Will the next war be fought in cyberspace? Stephen Coonts, author of the watershed military novel, Flight of the Intruder, offers this collection of 11 21st-century novellas for fans of contemporary and near-future military fiction. Technology is the binding element of Combat, and fans of Tom Clancy's high-tech military espionage thrillers will find much to love, from ultra-smart weapons to the technical infrastructure of the armed forces of the future. Don't expect hard core science fiction; the villains are of the more realistic variety: terrorists, rogue governments, and outlaw technology. Some of these stories are encumbered with a level of detail only the serious enthusiast will enjoy. (Dale Brown's "Leadership Material" has whole passages describing regs and paperwork that will bore all but the most ardent fans of the genre.) Highlights include Harold W. Coyle's fast-paced "Cyberknights," the most likely candidate from this collection to become a big-budget feature film. --Brendan LaSalle


From Publishers Weekly
Editor Coonts (Flight of the Intruder, etc.) has gathered an impressive group of techno-thriller authors for this testosterone-laden anthology. Ten original short novels by Dale Brown, Larry Bond, Harold Coyle, R.J. Pineiro, David Hagberg, Dean Ing and others, plus one by Coonts himself, feature aerial combat over the Gulf of Oman, a super-secret space cannon, nuclear brinkmanship and a bunch of retired pilots in a jet dogfight over California. Occasionally heavy on the technology and gore, these John-and-Jane-Wayne-meet-Star-Wars tales offer a chilling glimpse into warfare in the 21st century. The most successful focus not on weird military technology, but on the men and women who must actually fight. Coonts's own story, "Al Jihad," pits a retired Marine sniper and a mysterious female pilot against terrorists in the Sahara Desert with a delightful final plot twist. James Cobb's "Cav" suggests that even in the year 2035, modern warfare will still rely on the courage and resourcefulness of the ordinary infantryman. In "There Is No War in Melnica," Ralph Peters offers a frightening and gruesome look at the ethnic slaughter in Kosovo as seen through the horrified eyes of a kidnapped U.S. Army officer. Best of all is Ing's tightly wrapped tale, "Inside Job," which is a masterful detective mystery with a private eye, a bounty hunter and an FBI agent all investigating a peculiar cargo ship and a missing sailor in San Francisco. (Jan. 2)Forecast: Anthologies of original novellas have a checkered sales record, but if the publisher emphasizes the superstar lineup and properly targets the book to the pro-military crowd, the book should engage bestseller lists, particularly down the road in paperback.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
This trio of novellas describe an interesting array of combat and military scenarios. Ranging from "black bag" operations to combat in space, these works, as is the norm in current military fiction, are heavy with details of equipment and technology. The first selection, Coonts's "al'Jihad," is by far the most interesting and entertaining. A wealthy young woman, whose Marine colonel father along with her mother were killed by Arab terrorists, hires one of his former snipers to help her "take out" those responsible. Told from the vantage point of the former sniper, this piece has a delightful plot twist. Dale Brown's "Leadership Material" portrays the workings of a military review board, composed of officers who decide which of their comrades deserve a promotion based only on a personnel file with recommendations, a photo, and their own instincts. R.J. Pineiro's "Flight of Endeavour" depicts combat at the International Space Station, with its powerful UN-controlled weaponry, taken over by a scientist assisting the Chechen freedom fighters. The characters in these tales are a bit flat, but the action is exciting. Bruno Oliver's performance in all three is up to the task. His resonant voice is quite expressive with the dialog, although his Iranian and Russian accents sound rather similar. Fans of military/action-adventure should be satisfied with this production. Suitable for popular collections as well as those serving a military clientele. Michael T. Fein, Central Virginia Community Coll., Lynchburg Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Three short novels vividly portray combat situations. Bruno Oliver brings the stories to life, working the plots with the deft handling of one who greatly enjoys the genre. Like a good war movie, these audio performances move quickly through plots packed with action, intrigue, and fire power. Oliver is a confident, forceful performer, ideal for this type of production. His male and female characters are easily distinguished, more by subtle shadings of dialect and pacing than by any deepening or softening of voice. Oliver's greatest contribution is his finely honed sense of timing; he rushes forward with the reader during action sequences and hangs back for the suspense. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Book Description
An historic landmark work, depicting war as it is and soon will be-the shape of war to come.

Featuring:

Stephen Coonts, who tells the tale of an unlikely partnership between an ex-Marine sniper and a female military pilot who team up to kill the terrorists who murdered her parents.

Dean Ing, uniting a private investigator, a bounty hunter, and an FBI agent, who together uncover a shadow of terrorism that looms over America and threatens thousands of lives.

And Barrett Tillman, taking a group of retired fighter jocks on one last mission, battling enemy jets over the skies of California.



About the Author
Stephen Coonts is the author of seven New York Times bestselling novels, the first of which was the classic flying tale, Flight of the Intruder, which spent more than six months at the top of The New York Times bestseller list. His novels have been published around the world and translated into more than a dozen languages. He was honored by the U.S. Naval Institute with its Author of the Year Award in 1986. His latest novel is America. He is also the editor of two anthologies, War in the Air and The New York Times bestselling Combat. He resides with his wife, Deborah, in Nevada.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Stephen Coonts, who tells the tale of an unlikely partnership between an ex-Marine sniper and a female military pilot who team up to kill the terrorists who murdered her parents. Dean Ing, uniting a private investigator, a bounty hunter, and an FBI agent, who together uncover a shadow of terrorism that looms over America and threatens thousands of lives. And Barrett Tillman, taking a group of retired fighter jocks on one last mission, battling enemy jets over the skies of California

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Editor Coonts (Flight of the Intruder, etc.) has gathered an impressive group of techno-thriller authors for this testosterone-laden anthology. Ten original short novels by Dale Brown, Larry Bond, Harold Coyle, R.J. Pineiro, David Hagberg, Dean Ing and others, plus one by Coonts himself, feature aerial combat over the Gulf of Oman, a super-secret space cannon, nuclear brinkmanship and a bunch of retired pilots in a jet dogfight over California. Occasionally heavy on the technology and gore, these John-and-Jane-Wayne-meet-Star-Wars tales offer a chilling glimpse into warfare in the 21st century. The most successful focus not on weird military technology, but on the men and women who must actually fight. Coonts's own story, "Al Jihad," pits a retired Marine sniper and a mysterious female pilot against terrorists in the Sahara Desert with a delightful final plot twist. James Cobb's "Cav" suggests that even in the year 2035, modern warfare will still rely on the courage and resourcefulness of the ordinary infantryman. In "There Is No War in Melnica," Ralph Peters offers a frightening and gruesome look at the ethnic slaughter in Kosovo as seen through the horrified eyes of a kidnapped U.S. Army officer. Best of all is Ing's tightly wrapped tale, "Inside Job," which is a masterful detective mystery with a private eye, a bounty hunter and an FBI agent all investigating a peculiar cargo ship and a missing sailor in San Francisco. (Jan. 2) Forecast: Anthologies of original novellas have a checkered sales record, but if the publisher emphasizes the superstar lineup and properly targets the book to the pro-military crowd, the book should engage bestseller lists, particularly down the road in paperback. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

This trio of novellas describe an interesting array of combat and military scenarios. Ranging from "black bag" operations to combat in space, these works, as is the norm in current military fiction, are heavy with details of equipment and technology. The first selection, Coonts's "al'Jihad," is by far the most interesting and entertaining. A wealthy young woman, whose Marine colonel father along with her mother were killed by Arab terrorists, hires one of his former snipers to help her "take out" those responsible. Told from the vantage point of the former sniper, this piece has a delightful plot twist. Dale Brown's "Leadership Material" portrays the workings of a military review board, composed of officers who decide which of their comrades deserve a promotion based only on a personnel file with recommendations, a photo, and their own instincts. R.J. Pineiro's "Flight of Endeavour" depicts combat at the International Space Station, with its powerful UN-controlled weaponry, taken over by a scientist assisting the Chechen freedom fighters. The characters in these tales are a bit flat, but the action is exciting. Bruno Oliver's performance in all three is up to the task. His resonant voice is quite expressive with the dialog, although his Iranian and Russian accents sound rather similar. Fans of military/action-adventure should be satisfied with this production. Suitable for popular collections as well as those serving a military clientele. Michael T. Fein, Central Virginia Community Coll., Lynchburg Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile