THE MOSCOW OFFENSIVE by Dale Brown

"Intriguing military thriller that may be too close to the truth!"

The Moscow Offensive

Posted: August 4, 2018

Sometimes people only see what they want to believe and miss critical clues that would lead them to the truth. Yet, even faced with the truth, they will fiercely stick to what they want to believe. When this wrong thinking happens to political leaders and those in positions of trust, it can lead to very deadly situations and many, many innocents get hurt.

Faced with her upcoming campaign battle for re-election, American President Stacy Anne Barbeau's only focus is on what will move her ratings into a favorable position. She totally distrusts anything to do with previous President Kevin Martindale and his private security company Scion to the point of hatred and willfully ignores his concerns for what Russian President Gennadiy Gryzloz might be planning.

When her campaign launch at Barksdale Air Force base turns into a total disaster, Barbeau rages all her revenge against Scion. While still very loyal to the United States, what can they do to help defend their country when they have been so shackled?

THE MOSCOW OFFENSIVE is the 22th book in Dale Brown's highly acclaimed Patrick McLanahan series. Brown continues the story from happenings in the previous books with a much stronger focus on Patrick's son, Capt. Brad McLanahan, as the main protagonist while his famous and infamous dad is in a much lesser role providing support and sound advice. Brown's legions of fans will also be thrilled with the ongoing roles played by other key characters, including Col. "Whack" Macomber and Major Nadia Rozek of the Polish Air Force. THE MOSCOW OFFENSIVE can also easily be read as a standalone military thriller, but having read some of the earlier books will certainly add enriching details.

Although I am familiar with the characters of the hot- tempered Russian President Gennadiy Gryzlov and the attractive, but venomously conniving and spiteful President Barbeau from Brown's previous books, one complaint I had with THE MOSCOW OFFENSIVE is that the descriptions and actions of the political leaders seemed a bit more like caricatures than actual leaders. Then again, some current political presidents have been known to ignore their senior advisors and let loose with hot emotional language and personal attacks on their enemies, so maybe not so off the mark.

What I particularly enjoyed in THE MOSCOW OFFENSIVE is Brown's emphasis on both the psychological as well as the physiological implications as the pilots prepare for battle and the aftermath, especially with the use of the 12-foot-tall cybernetic infantry devices (CIDs) or combat robots on their human pilots. Brown, a former Air Force captain and pilot, is highly regarded for his knowledge of military equipment and aircraft and keen analysis of political and military developments and technology. His skill as a storyteller makes the action in THE MOSCOW OFFENSIVE come alive in a very realistic way while ensuring a wide variety of people can quickly grasp the possibility and potential of the scenarios.

Brown is definitely tops in this genre and if you have not read his earlier books, you will definitely want to check them out as well. So, if you are in the market for a high impact and dramatic military thriller, look no further than THE MOSCOW OFFENSIVE!

Book Summary

America’s first line of defense—Brad McLanahan and the heroes of the Iron Wolf Squadron—must counter a dangerous Russian strike from within the homeland in this cutting- edge tale from the New York Times master of the high-tech military thriller, Dale Brown. On a remote island estate, a billionaire investor sells his air freight company to a mysterious new owner. The purchaser is none other than the President of Russia, Gennadiy Gryzlov. The Russians will use these private planes to secretly transport dangerous cargo into the United States. The inept American President Stacy Anne Barbeau has failed to account for the Russian threat. But others have been vigilant and will not leave America defenseless. Brad McLanahan and the Iron Wolf Squadron have joined forces with the newly formed Alliance of Free Nations in Eastern Europe, to prepare for the attack they know is imminent. Working with the most cutting-edge technology, the team will deploy CIDs—Cybernetic Infantry Devices— twelve-foot-tall humanoid combat robots, each armed with more firepower than a conventional platoon. But their state-of-the-art weapons may not be enough to combat the threat. The Russians have managed to reverse engineer their own combat robots nearly decimated in a previous attack, and have slowly begun smuggling them across America’s borders. Dealing with an unprecedented danger and a feckless president and congress, McLanahan and the Iron Wolf Squadron will once again put their own lives on the line to check this new Russian peril and keep the home of the brave and the free world safe.