Code of Honor

Scott Dixon #5

by Harold Coyle, Christopher Land (Contributor)

At the center of Harold Coyle's brilliant new novel is the dramatic court-martial of a courageous young woman combat officer, forced to choose - on the battlefield - between an action that will save her troops and the senseless order of an arrogant and frightened general. In Code of Honor, Harold Coyle - himself a former career Army officer - whose fast-paced novels of military action have made him a New York Times bestselling author, confronts the most sacred traditions of the Army's command structure to show what happens when one person - in this case a woman, in what was until recently a man's world - bucks the system. Captain Nancy Kozak's story is set against the decision to send U. S. troops to Colombia as "peacekeeping" force to prevent anarchy, a decision that leads to a vicious full-scale war in which the American forces, at first out-fought, battle desperately for survival - a scenario with disturbing echoes of the current controversies about putting U. S. forces into foreign countries.... Coyle's cast of characters - familiar to readers of his previous books - includes not only Captain Kozak, but Brigadier General Scott Dixon and Lt. Colonel Harold Cerro - all of them plunged into a burgeoning guerrilla war in which the mistakes of Vietnam are about to be starkly repeated, over the objections of the officers on the spot. Pitted against each other are a number of antagonists as badly matched as any in the history of warfare - the pompous martinet commander of U. S. forces in Colombia, Major General C. B. Lane, whose MacArthur pose hides fear and incompetence, and Hector Valendez, the brilliantly gifted leader of the FARC, the Colombian left-wing guerrillas who are in theprocess of transforming themselves, under Valendez's leadership, into a real army that will frighten the pants off Lane and fight him to a standstill, as well as officers, soldiers, civilians and politicians on both sides, caught up in the tragic reality of war. As always, Harold Coyl

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

Audio Cassette

First published March 10, 1994

About the author

Harold Coyle is an American author of historical, speculative fiction and war novels including Team Yankee, a New York Times best-seller.He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1974 and spent seventeen years on active duty with the U.S. Army.He lives in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Reviews

[Gordon Popular · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the worst book I've read by Harold Coyle. The story is a rehash of how the US got into Vietnam, which was not bad. But inserting a reporter who is married to one of the main characters, Gen Dixon, was distracting. Also the incompetence of the main Gen was a bit overblown. Overall a let down of this series.

[David Haddon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid Coyle story. One I had not previously read. Not quite as solid as some of his earlier books, but still a good read.

Good foreshadowing of the withdrawal from Afghanistan almost 30 years after this was written. Having a solid definition of victory conditions is good. Not having an exit strategy is bad.

[Greg Oaster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the other books in the series, but a good read anyway

[Bradley Mork · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was what kept me going. The anti-hero characters were not believable. Really wanted to like it more than I did.

[Peter Nielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at the politics of the Army and Colombia.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding read years ago.

[Michael Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Older book, good story, but maybe too much detail (my opinion).

[Guillaume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une bonne fin a la série

[Hilmi Isa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Code of Honour merupakan novel kelima dan terakhir yang menampilkan Scott Dixon sebagai watak utama.

Saya membaca novel ini dengan melangkaui dua buah novel yang sebelumnya,iaitu Trial By Fire dan The Ten Thousand. Walaupun demikian,seperti Sword Point dan Bright Star,genrenya masih dikekalkan;Military Thriller. Namun demikian,terdapat keunikannya tersendiri yang ditampilkan di dalam novel Code of Honour kali ini jika dibandingkan dengan novel-novel yang sama sirinya.

Sesuai dengan tajuknya,tema utama yang cuba disampaikan penulisnya,Harold Coyle adalah mengenai kewajipan,integriti,dan kehormatan yang perlu disanjung tinggi dengan sebaik-baiknya oleh setiap anggota tentera,sama ada yang berpangkat tinggi atau rendah. Seorang pegawai tentera berpangkat tinggi sebagai contohnya,mestilah tidak menyalahgunakan pangkat dan kuasa yang ada untuk kepentingan diri sendiri. Inilah apa yang dihadapi oleh Kapten Nancy Kozak (Kozak juga pernah berkhidmat di bawah Dixon),yang menghadapi pertuduhan mengingkari perintah. Pertuduhan ini dilaksanakan oleh Jeneral Major C.B.Lane,pegawai pemerintah Divisyen Ke-11 Serangan Udara,yang juga merupakan unit di mana Kozak berkhidmat.

[Mike Emett · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 3.5

I found this one to be more depressing than his others. Really felt like a big "we lose and I will keep that grinding into your thoughts throughout the battle scenes...". However, I did find insightful getting a look into the inner workings of the Army in terms of conferences, documentation and reporting, chain of command with HQ and most of all the stumbling block of bureaucracy, Makes you think harder about how decisions are made, who runs the show and being this was written in the 90's, how fighting in the jungles in S. America is/can be like (added to Clancy's Clear and Present Danger) along side the drama of coups, revolutions, communist-terror groups and the crap our troops deal with when arm chair leaders try to run a battle when the leader has zero if any experience. Not a thrilling and happy ending for the Scott Dixon series but still good.

[Andreas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Passable Clancy clone about the drug war. Helicopters galore. The one nice thing about the novel is its good characterizations.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=606

[Toesnorth's mom]

Clancy type, pretty good

[Peter Charleston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice adventure portraying the hero's and unfortunates when power goes to a person's head.

[Bob Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A career officer himself, Coyle is an excellent author with a good knowledge of military. His story lines are intriguing and, while fictional, are not only credible, but very possible.

[Joe Holman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a couple others in this series. An excellent job of understanding the military and the possibilities of what the military could face in different parts of the world.

[Richard Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Good