Strike Zone

When I saw the paperback I checked my library which holds all of Dale Brown's work and I did not find it, so I bought it. As I read the book I soon relized I had read it before. I still read the book (again) and once more enjoyed it. If you like Dale Brown, Strike Zone is up to his normal standard. The theme is the tension between Taiwan and mainland China and the desire by some to start a war between China and the USA, which would leave China in a weakend or defeated state. China is not able to take Taiwan by force, especially with USA backing. Taiwan is not strong enough to take China in open warfare, but if the right people had the funding, and some nukes, and the right delivery system, and China were beat down by a war with the USA, that could kill a lot of people and upset the balance of power and bring down China. Of course, Dreamland gets the task of finding out what is going on, and then stopping it. It is no easy task for Dreamland and it is not without cost, but of course Dreamland saves the world again. My only disappointment is that I can't find my original copy of Strike Zone, which is most likely a hard cover book.

Dale Brown and Jim DeFelice did it again with Dreamland: Strike Zone. This is an excellent read for those of you out there that are Dale Brown fans. The continuation of the storyline along with it being an independent novel makes it a great all around book for any reader. Because of the novels independence, someone that hasn't read any of the books in the Dreamland series will be able to understand and follow the storyline that has been laid out. This series and others by Dale Brown was what made me interested in the war/technology/current event novels. Since then I have become hooked to them. What I liked the most about this novel is the reality factor that exists and the possibly that there really could be a "Dreamland." The closest known thing to Dreamland is Area 51. I like books like this that make you think about the world around you and what things are happening. Brown likes to use real world events or events and technology. I think that because is a former captain in the United States Air Force this allows him to write books like this. He already has knowledge of aircraft and the general way that the president can give orders to the four braches of the military so for him to write novels about it and to make it interesting for the reader would be easier for him than to write a romance novel. The characters I think go through an interesting evolution. With what happened to Zen's wife, I don't think that I could have predicted that even at the end of the last novel in the Dreamland series. I also like how the love story that is there between Colonel Bastian and Jennifer Gleason doesn't get in the way of the over all "mission"/ storyline.

Although I have never been a fan of the double author book idea, Dale and Jim seem to have a good thing going here. Strike Zone continues the main characters as they continue to provide the President with options without an all out war. The story opens up slower than the other novels in this series, but as always, the action scenes are fantastic. As a first reader, this one would hold it's own, and if you have the others in the series, it's a MUST HAVE.

Dale Brown, popular author who has penned fourteen New York times bestsellers, is a former Air Force bombardier. He's an ace pilot as well as a first-rate author. Teaming with Jim DeFelice the pair offer a suspenseful high-tech military thriller. A dynamite performance by JK Simmons makes sparks fly from the opening lines of this action packed tale. Far out in the Nevada dessert some of the best minds are focused on warfare in the future. Dreamland force has had their hands more than full in stopping an Asian war that could have been a nuclear holocaust destroying the world as we now know it. However, an even greater challenge is soon to arrive - radar detection shows there is a major threat nearby. It's a robot warplane capable of unheard of destruction. The "ghost clone" as it is called has no known origin but more than one of them could turn our world into a fiery inferno. How can this warplane be found and stopped? A complexly devised plot makes for nonstop listening. - Gail Cooke

Absolutely the best book of the series so far. Full of action from start to finish. Not loaded with as much unbelievable technology as some.