Patrick Robinson's "Ghost Force"

Bill Nichols · 05-18-06, 10:03 AM

Book Description

America, Britain, and Russia are drawn into a battle for a gigantic oil strike on the desolate Falkland Islands in Patrick Robinson's newest international thriller.

The year is 2011, and Russia is poised to help Argentina blast its way into the Falkland Islands, to hurl the ruling British out of the South Atlantic forever. Enraged at this act of international piracy, Great Britain dispatches a battle fleet to the islands for the second time in thirty years.

Little do they realize that Russia's lethal Akula-class submarine, Viper 157, stuffed to the gunwales with ship-killing torpedoes, lies in wait for the Royal Navy aircraft carrier, which is transporting the British fighter-bomber air force.

The United States, under the indomitable Admiral Arnold Morgan's stern eye, unleashes Navy SEALs to hammer Argentina into submission, and in two breathtaking, clandestine missions, they smash their most expensive hardware -- guided-missile warships and an entire fighter aircraft strike group.

The SEALs must make a death-defying parachute drop into the freezing ocean, hit the battlefield in total secret, and obliterate their enemy -- all in lethal silence . . . a ruthless, terrible attack carried out by a U.S. ghost force. . . .

Editorial Review

From Publishers Weekly:
Set in 2011, this disappointing techno-thriller from bestseller Robinson (Hunter Killer) focuses on a proxy war between the United States and Russia. Russia's fear that Siberia, its prime source of oil, might move further away from its control and even possibly begin supplying the Chinese, leads its spies to carry out a brazen assassination in the White House and to incite Argentina to recapture the Falkland Islands, where oil has recently been discovered. But even that improbable plot soon becomes subservient to a clichÃ©d rescue mission by U.S. Navy SEALS to save some British counterparts left behind after the Argentine invasion. None of the characters has much life, and enough details fail to ring true to make suspension of disbelief a challenge. Thriller fans interested in such topical issues as the current conflict in Iraq, the global war on terror and concerns that Iran and North Korea will become nuclear powers will have to look elsewhere.

TLAM Strike · 05-18-06, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Nichols

The United States, under the indomitable Admiral Arnold Morgan's stern eye, unleashes Navy SEALs to hammer Argentina into submission, and in two breathtaking, clandestine missions, they smash their most expensive hardware -- guided-missile warships and an entire fighter aircraft strike group.

Is at this point Robinson just dropping the SEALs on the enemy jets as they conduct their air strikes? I think one of us needs to go and take his pen awayâ€¦

Well on the plus side there are no stolen submarines and the western navies actually do something in this book unlike that Barracuda Something-something-something book.

azreark1 · 08-16-06, 12:18 AM

Nimitz Class and Kilo Class were probably his best books...kinda went a little down hill from there though.

Marcantilan · 08-16-06, 09:21 AM

Adm. Sandy Woodward (UK Task Force commander, 1982 south atlantic war) was Mr. Robinson´s adviser in "Nimitz class".

Here´s he again?

(other: we are the bad a$$es again. Gonna be fun to read a book hoping the "evil" will prevail.)

Kazuaki Shimazaki II · 08-16-06, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azreark1

Nimitz Class and Kilo Class were probably his best books...kinda went a little down hill from there though.

Actually, I'd limit it to only Nimitz class, and even that was only adequate. And it wasn't "downhill", it was more like there was a cliff, and after Nimitz Class his grade basically dropped off the cliff.

His objective seems to be to try and make us hate every character in his book. In Kilo Class, basically he makes the Americans a bunch of pirates and saboteurs - murdering countless lives and destroying billions of dollars of equipment. I actually cheered when the CHinese hit the US carrier in The Shark Mutiny.

Then there was USS Seawolf. I guess he must have known that he made America too much of an A-hole in Kilo Class, and the American was spying, so he decides to try to make us hate the Chinese with the torture. That's OK, but he decides to ruin what had been a "good" (in this kind of book: warhawk) PResident with that Linus Clarke.

Takeda Shingen · 08-17-06, 08:18 AM

I found Kilo Class to be a particularly agonizing read. So much so, in fact, that I have never returned to the genre.

05-18-06, 10:03 AM	#1
Bill Nichols Master of Defense Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 1,502 Downloads: 125 Uploads: 0	Patrick Robinson's "Ghost Force" Book Description America, Britain, and Russia are drawn into a battle for a gigantic oil strike on the desolate Falkland Islands in Patrick Robinson's newest international thriller. The year is 2011, and Russia is poised to help Argentina blast its way into the Falkland Islands, to hurl the ruling British out of the South Atlantic forever. Enraged at this act of international piracy, Great Britain dispatches a battle fleet to the islands for the second time in thirty years. Little do they realize that Russia's lethal Akula-class submarine, Viper 157, stuffed to the gunwales with ship-killing torpedoes, lies in wait for the Royal Navy aircraft carrier, which is transporting the British fighter-bomber air force. The United States, under the indomitable Admiral Arnold Morgan's stern eye, unleashes Navy SEALs to hammer Argentina into submission, and in two breathtaking, clandestine missions, they smash their most expensive hardware -- guided-missile warships and an entire fighter aircraft strike group. The SEALs must make a death-defying parachute drop into the freezing ocean, hit the battlefield in total secret, and obliterate their enemy -- all in lethal silence . . . a ruthless, terrible attack carried out by a U.S. ghost force. . . . Editorial Review From Publishers Weekly: Set in 2011, this disappointing techno-thriller from bestseller Robinson (Hunter Killer) focuses on a proxy war between the United States and Russia. Russia's fear that Siberia, its prime source of oil, might move further away from its control and even possibly begin supplying the Chinese, leads its spies to carry out a brazen assassination in the White House and to incite Argentina to recapture the Falkland Islands, where oil has recently been discovered. But even that improbable plot soon becomes subservient to a clichÃ©d rescue mission by U.S. Navy SEALS to save some British counterparts left behind after the Argentine invasion. None of the characters has much life, and enough details fail to ring true to make suspension of disbelief a challenge. Thriller fans interested in such topical issues as the current conflict in Iraq, the global war on terror and concerns that Iran and North Korea will become nuclear powers will have to look elsewhere. __________________ My Dangerous Waters website:

08-16-06, 12:18 AM	#3
azreark1 Watch Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Denison, TX Posts: 23 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Nimitz Class and Kilo Class were probably his best books...kinda went a little down hill from there though. __________________ Ens Devon "Azrearl" Hathaway VMC CO USS Dallas (SSN 700)

08-16-06, 09:21 AM	#4
Marcantilan Weps Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Posts: 374 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	Adm. Sandy Woodward (UK Task Force commander, 1982 south atlantic war) was Mr. Robinson´s adviser in "Nimitz class". Here´s he again? (other: we are the bad a$$es again. Gonna be fun to read a book hoping the "evil" will prevail.) __________________ Ultima Ratio Regis

08-17-06, 08:18 AM	#6
Takeda Shingen Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 8,643 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	I found Kilo Class to be a particularly agonizing read. So much so, in fact, that I have never returned to the genre.