SURVIVAL 2000 1 BLOOD QUEST BY JAMES MCPHEE

Copyright 1991.

In 2049 an asteroid hit the Earth and destroys civilization. Dave Rand and his teenage son Lee along with their pit bull Melmouth are camping in New Mexico. After some time, they make their way home to California. They find a postcard in the mail that says his wife and two daughters decided to spend time with their grandmother in Montana. Thinking they may still be alive they travel to Montana and pick up a teenage girl named Zora on the way. They make it to Montana only to find that a group of army deserters lead by Shreever has killed his wife and taken the two daughters.

Back in the nineties Gold Eagle released a number of new series. They only lasted three books, and this was their attempt to establish a new apocalypse series after the collapse of the USSR. This one used an asteroid hit in the far future. It was written by Laurence James a British author responsible for the first 30 books of the popular Deathlands series. He also did another trilogy for Gold Eagle called Earth Blood. This series is similar to those. It isn’t his best, but it does a good job of telling an interesting story. The first book does a good job of setting up this world. Introducing the characters and setting up the main villain. A fun book to read.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I wish everyone another Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

MISSION M.I.A. BY J.C. POLLOCK

Copyright 1982.

Jack Callahan is a former Green Beret who gets contacted by the wife of his friend from Vietnam. She has received a letter smuggled out of Vietnam that proves her husband and other Americans are still being held prisoner. The army refuses to do anything, so she wants to hire Jack to get mercenaries to free him. Jack contacts his former teammates from Vietnam and organizes a rescue attempt. The old veterans train hard for a parachute jump into Vietnam. Jack uses old contacts in the army to get the needed intelligence. Along the way they are constantly harassed by government agents. They finally make it to the prison camp site and rescue them after a brutal firefight.

Back in the eighties there were reports of Americans still being held in Vietnam. Now the wound of that conflict was still deep, and a lot of guilt existed that soldiers may have been left behind. Well Americans usually deal with guilt by making movies. Stallone, Norris and even Hackman make movies about going in and rescuing Americans and giving the Commies some payback in the process. This was a great success and I admit I loved these movies. Needless to say, this fad also found its way into literature. This book is probably the pinnacle of the rescuing M.I.A. from Vietnam stories.

Pollock in the beginning acknowledges a whole slew of special forces experts in the writing of this book. Including one who was on the Sontay raid to rescue POWs and another that spend four years a prisoner of the VC. There is a real sense of realism to this book. The scenes of the POWs and torture they endure are very visceral. The training is intense and feels authentic. It was a book that kept my interest for beginning to end. I highly recommend this book for lovers of action.

SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND DEMOLITION WINTER BY PETER TELEP

Copyright 1997.

The 58th Wildcard squadron are assigned a dangerous mission. The Chigs have established an aqueduct on Bulldog’s Belly. This aqueduct is supplying food to the sector. Only it is heavily guarded. The plan is to insert riding one-way torpedoes to the surface. Blow the aqueduct and steal some fighters to escape. Sounds easy but like most plans don’t go that easy. First, they are saddled with a silicate as a demolition expert. There are also reports that a group sent in before them deserted. Now with an untrustworthy silicate and deserters to deal with they also find out the Chigs have POWs to shield the aqueduct. The new plan is to steal some tankers to take out the prisoners.

A year after the series was canceled, they decided to release an original novelization. Now I guess this was probably commissioned earlier and they decided to just release it. Telep does a great job of giving us an exciting story. It has action and many twists and turns you don’t see coming. He also clearly understands the characters having watched the series. Now I would have liked them to release a book that gives the series closure. It did end on a cliffhanger. Still, this was a fun book to read and really has rekindled my interest in the series. I have it on DVD and probably have to give it another look.

SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND BY PETER TELEP

Copyright 1985.

It is 2063. The Earth is at peace and starting to colonize other planets. Only there is life out there. They attack the two colonies that Earth has set up. Now Earth faces a war with another alien civilization. The aliens called Chigs are winning. The story focuses on a group of new recruits to the United States Marine Corp Aviator Calvary. Five young men and women who for various reasons joined. They form the 58th “Wildcard” squadron and stop the alien invasion.

Back in 1995-96 Fox had a brand-new series. An innovative idea that had a futuristic war with an alien species. Told through the eyes of a Marine squadron they fought the Chigs and their Silicate allies. Silicates were robots that gained sentience and rebelled. Being the nineties and created by X-File writers it had some good old fashioned government conspiracy thrown in with the shadowy Aerotech Corporation. Telep basically adapted the pilot episode. He did a good job of it and this brings back memories of a cool show that was cancelled way before its time. The series ended on a cliffhanger which was never resolved. In spite of this I still highly recommend checking out the series.

CAULDRON BY LARRY BOND

Copyright 1993

It is 1998 in this alternate dystopian reality. A worldwide recession has been exacerbated by protectionism and a trade war. France and Germany unite to form the European Confederation. The brainchild of Nicolas Desaix the head of the French intelligence agency and later minister of foreign affairs wants a French dominated European continent. Yet the nations of Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic stand in the way. He colludes with a Russia under a military dictatorship to cut off oil to the rebellious nations. The U.S. and Britain send oil shipments to them. The French sabotage a tanker escalating the situation. Hungary has a revolt against their military dictatorship and withdraw from the Confederation. France and Germany respond with a military invasion that soon draws in the other Eastern European countries and eventually the U.S. and Britain. A war starts with America and Britain opening a sea-lane to Poland to reenforce with troops. All against a backdrop of Russia possibly entering the war on the Confederation side.

This is another enjoyable book by Bond and his uncredited writing partner Patrick Larkin. It jumps from many different scenes that involve ordinary people caught up in the fighting to the politicians and secret agents that are manipulating events. I love the fact they decided to use the French and not the Germans as the main heavies. The Germans seem to be meek junior partners in this. Now of course the events didn’t turn out as written back in 1998. Yet he does show a general grasp of the situation. France and Germany would dominate the European continent as they do the EU. The eastern European countries would be the rebellious ones resenting domination after throwing off the yoke of Soviet rule. Russia would abandon liberal democracy and use oil sanctions to further their ambitions. Britain would be more allied to America then Europe. France even has a senile president which is how Desaix gains his power. Sadly, France wouldn’t pioneer the idea of a senile President.

The world of 1998 they envisioned is some ways was just a few decades off. Now the whole globalist idea of free trade at the end is a bit dated. The world is not moving in that direction but otherwise a fun and exciting book.