The Last Phoenix

From Booklist Herman, author of 10 other novels, is back with another thriller involving his favorite subject--global intrigue and a strike against the U.S. The plot concerns Iraq, Iran, Libya, and Syria, who have joined forces to seize the region's oil reserves. On the other side of the globe, China is preparing to take over all of Asia. The U.S. fears an attack from these menacing forces. Worst of all, the U.S. has reduced its defense budget, so how can the president (a woman) have the resources to attack these evil nations? But wait, all is not lost. The president has called on one Major General Matt Pontowski, who has a plan--perilous, almost suicidal--to save us. There's lots of military jargon and abbreviations in these pages, including Warthogs, AVG'S, SEAC, FAC, KIA, and TLAS, some romance, and a few references to the attack on the World Trade Center. This sounds somewhat like Herman's other thrillers, but his many fans won't be disappointed. George Cohen Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From Publishers Weekly Maestro of the military thriller, Herman (The Trojan Sea) offers a panoramic, jet-propelled epic long on battles, political intrigue and, unfortunately, tangential subplots. Reprising their roles from Edge of Honor, Maddy Turner, the beleaguered first female president of the United States, and her secret lover, retired air force general Matt Pontowski, are the heroes of this new novel, which opens in the near future with the president in the final months of a hard-fought reelection campaign. A sudden Chinese invasion of Malaysia is quickly followed by an attack on Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by an alliance of Iraq, Iran and Syria. Hampered by cut-to-the-bone peacetime budgets, the U.S. military doesn't have the resources to respond to wars on both fronts. When troops are dispatched to protect U.S. interests in the oil-rich Middle East, Maddy is left with no regular military to combat the Chinese and is forced to ask Matt to reactivate his old American Volunteer Group-a ragtag collection of pilots flying A-10 Warthogs-to hold back the Chinese until the regular military can be brought up to strength. The story cuts from Washington to Malaysia and other points on the globe in a rapid-fire montage. An expert at fast-paced action, Herman does a passable job keeping technobabble to a minimum, but there are too many bloodstained subplots with comic book characters. Matt's implausible escape and his heroics with a broken collarbone make the end more fizzle than bang.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. 'Could very well be tomorrow's headlines' - Clive Cussler on DARK WING 'This is the sharp end with vivid descriptions of air combat, the smell of hot oil and fear' - The Times on THE WARBIRDS 'An imaginative action story told to perfection' - Clive Cussler on THE WARBIRDS 'Truly edge of the seat exciting' - Dale Brown on FORCE OF EAGLES ' "Thinking man's" thrillers that out-Clancy Clancy...Herman has a distinctive beat to his wickedly adroit military thrillers' - Kirkus on AGAINST ALL ENEMIES --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. A former weapons system operator, Richard Herman was a member of the United States Air Force for twenty-one years, until he retired in 1983 with the rank of major. He is the author of ten previous novels, including The Warbirds, Power Curve, Against All Enemies, Edge of Honor, and The Trojan Sea , all published by Avon Books. Herman currently lives and works in Gold River, a suburb of Sacramento, California. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Read more