Review: A Military Thriller: Harrowing and Breath-taking
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 8, 2013
I said I wouldn't read another war book, but someone's review drew me to this one, and I don't regret one minute of the time it took me to read this 812 page compelling story about apartheid, politics and war.  War is not "a head-on slashing attack,” thought Commanding General Craig of the Marine Expeditionary Force.  “You [have] to know how to mass air, land, and sea power into a single, flexible whole."  In his newly appointed position with his exceptionally experienced staff, it was Craig’s job to lead the combined U.S. Armed Forces and Britain’s ground forces in a daring, almost inconceivable attack against South Africa and Cuba after the two countries started using chemical attacks and nerve gas to accomplish their objectives_ South Africa to become THE world power; Cuba to become rich from South Africa’s diamonds and minerals while ostensibly fighting against Apartheid.  Neither country was actually concerned about the thousands of lives lost, particularly the lives of the blacks caught in the middle.Larry Bond is the omniscient storyteller who enters the souls of each character, good and bad, and reveals every thought of every character as he meticulously plots his next move against the enemy. The anxiety I felt for the characters made me sit on edge with my heart beating too fast with anticipation of what would happen next.  I was fascinated with the specialized, strategic fighting units and the advanced military artillery, aircraft, missiles, tanks, and war ships.  I was engrossed in the love affair between Ian Sherfield, an American reporter on assignment in South Africa, and the free spirited daughter of a high-ranking Afrikaner official.  I was appalled and angered by the inhuman treatment of the blacks in South Africa who outnumbered the white Africaans  250 million to 54 million, but were kept in abject poverty, denied an education, shot on a whim and subdued by the governing white Africaans’ police and military forces.  When the blacks’ rebellion begins to escalate and Sherfield and his cameraman accidentally become involved, the tension mounts and never stops until the end.Although this novel was historical fiction, it reinforced my pride and admiration for our Armed Forces, both active and veterans, as well as for the ordinary citizens who also risk their lives for their country when they realize that life has more meaning than a big paycheck and fame.