Executive Intent (Patrick McLanahan)

I just finished reading Dale Brown's latest techno-thriller, "Executive Intent". I have always been in awe of Dale Brown because I spent 27 years in the air force and I can relate to the systems which he describes in his books. The truth be known, I wrote nonfiction proposals for companies, many of them dealing with technically oriented subjects. I can describe technical subjects to an audience who is familiar with the technology but Dale Brown's gift is the ability to describe these subjects so that lay people can grasp them and understand. This book, more than others I remember, also deals with the personal and political interactions of the senior leadership of the country as they deal with political and military threats to the security of the United States and the world. He does a great job with describing the political intrigue but his descriptions of his protagonists flying in space and in the atmosphere while engaging in hazardous situations is unparalleled. Mr. Brown keeps you on the edge of his seat as he describes air to air engagement s between Chinese and US navy pilots, and Russian and US Air force pilots. Then there are the descriptions of actions undertaken in space and the explosion of an unmanned satellite (caused by Russian and Chinese intervention) with a crew of a space plane nearby who had just completed maintenance on the satellite. Mr. Brown starts this book, as he does many of his books, with real world news reports and web blogs which demonstrate that the futuristic aircraft and space technology is closer than we think. The only problem I had with this book was a gap between the next to last chapter and the last chapter where obviously a great deal of action and political intrigue had taken place. There was, in my opinion, room for about three more chapters. Overall this was Dale Brown at his best. I liked his move to including more political suspense in to the story. A great read and I wholeheartedly endorse this book to others.

DALE BROWN CAN STILL TELL A GOOD STORY. I HOPE HE FOLLOWS UP WITH ANOTHER ONE.

Dale Brown has been writing aviation (and now space) themed thrillers since 1987 when he authored the classic "Flight of the Old Dog". Many think he has never equaled that effort. Regardless, Brown has churned out about 20 techno-thrillers, many featuring the very durable rogue General Patrick McLanahan, techno wiz billionaire Jon Masters, a very cooperative former US President Martindale, a rotating cast of incompetent, corrupt politicians and literally armies of bad guys around the world. Typically, Brown can be depended upon for two things: 1) lots of techno wizardry on the ground, in the air and lately in space; and 2) lots of violent, rousing action. Politics have played a larger and larger role in recent Brown offerings and this time they are actually center stage. We have a new President, Joseph Gardner, who is a "globalist" and "world citizen" kind of guy who feels all that ails the world can be cured by the United States being less "aggressive". His Secretary of State is a woman of unbridled ambition and loose virtue. The new President has decided that adding more aircraft carriers is the way to assure America's continued dominance and protection of the world's oceans. That means no additional money for a space weapons system that has been underway for some years. China and Russia observing the weakness of American foreign policy decide to increase their sphere of influence. And that's where the action - what there is of it - is. Unlike most Brown novels, most of the focus is on politics of various kinds. International relations. The tensions between the military services. The policy differences between the military and its civilian leadership. Shifting alliances between nations, the fecklessness of the United Nations. Yes, there are a few combat sequences and a couple of them are edge-of-the-chair tense, but the almost constant combat of earlier novels isn't there and may be missed by many. There's a lot of space-based techno-wizardry involved and that's a lot of fun. The Chinese and Russians are tough adversaries and Brown, as is usual, piles in a lot of known facts about their growing military capabilities. General Patrick McLanahan hovers in the background this time around and plays a relatively small, but critical, part in the adventure. One gets the feeling that McLanahan is being edged into the background. Overall, while not as action filled as other Dale Brown adventures, this one is well plotted and moves quickly. But it is dangerously close to being more of a political thriller then a techno-thriller. Adrenalin junkies may not enjoy it as much as some of Brown's other novels, but I like it. Jerry

Dale Brown continues the Patrick McLanahan Series with another winner. With the other large nations expanding their power and influence on all continents it is inevitable that it expands into space.

Desperately needing to be recognized as more than just the alternative to America, China and Russia want the world to recognize them as superpowers. As such both nations engage in forceful policies in global hot spots that threaten the strategic interests and securities of the U.S. and allies. The current American administration is extremely divided as aggressive Vice President Kenneth Phoenix wants to confront the enemies on land, at sea, and in space as if the Cold War has returned. President Joseph Gardner prefers to negotiate especially in space and has major doubts that include preventing the construction and deployment of a weapon system in space. Decisions must be made now as places like Yemen are being stirred up by those who want to engineer a second Cold War for profit and power. Executive Intent is an action-packed political techno-thriller that sub-genre fans will fully appreciate especially the deep look at state of the art gizmos. The story line is fast-paced from the moment former Cold war rivals begin brinkmanship on the Horn of Africa and elsewhere while several stars of previous Dale Brown thrillers like POTUS and Lieutenant General (R) McLanahan (see Fatal Terrain, Rogue Forces and Shadow Command) return to go eyeball to eyeball with the enemy; some of which are inside DC. Harriet Klausner