Act of War

Had to grab this book when I saw it. Its the last in its series till the author writes another. Great steal!!!

This was my first Dale Brown and won't be my last. As another USAF-officer-turned-novelist, I've been researching exoskeletons and other physical enhancements being developed for our troops. Loved how Brown took the research one step better and wove them into an edge-of-the seat thriller!

If you like and enjoy reading about militaria and near futuristic warfare devices I heartily recommend this novel. A real attention grabber. I would place this on the same level as those by Web Griffin.

Dale Brown began writing with a book called the Flight of the Old Dog. This book talked about a highly modified B-52 that went on a mission over the Soviet Union. This theme of taking existing products or products that are on the drawing board and using this technology as a central part of the theme has continued through all of his books. In this book, Mr. Brown has made the necessary transition from having the Soviet Union as an adversary to the seemingly unlimited world of terrorists (of course back then the Soviets were also thought of as being unlimited). The book starts with an entirely reasonable possibility, the explosion of a nuke at an oil refinery. Enter Army Major Jason Richter, his new hero (not bad for an Air Force guy to have an Army guy as the hero). Walking through the scene of the attack in an CID Exoskeleton (a real device being worked on by the Army) he is just in time to save the beautiful newscaster. As you can see, this is vintage Dale Brown. If he's your kind of author, this is definitely the book for you.

The events of 9/11 are nothing compared to the actions of a terrorist group a few years later. At the Tans Global Energy Transshipment and Refinery Company, a single man detonates a nuclear device inside the complex killing thousands of people and emitting a massive dose of radiation into the atmosphere. The president declares a war on terrorism and has a joint civilian military unit formed to seek out the terrorists all over the world. Major Jason Richter is part of the few because he created an exoskeleton that is practically invulnerable with a man inside who can control the advanced machine loaded with plenty of weapon power. It is a new kind of soldier in a new kind of war and the people in charge of the operation feel that the CID's (Cybernetic Infantry Division) are too new and untested to use them as the main force in the upcoming campaign. Jason is determined to destroy the terrorist group GAMMAs because they believe refineries and other such targets are polluting the earth. Neither Gamma nor Jason realize the true enemy is hiding in the shadows; they must be found and taken out with the best ones to do that are Jason and the CID's. Dale Brown out does himself with this action packed thriller that starts off with a nuclear bang and just gets more exciting . The protagonist is a warrior geek, a scientist who invented a powerful weapon and is not afraid to be part of the combat team. Atari is releasing a game based on ACT OF WAR, which should be a fantastic game, because although there is plenty of action, the choices are based on the decisions the characters make. Harriet Klausner