Chopper Ops 3: Shuttle Down

Let me begin by saying that I wasn't the biggest fan of Chopper Ops, which I thought was a poor third to Wingman and the Colonel Ryder Long mini-series. But, Shuttle Down is fantastic! The story is plausible and the chick-count is manageable.The plot has a secret space shuttle program going awry after terrorist bring down a vehicle. But, it's not the shuttle per se that the the Chopper Ops group is after. The twists in the story are many and sharp.Maloney has taken his knack of intertwining characters that began in War Heaven - who was that hot-shot pilot flying the F-16XL? - and taken it to a new level in this, the third of the Chopper Ops series. For those of us in on the gags, it's a riot! For you newbies to Mack/Brian, you'll get the picture real fast.Too bad, so many of these earlier gems are out of print.

Shuttle Down - Chopper Ops is the third book in the Mack Maloney series of the same tittle. It, as all of author Maloney's works, is a stand alone opus. But if you enjoy the combination of military action and covert operations then this series and book is for you. One incredible part of this book is the expansion of the aerial dog fight to the combat rotary wing aircraft world. Once only written as the near exclusive domain of the jet fighter (see Mack Maloney's WINGMAN Series if you enjoy aerial combat in fighter type aircraft), it is now being explored in the world of combat helicopters and vertical takeoff-landing aircraft. A fine series of examples are scenes described in Shuttle Down - Chopper Ops. As a military aviator, I rate his efforts of describing the difficulties behind planning and executing these wild missions as outstanding and very accurate to parts of real missions. His scenes play from the minds of characters, to their interaction with other characters, and the remote "God's eye" view in extremly well crafted form. The final point that I always look for in military action works is relating the sense and feelings of the combat flying or actions. Mack Maloney paints pictures with his words and prose in your mind, making the description more of an experience. It is a feature that brings this military pilot back for more. The other noteable part of the Chopper Ops series is the tie in to Mack Maloneys earlier work: War Heaven (I would rate this book as 5 stars). The beauty of his writing is that you can read it after the Chopper Ops series or before and gain insights to the overall themes of both books and series. The story hits you in many ways; mission, actions, locations, personal interactions, and continuous stream of triumphs and defeats. Read this book and strap in for the mission.

This is a great Chopper Ops, Its as good as Number 2 -- Zero Red. There is an Osprey involved, and some beautiful girls in the plot -- or at least one. The action is like non-stop, lots of flying and stuff going on between Norton and Slick and a race against the clock that ends very weirdly. But there is a big surprise for any of Mack's readers of his novel "War Heaven" a few years back. I won't blow it for you. You'll have to read it yourself. Only one complaint: the last page almost had me in tears and I only cry when the Packers lose which is alot lately.