THE AZRIEL UPRISING BY ALLYN THOMPSON

Copyright 1982.

It is ten years after a Soviet sneak attack has decimated the United States. The cities are destroyed, and the rest of the country is occupied by the Soviets. Yet a resistance network has slowly formed and ready to launch a general uprising. The mysterious woman only known as Juanita has become a mythical figure in the resistance. She travels around the country organizing and rooting out traitors. A former Air Force Lt. Col becomes her companion and lover as they travel organizing the big uprising code named Azriel. Finally, the big day arrives, and they attack the Soviet garrison at Valdosa, Georgia.

This book has a simple idea. The Soviets have launched a surprise attack. The attack was obviously one sided as they seem to have totally caught the country off guard. The main character is a beautiful but driven woman to drive the Soviets out. This book reads like a travelogue as Juanita and her companion travel from Florida to New Hampshire and back. Along the way we find out about her past life and why she is so cold. The story ends on a high note although a major character dies.

The post nuclear world is believable with what seems to be a Soviet state in decay. The only thing we find out about the rest of the world is at the beginning there is a brief mention of an incursion by the Soviets across the Canadian border. The Canadians apparently have the political and military clout to get the Soviet commander court martialed. There is also one sentence that mentions the border wars with China and the use of human waves. Otherwise, we are left to wonder what the state of the world is. At the end during the big uprising the American rebels reveal themselves to have jets and a B-52 to transport their provisional government representatives. I would have liked to explore this further, and it would have made for an interesting sequel. Unfortunately, this is as far as I know Allyn Thompson’s first and only novel. An enjoyable standalone novel of a Soviet invasion of America.

WORLD WAR III BY BRIAN HARRIS

Copyright 1982.

It is the near future of 1983. The United States has a grain embargo on the Soviet Union for their invasion of Afghanistan and Poland. The embargo is effective as the Soviets had crop failures and have daily food riots. The US though is in a severe recession and the embargo is hard on the farmers. The President was the Vice President who was elevated to the position on the sudden death of a popular President. He faces an uphill reelection battle where he might not even get his party’s nomination.

Thus on Christmas a Soviet brigade parachutes into Alaska under the cover of a massive storm. The objective is to hold the oil pipeline hostage in exchange for the lifting of the embargo. A rogue KGB has initiated this without the knowledge of the Soviet premier. Now there is brinkmanship to see who backs down first. Into this a Lt. Colonel and a company of Alaska National Guard try to hold off the superior Soviet force.

This is an adaptation of a TV miniseries. I didn’t originally see it when it came out but caught it a few years later when it was rebroadcast. I was captivated about a series that actually dealt with a Soviet-American conflict. It had some good actors and fun action sequences. Back when it was filmed in 1981 the US was in a recession and the Soviets had recently invaded Afghanistan and the military declared martial law in Poland. There was also a grain embargo that Carter initiated for the invasion. Only it was a failure as the Soviets bought from other countries and never effected the farmers in America. The writers envisioned that the US was able to persuade other countries to join the embargo. Now looking back you can see that the whole strategy was a bit goofy. How you can invade Alaska and get what you want seems a bit unrealistic. Still it made for a fun story if you don’t think about it too much.

The novelization was written by Harold King under the pseudonym Brian Harris. It adapted the screenplay by Robert L. Joseph. The original director Boris Segal was killed in a helicopter crash early in filming and was replaced by David Greene. Segal was a Ukrainian Jew who emigrated to America. His plans were to end the series open ended to leave room for a possible future miniseries or even a TV show. Wow how cool would that have been to have a TV series about WWIII back in the eighties. Needless to say, it wasn’t a ratings hit and the new director decided to end on both countries launching a nuclear war.

The book itself is good. It manages to include stuff that the series due to budget constraints couldn’t. The battle scenes are much more epic in scope. There is actually 800 Soviets with multiple tracked vehicles. They battle ambushes by a 100-man company using their helicopters. At the end when they reach the pumping station, the American commander opens the pipeline and burns up the Soviets. This contrasts with the series small scale battle with men using pipes for cover. Also, the Soviet premier never died in a car bomb but was shown to be basically powerless as the KGB seized control of the country. There is also more characterization for the characters including the Soviet political officer being portrayed as a much bigger jerk.

The series is available on DVD and on youtube.

DRAGON FEAST BY JOHN ELLIOTT

Copyright 1970.

It is the week before Easter 1976 and the United States has been under the occupation of the Chinussians for a year. This Russian and Chinese alliance used some type of nerve gas to blanket the country and make people docile. They were able to conquer the country without a shot being fired. Now a year later and the gas is starting to wear off. In the small farming community of San Felipe in California someone has decided to fight back. In retaliation for destroying the churches someone sets off a car bomb at the hotel the occupation troops are at. The Chinussian commander Durov decides to publicly execute him. He also randomly picks a woman to torture and kill because he thinks there are more involved.

The woman happened to be the wife of the high school football coach and he decides to start a guerilla operation. He recruits a bunch of people, and they plan to destroy the dam and flood the town. What will this accomplish? Well, he hopes to kill Durov or at the least ruin Durov’s career. In the week until Easter there is a lot of people sleeping around with each other. The high school English teacher tries to convince him not to blow the dam because they should work with the occupation forces. Eventually they do blow the dam and flood the town, but it changes nothing. The Chinussians cover it up and the country is still under occupation.

This is one of those so bad it’s good books. So apparently in the near future the Chinese and Russians get together and take over the country. Back in 1970 this was probably not something that would happen since they were some open hostilities between the two nations. I suppose this makes more sense nowadays since the two countries have more friendly relations and view the US as the main enemy. They can use Tik Tok to sap our will.

Anyway, the country seems to be going on as normal for the most part. Only someone like Durov a bisexual rapist who likes to kill people to show off his power life continues as normal. This is like a soap opera in everybody sleeping around with one another. The guy who starts his guerilla band just has no problem recruiting and they also have no problem of destroying the town to spite Durov. Although he has a problem of recruiting the attractive women because they could cause problems. Not the unattractive ones. The Chinussians really aren’t running a tight ship to let him openly recruit and get dynamite the blow the dam.

Like any seventies story it ends very pessimistically. I don’t know what it is was about the decade. The abundance of polyester or disco seemed to have stories always end in a dark and pessimistic way. A very strange book that I didn’t expect to be this way.

NOT THIS AUGUST BY C.M. KORNBLUTH

Copyright 1955.

In this future alternate reality, the United States is waging WWIII against a Soviet and Chinese alliance. Billy Justin works as a dairy farmer in Upstate New York when he hears the news. America is totally defeated. There navy is destroyed and the army fighting the invaders along the Mexican border has been overrun. America is forced to unconditionally surrender. The first act of the conquerors is to execute the President and Vice President. Then a new North American People’s Democratic Republic is formed. At first the Soviets who control everything east of the Mississippi seem lenient. Yet as time goes on, they start to ruthlessly squeeze the population. Justin gets a helper for his farm. This helper is a bit mad because he gassed all the people working on a secret project. He shows him the secret base that has an almost finished satellite. A satellite armed with nuclear weapons that may be the last hope for a defeated America.

I have decided to review the stand-alone books that deal with a Soviet invasion. My first book is this one written in 1955. A time were Stalin just died and a Korean war was stalemated. From that time, it seemed that Russia and China were forming a unified alliance to crush the west. Kornbluth envisioned that in the future the anti-air defenses were so effective that you couldn’t effectively use airplanes or missiles to deliver nuclear weapons. The overwhelming might of the Communist world’s conventional armies would overwhelm America.

Now obviously this did not happen. In fact, China and Russia would have a falling out in the sixties and the technology never developed such an efficient anti-air/missile defense. Still as Fredrick Pohl who was a friend of Kornbluth states in his foreword that while his future never materialized, it was meant as a warning and not a prediction. This is really true of any dystopian story. The writer doesn’t really want it to happen. The story is dated but still has so much to say on human nature. The characters in this book are richly detailed and believable. The secret Communist operatives that Justin’s neighbors turn out to be. Instead of a reward they get a bullet in the head as a reward by the victorious Soviets. They want no experienced troublemakers in their new order. The local storeowner Crowley, who is basically a Capitalist, gets the job of representative. An opportunist that changes sides as the wind blows.

The title comes from an essay by Hemingway. Kornbluth sadly died at a young age and didn’t write much. This is a shame for I think he was a very talented writer. This book was compared to 1984 with it being more superior by contemporary critics. Yet it does have a happy and optimistic ending. I highly recommend this book of Communist conquest from the fifties.

THE TAKERS BY JERRY AHERN

Copyright 1984.

Josh Culhane writes an action series called The Takers. One night he gets a call from his twin brother asking for help. He arrives too late but finds out that his brother, who is a CIA agent, was murdered by a former agent. Steiglitz and his psychotic daughter Sonia are after the Gladstone Log. Back in the nineteenth century Prime Minister Gladstone commissioned an expedition to find the lost city of Atlantis. The logs were found by a woman hiding out as a librarian in a small Georgia town. She died but managed to mail the logs to Mary Mulrooney who is an author on the paranormal. By a strange coincidence she is also the former girlfriend of Culhane.

The two join forces to find clues that will lead to the lost city of Atlantis. They have to battle pirates trying to sell them into slavery and the thugs of Steiglitz. With the help of the CIA, they mound an expedition to Antarctica. A lost alien starbase may hold the key to world domination.

Another book that I was interested in when I was a teenager but never got. Now this book was awesome. I already was a fan of Ahern, and this Indiana Jomes type adventure was a blast to read. The characters were interesting and the action exciting. The villains were truly evil with the psychotic daughter truly over the top. A fun action book that I recommend and hope to read the others in this series.

AFTER THE ZAP BY MICHAEL ARMSTRONG

Copyright 1987.

It is after The Zap which is the explosion of a nuclear bomb(s)? that scrambled people’s brains. Nobody can remember their past. Some have special abilities like readers who can read the old words. Some are memors who can recall everything they heard since The Zap. Holmes Weatherby Aye Aye Aye is a reader. He knows his name because he read it off his ID. He has come to the People’s Republic of Alaska (PRAK) and gets involved with some crazy people on a dirigible called the Wonderblimp. They go around collecting nukes and giving them away. Only the catch is the code is implanted in the heart of a close family member. Anyway, the goal of these anarchists is to find a Zap bomb on Mt. Denali. Holmes has to battle through religious fanatics and the various crazy people that inhabit this post-Zap world.

I remember seeing this when it came out and thought about getting it. For some reason I decided not to. I saw it recently and decided to pick it up at Half Price. I will say that my younger teenage self knew what he was doing. This is a weird book and not in a good way. There were some stuff that had potential. Everyone is a bit crazy because their brains are scrambled. They give themselves names like Nike and John Deere because they were wearing something with the name on it.

Still, it was a confusing mess. I didn’t really understand the whole reason for the Zap. Was there a war or just some huge bomb. They talk about the government implanting codes into people’s hearts and giving them nukes. It has some stuff about radioactive cocaine and sled dogs that have a power to transport themselves through some type of dimension jump. The main character was revealed to be a scientist responsible for the Zap bomb. Also, apparently Japan manufactures all the guns. They are all made by Nissan. Mitsubishi and Suzuki. I have to say the writer of the book kept me interested enough to see how it ended. Only the ending wasn’t very satisfying. I don’t really recommend this book.

THE EXECUTIONER #5 CONTINENTAL CONTRACT BY DON PENDLETON

Copyright 1971.

Mack Bolan is at Dulles International Airport to take out a mob operation. Only this is a trap set by the mob. To escape he has to jump on a flight to Paris. Luckily Brognola gave him a phony passport. The local capo finds out one of the men working for him used to serve with Bolan in Vietnam. They deduce he jumped on the flight to Paris and send this hit squad with the war veteran to entrap Bolan. Meanwhile when Bolan arrives a movie star gets kidnapped because the mob thinks that he is Bolan. Bolan manages to rescue him and kill a whole bunch of the local mafia. He gets involved with a French actress that helps him go to southern France. There he continues his war to save some prostitutes that ran afoul of the local boss. A big showdown ends with him successfully escaping the hit squad thanks to his old war buddy switching sides.

The first thing about this book is how easy it is to board a flight. Bolan pays in cash at the last minute, and they hold the plane before it takes off. There are no metal detectors or long lines with the TSA. No taking off your belt and shoes. The guy even just carries his pistol on the plane. He passes through customs with this pistol. There is just no way you could write this story nowadays. It was definitely a much more innocent time back in 1971.

Anyway, the story is another fun romp for Bolan. Thanks to his benefactor in the Justice Department, he manages to escape to France. While there he decides to kill a whole bunch of mobsters. Gets involved with a brothel and has to save the girls from being sold into slavery in Africa. Gets involved with a beautiful French actress. The black guy who he served with in Vietnam decides he would rather help his friend than the racist mob. Pendleton wrote a really fun series that so far, I never been disappointed.

THE EXECUTIONER #4 MIAMI MASSACRE BY DON PENDLETON

Copyright 1970.

Mack Bolan has destroyed the southern California mob. Now he has the mob from Arizona after him. Fortunately, they are as good as the mob in California, and he wipes out the group in Phoenix. While doing this he hears that the capos are gathering in Miami for their yearly meeting. So, he hops a plane and heads to Florida. Once there he continues his one-man war and starts killing the mobsters. He gets some help from a local anti-Castro resistance group. He also gets some help from Brognola the Justice Department guy who wants to use Bolan against the mob. Ends up while not wiping them out completely kills a whole bunch of the mob.

The fourth book in the series is the best so far. This series just keeps getting better and better. Bolan uses some genius methods to elude the mob enforcers while taunting them. He continues to show a ruthlessness in going after these guys. Also starts his relationship unofficially with the Feds. He gets a passport and intelligence on European operations of the mob. Something that will play a prominent part in the next book.

THE EXECUTIONER BATTLE MASK BY DON PENDLETON

Copyright 1970.

Mack Bolan continues his war against the Mafia in southern California. After eluding both the mob and police he decides to visit a war buddy that became a plastic surgeon. In the small town of Palm Village, he gets a new face. With the new identity he once again infiltrates the mob. He manages to hook up with the capo’s daughter and infiltrate the mob in Palm Springs. From here he feeds information to the police to weaken the drug trade. An enforcer finds out his secret and he ruthlessly kill him and his entourage. Then he manages to sow discontent among the mob, and they destroy themselves.

This was an excellent book. Bolan gets a new face and infiltrates the mob. It shows how ruthless he can be. His friend doctor is tortured and killed along with the friendly police chief and his wife. Bolan rams a car into the escaping mobster and casually shoots all the survivors in the head. This also is the start of his unofficial relationship with the Feds. Brognola from the Justice Department offers to give Bolan a portfolio for his crusade against the mob. For now, Bolan decides to continue on his own but it will start to play a more prominent role in later books. I can see why this series became so popular.

THE EXECUTIONER #2 DEATH SQUAD BY DON PENDLETON

Copyright 1969.

Mack Bolan is on the run from the Mafia. He comes into L.A. and stops by an old war buddy. The Mafia had staked out guys to watch his buddy and a big fight ends up with some Mafia enforcers dead. The war buddy decides he wants to join Bolan’s war. He also suggests they get some other veterans who would love to get into the fight. Bolan recruits nine more old Vietnam veterans that are disillusioned with their peacetime lives. This Death Squad then proceeds to wage war against the DeGeorge family. The police form a squad codenamed Hardcase to stop Bolan and his Death Squad. Eventually it ends with seven of the squad dead, two captured by the police and Bolan once again alone in his war against the Mafia.

For the second book, Pendleton decided to give Bolan a group of men to help him. Seven disillusioned vets that represent all the major ethnic and racial types. He does a good job of giving all these characters their own personality and backstory. I can see that such a large cast of characters is hard to develop some character development. It makes sense he decided to whittle them down and make Bolan the lone wolf type. Two of the survivors would eventually go on to be part of Able Team along with the sergeant of Hardcase. A fun and fast paced action story that continues this awesome adventure of the most famous men’s adventure hero of all time.