Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Shadows of War (Red Dragon Rising, 1)

Shadows of War by Larry Bond and Jim Defelice Global warming plays havoc with the world's economy. The inevitable conflict between those that have and those that don't begins. China is seen as an implacable foe that threatens the security of the entire world. The U.S. finds itself in the paradoxical support of a former enemy. The only criticism I have of this book is that I found it's premise entirely too believable. The authors pain a gloomy picture of the not so distant future. There was plenty of action and heroic acts. I liked the metamorphic transformation of Josh from the mild mannered Clark Kent to Rambo. The transformation struck me as a metaphor of the character of the U.S. Our nation has a historic repute for acts of kindness to countries that appear to abhor us. Despite that attitude we labor to do good in the world. Other countries often perceive that as weakness until they try our patience one too many times and find they are in the tiger not riding it. I liked the characters, the setting was clearly painted and the story moved well. I highly recommend the book.

Like most reviewers, I have been a Larry Bond fan for a long time having first read "Cauldron", "Red Phoenix", etc. I have read most of the books he has collaborated or co-written with Jim DeFelice. Having said that I found "Red Dragon Rising: Shadows of War" to be the type of action-techno-thriller that I have come to enjoy. If you are turned off by the reference to "action-techno-thriller" that I used to describe this book, do not be. While there are references to technology in this book, it is not over the top and most of the equipment that is used and described appears to be everyday hardware. The story here is about the people, the emotions, the motivations, the questioning nature of human beings, and the brutality that evident in many parts of the world. I am not going to go into detail on the story as many reviewers have done that already, what I wanted to mention is that I enjoyed this book immensely. **Spoiler ALERT** It kept me glued to the story, and I found myself secretly rooting for Jing Yo, not to capture or kill Josh MacArthur, but to see the futility of the orders from Colonel Sun. There were areas in the book that I felt could and should have more multi-dimensional. Captain Lai Wi finds two soldiers attempting to use a satellite phone, confiscates the phone and begins to walk out of the jungle. I would have liked to read from his perspective the attack that ultimately took his life.... The book left me wanting more - which I am sure, will be in the next installment (yes, in my opinion there will be another installment). The other thing I thought would have been a more fitting ending to this particular story is to end the book similar to how it started with a narration to Markus... Wrapping up the chronicle with a closing narration to Markus would have left me wanting more from the story but create a stronger foundation for a sequel. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good storytelling and characters that appear to come to life.

Don't get worried, Larry Bond is still cranking out the war thrillers, but this one is not the grand sweep of a worldwide battlefield that his previous books have featured. Instead, we focus in on four people swept up in the beginnings of World War III. Those four people are a climate scientist studying in northern Vietnam who happens to have video that proves that China is instigating World War III in his cell phone, a female CIA agent who is trying to rescue him, a military wargamer (and former special forces) who is helping map out America's strategy to combat China's aggression and a Chinese lieutenant in an elite commando squad who is trying to catch the climatologist. I'll admit, it starts out slow but it builds and is a rollicking adventure by the end. This is the first of a four part series and I see it as the prologue to a much more sweeping war series that is sure to come. The stage is set for a worldwide war for food, water and other resources in a world beset by one environmental catastrophe after another. The weakest part of the book in my opinion is the lightning-fast climate changes that cause all of the troubles in the first place. In my mind, it would have been better to have terrorists choke off the oil supplies and cause a different kind of crisis but... Still, it's a good start. The momentum built throughout the book and I look forward to more from this series.

In 2014, the world is in deep trouble as the global economy spins out of control and the environment has gotten worse. The superpowers keep kicking the can saying the time is not right for needed change. In that environs, China faces a horrific drought that has left masses starving and out of control rioting and looting abound. In Europe, a deep recession made worse by inflation has crippled the continent while many economists proclaim a second Greater Depression has occurred. In the United States, the recession has deepened exponentially and inflation has gotten out of control; both fueled by environmental issues and inertia in DC. The rulers in China go back to pre Communist roots whenever the country is in economic peril; they invade their small neighbor to the south Vietnam in order to feed their starving masses. America, worried by what the invasion will do to the balance of power, comes to the aid of the Vietnamese. This is a terrific military thriller that extrapolates current trends into the near future. Although the big global stage pulls the exiting story line, the ensemble cast is solid and brings the big theatre to life especially in Southeast Asia. Fans will relish this thrilling cautionary tale but also be concerned, as Larry Bond and Jim DeFelice make a strong case that time is running out after years of neglect. Harriet Klausner

"Red Dragon Rising: Shawdows of War" is full of non-stop ideas and action with quick-paced smooth-plotting -- which jumps-around from setting to setting -- as there are several sides to this action-adventure [Vietnam, China, America and other]. The lively characters are realistic as is the military strategy, hardware and tactics. There is even just a little humor to balance the grim situations, settings and combat. The various sides are presented in matter-of-fact, understandible and respectful ways -- with plenty of good, odd and bad folks and deeds to go around. This novel is set in a semi-near likely-future so it can be seen as present-event likely-trend mil-sci-fi. Not exactly my usual type of reading -- but I easily read thru this great military [and spy] suspence thriller +++