Meltdown

Meltdown is the third book in the Task Force Valor series. I have been eagerly waiting for it since I read the last book. :) Chuck Holton's fiction and nonfiction reveal his real life experience in the military. Action, suspense, and a little romance make this a hard to put down story for me. I loved it. I highly recommend this book and the entire series.

Chernobyl remains a horrific radioactive wasteland due to its nuclear heritage; not just the most famous accident. Now terrorists see the locale as the perfect ground zero to devastate Europe. U.S. Special Operations Explosives Ordinance Detachment (EOD) unit Task Force Valor is assigned to prevent a disaster in the Ukraine that will make 1986 look like a picnic. CIA Agent Mary "Phoenix" Walker leads the EOD squad with Master Sergeant Bobby Sweeney at her side. Both have issues but especially Mary who still suffers nightmarish flashbacks to when she was a prisoner. The threat widens to include the United States as the terrorists widen the Global War on the NATO alliance. The third Task Force Valor anti terrorism thriller is the best of a strong series as even with the return of leads and support players from the previous books (see ALLAH'S FIRE and ISLAND INFERNO), the star is Chernobyl. The story line is fast-paced and filled with non-stop action, but it is when the heroes enter the dead zone where the MELTDOWN occurred that the true meaning of nuclear energy having no cost (disposal of the by-product in a waste land apparently does not count) is clear. Fans will relish Chuck Holton's strong tale as the MELTDOWN dead zone eerily hooks the reader. Harriet Klausner

Meltdown by Chuck Holton is the third book in the Task Force Valor series. CIA Agent Mary Walker is heading up her first Spec Ops mission with team members Bobby Sweeney, John Cooper, and Rip Rubio in the Ukraine in the hopes of finding the source of a deadly weapon. While they are undercover, all across America, strikes are made using just that weapon bring the economy and communication to a halt and panicking the entire nation. This was my first read of the Task Force Valor series, but I'm sure it won't be my last! With the action of a James Bond movie and the exciting military story of NCIS, I couldn't put this book down! Holton takes care to keep Christian themes to a minimum, making sure that readers don't feel preached to. There are several plot threads, and he juggles them all with ease, making each character come to life, even those only on the canvas for a few paragraphs. The ending is a terrific twist with a frightening message. A special bonus at the end of the book is Holton's Easter Eggs which will give the reader a whole new appreciation for the series.

I was lucky enough to get MELTDOWN early and have finished reading it. I just finished reading this latest book of Chuck's. It's the 3rd in the Task Force Valor series and I must say the best of them. It's good as a stand alone book, but if you have not read the first two, you will want to after reading this one. In this book there is a lot of action that can have a severe impact to USA and rest of North America in some cases. Though it's done with not much violence in comparison to the impact. This alone will give you a real eye opening thought of what you'd do if only ONE of the several things happened and how it could impact your life. Then the team goes overseas to take care of the root of the violence, and there's quite a bit of action in places you'll probably never go, but have definitely heard about. When the book ending comes to the violence - and happenings, not what you'd have ever thought was the cause and the causee is not who you'd have thought. It really makes you think. As to the people of the book, they are people you expect to run into and have a conversation with. Basically - they are real. There's even a situation or two that corresponds to something in my life, even though it's totally different in the book. At the end, a dash of romance, just a dash - but very classy and all the ladies would like it but not too mushy for the tough guys reading the book. Through the whole book there is a strong feeling of people of faith, and of one searching for why the faith - that is answered in the end. This is also a clean book that doesn't rely put downs and bad language to give it some spirit. I think many people here would really enjoy the series, but this book does very well as a stand alone read. (You'll still want to read the others that came before).