The clash of civilizations will be won . . . by the highest bidder
The newly inaugurated President Joseph Gardner pledged to start pulling U. S. forces out of Iraq on his first day of office . Meanwhile, the former President Kevin Martindale and retired Air Force lieutenant-general Patrick McLanahan have left government behind for the lucrative world of military contracting. Their firm, Scion Aviation International, has been hired to take over aerial patrols in northern Iraq.
Yet Iraq quickly re-emerges as a hot zone: Kurdish nationalist attacks have led the Republic of Turkey to invade northern Iraq, the new American president needs to regain control of the situation, but he's reluctant to send U.S. forces back into harm's way, leaving Scion the only credible force in the region capable of blunting the Turks' advances.
But when Patrick McLanahan makes the decision to take the fight to the Turks, can the president rein him in? And just where does McLanahan's loyalty ultimately lie? In Rogue Forces Dale Brown, the New York Times-bestselling master of thrilling action, explores the frightening possibility that the corporations we now rely on to fight our battles are becoming too powerful for America's good.
Brown's latest political thriller seems ripped from the headlines upon first glance. When a new president takes charge of the volatile situation in Iraq, his predecessor becomes heavily involved in the world of military contracting, specifically a company called Scion, a fictional version of Dick Cheney's Halliburton. Of course, the situation escalates to catastrophic proportions when Turkey is drawn into the conflict through the actions of Kurdish terrorists. As interesting as the story is, narrator William Dufris makes little attempt to up the ante with a colorful performance. Instead, his narrow delivery sounds confined and a bit flat, and the story suffers because of it. L.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
Dale Brown is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including Edge of Battle and Shadow Command. A former U.S. Air Force captain, he can often be found flying his own plane over the skies of the United States.
