Heavy on high-tech thrills but light on almost everything else, Weber's seventh novel zeroes in on that villain of the moment, China, and the ill-conceived fight it decides to pick with the United States. Using jingoistic language that at times harks back to fears of the "yellow peril," Weber (DEFCON One) portrays a nation hungry for power and territory fighting on three fronts Taiwan, the Panama Canal and the skies above the Pacific Rim. The key to China's military might is a new, top-secret laser gun that destroys U.S. aircraft. As the fierce fighting rages, Washington dispatches private intelligence specialists and former pilots Scott Dalton and Jackie Sullivan to China to kidnap the scientist who built the laser. Quickly learning that its secret has been uncovered and it's now overmatched, China falls back on its last resort: launching nuclear weapons at Hawaii and Alaska. Dalton and Sullivan, who were introduced in 1999's Primary Target, may be very brave, but they're also flavorless and stiff. As lovers whose relationship feels as dull as their personalities, they often appear to compete over who can utter the most banalities. (Sullivan: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Dalton: "Yeah, it's going to be a hot time in Beijing tonight.") Weber's initially promising plot nosedives after the first few chapters, hampered by hokey dialogue, exposition-heavy battle scenes and flagging suspense.
Description:
From Publishers Weekly
Heavy on high-tech thrills but light on almost everything else, Weber's seventh novel zeroes in on that villain of the moment, China, and the ill-conceived fight it decides to pick with the United States. Using jingoistic language that at times harks back to fears of the "yellow peril," Weber (DEFCON One) portrays a nation hungry for power and territory fighting on three fronts Taiwan, the Panama Canal and the skies above the Pacific Rim. The key to China's military might is a new, top-secret laser gun that destroys U.S. aircraft. As the fierce fighting rages, Washington dispatches private intelligence specialists and former pilots Scott Dalton and Jackie Sullivan to China to kidnap the scientist who built the laser. Quickly learning that its secret has been uncovered and it's now overmatched, China falls back on its last resort: launching nuclear weapons at Hawaii and Alaska. Dalton and Sullivan, who were introduced in 1999's Primary Target, may be very brave, but they're also flavorless and stiff. As lovers whose relationship feels as dull as their personalities, they often appear to compete over who can utter the most banalities. (Sullivan: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Dalton: "Yeah, it's going to be a hot time in Beijing tonight.") Weber's initially promising plot nosedives after the first few chapters, hampered by hokey dialogue, exposition-heavy battle scenes and flagging suspense.
From
A prolific and proficient technothriller writer, former marine pilot Weber turns his sights on the next cold war, the one impending with China. A few years from now, the Chinese procure advanced missile-defense laser technology through the defection of one Dr. Cheung. With this protection against American retaliation, they threaten Taiwan, and just to compound the crisis, act against the Panama Canal, to cut off American naval reinforcements to the Pacific. This, of course, brings the U.S. directly into the situation, overtly with naval and air protection for Taiwan and covertly with penetrations of China to retrieve or terminate Cheung. The action is brisk, the prose and characters are serviceable, Weber's expertise on U.S. military matters is high, and his depiction of Chinese motives and methods well above the level of Yellow Peril fantasies. A solid accomplishment for thriller readers. Roland Green
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