The Third World War: A Terrifying Novel of Global Conflict

A view of how a nuclear war might happen from the personal perspectives of world leaders in the relevant hot spots. A bit on the long side, with perhaps one sub-plot too many. The first missle to land in the U.S. hits 20 kilometers from my home.

Have to admit, I wrote a scathing review for Dragon Strike and with good reason, it had a lot of techinal mistakes, and was a dry read overall. So with a bit of trepidation, I picked up The Third World War. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. This book is up there with the best efforts of Clancy (Red October, Red Storm Rising) and Bond (Red Phoenix, Cauldron). It has been a few months since I read it, and I was so moved by the story I was going to write a review then, but put it off until now. Even though the story is not fresh in my mind, I can say that I was literally riveted all the way throughout, and the mistakes that plagued Dragon Strike were not present at all. The story is gripping, and disturbing, from beginning to end. You are pulled right in as we globe hop from flare-up to flare-up, as events spiral completely out of control. And the ending, well let's just say it left me chilled, and very few books have managed to accomplish this. For any fan of the geopolitical/technothriller genre, this is a must read IMHO, and you will not come away dissapointed!

I am flabbergassed why this novel has not had wide distributuin in the United States. I got it on Thursday and with a busy schedule just finished on Sunday Night. The way it is written is engaging and realistic; and very cautionary. It crystalizes the geopolitical relations we have today, and each countries agenda when looked at in a historic context are no relationships at all. The actual war is very realistic as modern terrrorist incidents and experimental Rouge Nation missile tests touch off a conflagaration. This book is well written, suspenseful and very entertaining. It is also realistic and frightening because the scenario centers around South Asia and the Far East, which in terms of international competition are violent and on the rise. There needs to be a publisher that can pick this book up and distribute in the USA, a must read for gobal war watchers! As good or better than Arc Light which up to this point was one of my must read novels.

Hawksley is by turns brilliant, earnest, insightful, and frustrated. The eye and ear of a knowledgeable World Correspondent for disasters in the making calls out loud and clear. If an economic concept creates opportunities for man's deadly sins to play themselves out with horrific consequences, then The Third World War sets about showing us the possibilities. Hawksley expertly examines the roles of such things as chance, betrayal, confusion, greed, arrogance, misunderstanding, technology, against the backdrop of the Free Market notions which have no definable center. "If you lose India, you lose" says one character. "And if China withdraws support?" says another. "It is more complicated than that." Perhaps this is key to his view of potential cataclysm. Driving the text of The Third World War is Hawksley's seasoned, global experience of complexity, error, the role of communications and communicators, the narrow edge of facts known in time by decisionmakers. This is not a rousing tale for the adventurer in us. It is a call to thought and leaves us wondering why the global political/industrial complex in which we live has so few failsafe options. Common sense? Hawksley seems to say that no longer exists locally or globally. The Third World War is a provocative, timely and urgent read. To say it is 'chilling' is an understatement. It should be read inside the Beltway, at Downing Street, from Beijing to Geneva, from Singapore to Delhi, from Stockholm to Tokyo and Seoul. Weeping and flailing of hands is not enough. This is a call to action and cooperative action at that. Or as Hawksley intimates, is it more complicated than that?