Flash Point

The Washington Post said "If you like Tom Clancy, Huston is good step up" which I think is right on. Flash Point is all about aircraft carriers and F-14 Tomcats. Unlike Clancy, Huston is a Top Gun graduate and the book reeks with authenticity.But the eerie thing about this book, which was published in 2000, is the depiction of terrorist groups and all the difficulties a conventional military and cold war strategic thinking has in dealing with the new terrorist situation. Huston has obviously done a lot of thinking about this and has some really interesting ideas.Like Clancy's characters, Huston's spend a lot of time worrying about whether they are doing the right thing, but in Huston's case, it is much more realistic and plausible for reasons that I can't disclose here without giving away the plot.

This book is great, Its amazing that this book was written before 9/11 this has some very very chilling events that have become true today. Great all around book and always keeps you flipping the pages.

Have you ever read a novel and had the feeling that you were reading today's news? That is the experience which awaits you in FLASH POINT. Would you like to see how our government might deal effectively with terrorism, and how it might legally declare war on terrorists? Read this book. Full of lively and very real characters, anchored by a plot right out of Sept. 11, yet published over a year ago, this is a fun read and a good message for our leaders.

This, the third novel by James W. Huston, was a highly enjoyable read, keeping me up late at night. The author, drawing upon his experience as an F-14 fighter pilot, writes an excellent and thrilling tale of modern warfare and Middle Eastern intrigue that seems... to be ripped from today's headlines. It is chilling how some of the sames issues facing the United States and its allies today are explored in this novel. Can the US declare war on one man and his organization? Though Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda are the not the adversaries in this novel, a similiar organization with roots dating back to the Crusades is, and it is not unlike the threat facing the world today in that it is a secretive organization that exists in more than one country and is not a nation-state. Simiarliy explored, how does a nation like the US combat such a terrorist organization? Can it use conventional means, can bombers, fighters, and missiles do the job? How does it handle the fact that the terrorists might be based on a country the US is not at war with, and while not officially harboring the terrorists, has no desire to aid the US in its efforts against them? What if in the effort to combat the terrorists the war widens to include countries that the terrorists are based in, such as in this work Lebanon, Syria, and Iran?The book, aside from exploring weighty issues, is a great action-adventure novel of mititary fiction. Those who love to read about modern US aircraft carriers in action and their aircraft at war, particularly the famous F-14 Tomcat, will be thrilled by the very detailed and realistic descriptions of aerial operations, including extensive combat scenes. Like Tom Clancy, the CIA, Israeli intelligence services, and American special forces have a role in this work, and like previous Huston works there are some legal and political aspects to the novel, but the stars are the fighter pilots, those on the carrier who support them, and the aircraft themselves.My only complaint with the novel would probably be some of the characterization of the main character, F-14 pilot Lieutenant Sean Woods. Driven into obsession over the death of his best friend at the hands of terrorists in Israel, coupled with some aspects of Wood's personal history, he almost comes off as a nut of sorts, a conspiracy freak not unlike those who obsess over "cover ups" relating to such historical events as the Kennedy assasination. As the action unfolds and more information is brought to the reader, at least to me, his attitude became more understandable and in the end was not a problem for me, but I would like to note that some of his initial actions were a tad off-putting. I also kept in mind that whatever Woods thought, those around him didn't share those ideas necessarily, nor was Woods always right. All in all a great read. If you like Tom Clancy or the previous two novels by Mr. Huston, you should love this work. I highly recommend it.

I see that nearly all of the reviews of this book are very positive. I also see one that complains about the flyer jargon used as a result of the main character being a naval aviator. Personally, this is not a problem for me, possibly because I'm a pilot and find the jargon interesting. In fact, it seems to me that Huston includes enough descriptive information that makes it simple enough for anyone to understand clearly what is happening. So... I think that's a positive element to the book. Much in the same way a given author's inclusion of local customs or phrases, which is usually intended to give the reader some sense of the environment (setting) of the book. Well, the setting is in part on a US Navy F-14 and Huston does a nice job of introducing us to that very "close to the vest" world.I found the book to have a good mix of action, intrigue and very believable characters. I think it's well written with very appropriate languange for the characters involved. I usually take forever to get through a book. Not this one. I couldn't put it down.Clearly Mr. Huston's Navy Intelligence background was evident in this book. His insight into modern day terrorism is clear. Perhaps Mr. Huston could come out of {navy) retirement and help nab the those who planned the September 11th attacks.Nice work Mr. Huston. This one gets 5 stars. I look forward to reading your other 3 novels.