WINGMAN THE LUCIFER CRUSADE BY MACK MALONEY

Copyright 1987.

Victor the architect of the Circle War has escaped to the Middle East. Hawk Hunter and his F-16 are hot on his trail. He finds out that Victor is known as Lucifer in Europe and the Middle East. He has amassed a million man army in Saudi Arabia with Soviet backing. Once again the terrorist is sowing chaos for his Soviet masters. Hunter links up with an RAF contingent and finds out the Modern Knights the rulers of Western Europe are assembling a mercenary army to fight Lucifer. WWIII is about to heat up and Sir Neal has a bold plan. He is going to hire a group of mercenaries and tow the disabled aircraft carrier USS Saratoga across the Med to the Suez Canal. There he will hold off Lucifer’s army from breaking out into the Mediterranean Sea. The trip sees Hunter and the group battle the Red Army Faction in Southern France. The Holy Sardinian Empire. The Sidra-Benghazi gang and scores of airplanes and submarines to get to the Suez. There they have an epic battle against an overwhelming force that will determine the fate of Europe.

So Maloney takes his hero to the Mediterranean for his next book. We find out like America, Europe and the Middle East are one goofy ass place after WWIII. He has an eclectic group of people on this great crusade that involves the improbable feat of towing an aircraft carrier across the Med. Yes once again there is a boat load of improbable feats accomplished in this book. Once again the reader just doesn’t care. You are caught up in the fun story. Maloney obviously knows the point is the story and not realism. You have the good guys overcoming and defeating the evil guys against incredible odds. You root for these underdogs and get a satisfying ending. Lucifer gets killed by Nazis at the end which foreshadows some future bad guys. So just sit back and enjoy the fun.

WINGMAN THE CIRCLE WAR BY MACK MALONEY

Copyright 1987.

After the defeat of the Family, Hunter and his buddies settle down with the Pacific American Air Corp(PAAC) which consists of the west coast of the former United States. Yet stuff is happening. Hunter discovers the Soviets sneaking 50 Yak-38 VTOL fighters into the country. There are reports of mysterious goings on all over the country. Strange lights over the great lakes. Cavalry troops attacking from the Badlands. It is soon discovered that the Soviets have infiltrated thousands of surface to air missiles(SAMs) into the Badlands that center part of the country destroyed by a sneak nuclear attack. They also have Mongol cavalry to guard them. While this is going on Victor Robotov a terrorist and possible Soviet agent has organized the eastern part of the country into The Circle. With thousands of recruits they march to link up with the Soviets in the Badlands. Then they plan to conquer the Western Democracies. The only hope is for Hawk Hunter to retrieve five black boxes that will power a flight of special B-1 bombers. Along the way in New York he manages to also find a Stealth fighter and rescue his girlfriend Dominique. Then it is a great battle between the forces of good and evil.

The second book in the series has Hunter once again save the good guys almost single handedly from the evil Soviets and their puppets. Another fun adventure as we get to explore the kooky world of the New Order. In this one Hunter goes from Hawaii to the Grand Canyon. He manages to use a jet pack to fly up to the World Trade Center(it exists in this time line) and rescue his girlfriend and get the necessary components to save the day. Yes the logic is a bit sketchy and the plot is downright goofy but it is fun goofy. Maloney writes a very fast paced and interesting story with larger then life characters in a larger than life world. You get a good feeling to see the bad guys get put in their place. Definitely another winner in the series. On a side note I remember a computer game called Harpoon. A very realistic naval warfare simulation at the time I loved playing. I remember that the Yak-38 was a real piece of shit in the game. Had a very limited range and weapons. Somehow I think that plane was overrepresented in the book.

WINGMAN BY MACK MALONEY

Copyright 1987.

It has been two years since America lost WWIII to the Soviets. They won on the battlefield in Europe soundly defeating the armies of the Warsaw Pact. Yet the Vice President was a Soviet mole and had the President and his cabinet assassinated. Then he turned off the star wars shield and the Soviets were able to obliterate the ICBM fields in the Midwest. What resulted was the New Order. The U.S. was to destroy all its advanced aircraft and other military equipment. The country is broken up into various independent nations and Free States. All broadcast TV and radio was banned and so is any mention of the United States and the American flag. Hawk Hunter is a fighter pilot who has been living on a mountain in New Hampshire since the great stab in the back. One day he gets a message from his old commander General Jones. Jones is head of the Airforce for the Northeastern Economic Zone which is made up of New England. He is offered a job and the chance to fly the last F-16 in existence.

Naturally he accepts but soon trouble is on the way in New Order America. The Middle Atlantic Conference known as Mid-Aks have been steadily conquering territory. With traitors in the Zone government they manage to launch a successful coup and Hunter and the Zone air force are forced to flee. Hunter eventually hooks up with Louie St. Louie the founder of Football City. Formerly St. Louis, Football City is now the gambling capital of he continent. Their main attraction is a football game played all day for most of the year. Yet the forces of evil are gathering to destroy this bastion of freedom. The Family the Mafia has taken over Chicago and build up a mercenary army. With Soviet advisors and financing they are about to conquer Football City. Hunter is tasked with building up an air force from scratch to defend the city. It ends in a spectacular battle.

This is one of my favorite series from the eighties. It is like Top Gun meets the Road Warrior. I have heard it described as a comic book in book form and that is a very accurate description. Apparently after the war the older aircraft were overlooked so everyone uses old jet fighters from the fifties and sixties. Hunter has the only modern fighter in America. This is a character that is larger then life and fighting opponents that are larger then life. Now it is a bit absurd for people to go cruising around in a jet fighter like it was a Toyota. In real life such a complex piece of machinery needs a crew of twenty and mounds of spare parts to operate. You don’t really care because this story is just so fun. The series continued well into the nineties before morphing into a sci-fi series called Starhawk. Then the author revived it a few years ago so the series has a popular following. Personally one of my favorites.

LONG RUN TO TOBRUK BY GORDON LANDSBOROUGH

Copyright 1975.

A daring S.A.S. raid takes place hundreds of miles behind enemy lines. An airfield is hit and destroys 39 planes on the ground. These are planes that Rommel can’t afford to lose. He orders the S.A.S. be hunted down and captured or destroyed. So begins a cat and mouse chase across the vast expanse of the Libyan desert. The commandos have to face the grueling heat and lack of water. Along with troops and airplanes out to get them. This includes the elite paratroopers that Rommel sends after them. It all comes to an exciting conclusion.

I saw this on a facebook page and remembered it from my childhood. I remember trying to read this when I was probably nine or ten. I think I was just too young for this. I decided to get it and try it now. After all it has been a while since I read a good WWII book. This was a very good book. The characters and setting seem very authentic. There is the aristocratic captain who has this attitude you would expect from an officer from the time. He looks a bit down on his lieutenant for not attending the proper public school. Yet he will back him up when one of the men accuses him of abandoning him because that is what is expected of him. Officers will always back up other officers. Yet he is a very competent one and has genuine concern for his men. There is the corporal who always smiles to hide his fear. Someone descended from an Italian immigrant who has this love of everything Italian.

Considering that the author was a veteran who served in North Africa it is no surprise that the book seems authentic. Landsborough was a very prolific author and wrote many books including ones set in North Africa. I probably will someday check them out. If you want a realistic WWII story then this is a good book for you.

THE DEFENDER #12 NO SURVIVORS BY JERRY AHERN

Copyright 1990.

David Holden and the Patriots in Montana plan to attack Fort Makowski and free the officers kept prisoner. David marries his girlfriend Rosie after finding out she is pregnant. They manage to recruit the local Native Americans for the big assault. The day of the big assault arrives and the group manage to infiltrate the fort disguised as Presidential Strike Force personal. In spite of it being a trap they still manage to free the prisoners, kill Townsend Holmes the presidential chief of staff and take prisoner President Makowski. In the escape Makowski is killed while trying to escape and Both David Holden and Rosie also die. Meanwhile Geoffrey Kearney is taken to a nationwide broadcast where he is supposed to give the position of the FLNA on nationwide TV. Instead he kills the FLNA leadership including Dmitri Borsoi and makes his escape. Twenty five years later Wisdom Twobears is elected President and at the inauguration unveils a statue dedicated to the Patriot heroes who gave their life. It is Rufus Burroughs holding a flag with David Holden and Rosie Holden holding each other before they die.

The final book in the series lives up to its name. There are survivors but the main characters are killed. I thought it was a bold move to kill off David and Rosie at the end. He sets them up as about to have a baby and getting married. Ahern could have had them survive and live happily ever after. Yet he chose the more powerful ending of sacrificing their lives. Throughout we get the speech from President Twobears who was a teenager during this time talk about the events. This was a good idea as it gives the readers some foreshadowing of the events about to occur. We know they succeed but there is a sense that not everyone makes it.

This was a much darker series then anything Ahern as written before. It is filled with kids being killed and molested. Terrorists killing whole families and the main character loses his own wife and children. There is a sense of urgency as we see the country slowly lose its freedom. I think its the only one where the hero doesn’t come out alive at the end. I think Ahern was very prescient when he predicted the future. The way the government eagerly grabs power during an emergency. The way the press gleefully supports the government. There is one scene where a reporter is bragging about how great it is that there are warrantless searches going on. That the piece of mind this measure brings is worth the minor inconvenience. I mean it you have nothing to hide like owning a gun or CB radio which is also now illegal then you have nothing to worry about. Plus they will buy you a new door to replace the one knocked down. Yeah right. I could see the Marxist activists pretending to be journalists nowadays being all for it. A very relevant series for what is going on these days.