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Force Recon: Death Wind |
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 Force Recon: Death Wind byJames V. Smith, Jr. Berkley Books 224 pages, April 2000 ISBN 0425174069 Reviewed by Morgan Ann Adams In post-cold war America, it often seems as though we have no clear enemy. Gone are the anti-Russian scenarios of Tom Clancy novels. James V. Smith has crossed that barrier by writing a captivating sequel to his first Force Recon with Iraqi terrorists who are definitive antagonists for a new century. Captain Jack Swayne and his small band of Force Recon Marines get caught in a simple mission gone horribly wrong. On their side is a Native American, Night Runner, with almost supernatural tracking skills. In the Iraqi desert, the team meets their match in the form of leather skinned terrorist Bin Gahli and his own expert tracker, Jaffari. Add to the mix, both air and sand combat, a sand storm equal in strength to a hurricane and, of course, Swayne's girlfriend held hostage by the Iraqis. The story is fast-paced and explosive. The language is quite visual, allowing the narrative to play in your head as would a movie. Smith uses richly diverse characters to portray the many different sensations and worries during such a stressful ordeal. I am not a voracious reader of action-adventure novels, nor do I claim to know the difference between an AK-47 and a Mossberg 12-gauge pump. However, this book did catapult me along through the inherently interesting personalities and the well-timed aspects of suspense. I was especially intrigued by the detailed accounts of tracking through the desert sand. This is an excellent example of how an author can create exciting characters with minimal, though well-chosen, tokens of information. The desert setting provided excellent background for strategic fighting. There are the anticipated scenes of blood and gore, though they are not the focus of the description. This is a thoroughly enjoyable read, complete with the obligatory action one-liners. "The glory of Night Runner's out-of-body experience ... had indeed burst like a snot bubble." A fun book for a casual audience. |
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