatherings and plane trips. Good action and it reads like he's talking to you. His language is just that of an old shooter and SEAL pretty rough most of the time. Maybe he does talk like this all the time but it gets a little unnecessary and detracts from the story although it adds to the believability of you being right there with him listen to him as he's going through the mission.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read by the author and very enjoyable.

When the Rogue Warrior and his elite SEAL team, Task Force Blue, storm a hijacked 727 in Key West, a hostage is killed -- and Marcinko must pay. Facing court-martial and removal from the Navy, his is recuited by the Defense Intelligence Agency to erradicate a secret right-wing terrorist infrastructure. Combating a brutal enemy force, and pursued by the FBI, Marcinko maneuvers through a political, military, and bureaucratic minefield, adhering to the ultimate Commandment of SpecWar -- there are no rules -- win at all cost!

[Pa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A stirring tale of counterterrorism, wherein the author is also the main character. Rather improbable overall and more F words per page than in any book I have previously encountered. A sequel to a New York Times #1 bestseller, but that perhaps reveals more about the NYT rankings than about the quality of the writing. This book would likely appeal to the TV show "24" audience given its rightward political slant, promotion of torture and gratuitous violence.

[John Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sometimes read a Rogue Warrior novel as action book junk food. Reading about pre-9/11 security standards is interesting, and I'm surprised Marcinko's use of a nerve agent to dispatch the villain hasn't been stolen by a Hollywood movie. I find the earlier John Weisman books to be a bit more believable than the recent DeFelice volumes(which are fun in their own crazy way).

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#4 in the Rogue Warrior series.

Rogue Warrior series - fiction - Ex-Navy SEAL Dick Marcinko and his handpicked band of operatives. The author has his fictional alter-ego and his underlings combat domestic terrorism - on an airline and at an oil rig, among other colorful locations. Marcinko the character also has a half-million-dollar bounty put on his head by an evil billionaire.

[John F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book!

Captain Marcinko grabs your attention in the first paragraph and doesn't let go until the end of the book. I love the non-stop action. I highly recommend this book!

[Steve]

Rogue Warrior

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, entertaining, different. A mix of truth & fiction.

[JoAnn Ainsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, page turning action. Expect foul language and brutality.

[Christian D. D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another classic, old-school Rogue Warrior novels--these older ones co-written with John Weisman are considerably more fun and readable (in terms of action, humour, and characters) than the more recent books in the series co-written with Jim DeFelice.

RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:

--"After all, this is Margaritaville, ain't it?" Haha, one of my favourite Rogue Warrior lines!

--General observation: the SECNAV and the La Muchacha FBI agent characters embody the Politically Correct ridiculousness and anti-military hostility of the Clinton Administration. Good riddance!

--p. 53: Haha, nice, the Rogue Warrior is a fellow packrat, no wonder I relate to him!

Aahh, good ol' fuckin' Roy Henry fuckin' Boehm, "Fuck the fucking fuckers!"

--p. 92: WTF? I thought by now Pinky Prescott was already a VADM, not a mere RADM (Upper Half)

--p. 137: The same Mugs whom Dick "mud-sucked" off of SEAL Team 2 in real-life over beard policy??

--p. 143: "7.65?" Did he mean 7.62?

--p. 168: "'Registered to the fucking FBI Detroit field office." Wouldn't confidentiality plates block that sort of thing?

--p. 179: Dick is spot-on about the toughness of doing vehicle surveillance.

--p. 199: Hmmm, is the LC Strawhouse character at least loosely based on Ross Perot?

--p. 321 Must double-check with my local sources: does "szeb" really mean "dick" and does "Intah mak foul mok" really mean "You have fartbeans for brains?"

--p. 332: "There is a long stretch between civilian control of the military--which is a good idea, friends--and political manipulation of the military." A-freaking-MEN!!