5 comments about Flight of the Old Dog.

1. Very realistic, Brown certainly knows his military jargon. It was suspenseful and fun to read. This book was hard to put down.



2. More James Bond than Jack Ryan. Expect nothing but over the top thrills and you wont be disappointed, as a super B-52 crew wages a one plane war against the Soviet Union. Exciting. Fun. Light.



3. If you like military adventures, you will love this! A classic!



4. Excellently told military thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. A highly-recommended read that begs not to be put down. Great characters and plot. I am new to Dale Brown, but he's a master story teller. This is a thriller that I would highly recommend for those deep dark nights. You'll forget the storm outside for a little while...



5. Desperate death ray defence.
   
   
   Who are the bad guys? The Russians? How did you guess? Anyway, they have come up literally with a death ray, and decide to shoot down some US aero intelligence assets. The US of course gets grumpy and sends some B1 bombers etc. to deal with this, and promptly lose them too.
   
   Luckily for them, they have McLanahan and his technology. In this case one of the huge old bombers that has been updated to use as a flying defence platoform with new sensors and weapons capability. They need it badly because at the momen the Russkies can missile who they like.
   
   The only problem that they have is that it is pretty untested, and some of the only people that can crew it are noncombatants, and no-one knows how they will react if the Russians start deathraying them.

4 comments about Dale Brown's Dreamland: Razor's Edge CD (Dreamland (Harperaudio)).

1. Dale Brown's still the champ, and he proves it in this latest thriller. The weaponry, as usual, is top notch, and the story moves along faster than ever. I think, though, that he should consider giving Col. Bastan a promotion - he really has a lot of responsibility for that rank. Besides, he's conceited enough to be a general.



2. This is a review of the book on tape. The plot was solid and brought with it a sense of authenticity, especially in terms of how problems arose and were solved. To a degree the details about military hardware were fascinating, but they soon overran the book and distracted from the characters. There was only one character who truly mattered, and he was a side-show for most of the novel. The rest of the book was filled with people whose only purpose seemed to be populating the chain of command or demonstrating prowess under fire. A good example of this is Dog. He is some sort of Colonel, and his only role is to talk to the Whiplash team, pace around the room, and then relay the information to some General. Then he gets back on the phone with Whiplash. For all I know this type of exchange may be a normal part of military operations, but its appearance not once but several times in this novel was baffling. Ironically the character's name was well-suited to his part. As my sarcastic girlfriend fake-narrated: "Dog paced around the room and pissed on the carpet."

   The cheesiest line of the book: "If the pilot was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen - and she was - then she was second."

   C'mon.




3. I made it through the first Dreamland novel due to fast paced, well described aerial combat, an offering of terrific high tech weaponry, good solid plot, and for the most part, interesting characterization; however, by the end of book one I was praying for the slow horrible death of Jeff "Zen" Stockard. A guy who is not only a main character, a romantic lead, but, I think, one of the heroes of the series. Who also happens to be a Class A Schmuck.

   We are told Zen was an ace pilot, then a crash causes him to become wheelchair bound. Not a bad concept, could have made for some excellent twists. And indeed, in the beginning of the first book, the anguish/anger/mistrust/fear that Zen illustrated felt real. However, after reading 2/3 of the book I was getting just a tad grumpy that Zen was still piloting the pity pot plane. And his engine was in full whine mode. Well, I finished the book. Forgave the writer. Bought the 2nd Dreamland book.

   Guess what? Pain-in-the-ass Zen is still around - kinda like the whine of that mosquito in the middle of the night that won't let you sleep. He detracts from the book. He has caused me to forego the rest of the Dreamland books. A damn shame.




4. this is just another outsatnding audio book if you are in to The dreamland books I just wish there were more of them.

4 comments about Dale Brown's Dreamland: Retribution (Dreamland) (Dreamland).

1. I read another Dale Brown book a while back - picked this up for a light, casual read, and that's what I got. His "Dreamland" flyboys and their fabulous (also in the strict sense of the word!) technology are achieving wondrous feats on the borders of India, Pakistan, and China, in a world where it seems completely uncertain who is really allied with whom, and who may suddenly try to shoot you down.
   
   Some nice touches about inter-service rivalries and the antics of power-grabbing senior officers. But overall the story was a bit bit too fragmented and disjointed (others have complained of this in his books too). It got hard to remember who was where and what they were doing. Some plot aspects were rather obvious - we just *knew* that the couple marooned on the tiny rock island would get rescued somehow...
   
   Why are the place-time stamps all set in the 1990's? Was the book written then and only now published? don't think so. Is he suggesting an alternate universe? I would have expected to see 2015 or some such year. Just an oddity.



2. Thought it was too disjointed and tedious. Too many character names to keep up with and the entire story is fragmented and skips to different scenarios too often. Got tired of reading it. Just my opinion...



3. To say that the "Dreamland Team" is futuristic probably is correct but I am sure that many of the weapons and equipment that are part of this novel do actually exist. This is the sixth Dreamland novel that these two authors have written. If you like military action involving soldiers with nerves of steel, modern, and futuristic airplanes, and drone-like weapons along with electronic equipment that boggles your mind, you will love this book.
   
   Lieutenant Colonel Tecumseh "Dog" Bastien is the leader of Dreamland. The Dreamland group respects and admires Dog's leadership. There are those above his rank that think the leadership of such a powerful group should be commanded by a higher ranking officer but for now, Dog is it with all the pressures that come with that leadership. The love life of this group is one that evolves as the story progresses as members do have some loved ones in the same group they are in making military objectives extremely hard at times. But things flow quite well under Dog's command.
   
   Twenty-five nuclear warheads have been lost during warring factions involving India, Pakistan, and China, with the United States caught in the middle, supposedly friendly with all three nations. On paper that works out well, however, in practice it becomes a game of tag and war to get those warheads before anyone else can. Dreamland was assigned to find the warheads before a nuclear war got started. Using all the modern technology possible, the Dreamland team starts their search, a search that becomes a very dangerous "game" for all involved. Airplanes, ships, drones, and land troops all search the areas that the latest technology has given them as the most likely scattered locations where these warheads might be found. The battles are carried out in a state of war at least for those on the Dreamland team and the searchers for the other nations, who all are intensely trying to find the dangerous warheads before anyone else does or they get set off and do some extreme damage.
   
   You will be on the ships, the airplanes, in the sea trying to get rescued, or on the ground guided by your fellow countrymen and women. There is death on all sides even though there is not a war in progress at the time, but the action and out-guessing your opponents move to get the weapons is as stressful and dangerous as a full out war.
   
   You will feel as though you are with these soldiers in their personal and group battles mentally and physically. You will feel every bullet that one of them takes. You will wish you were there to assist in their medical care. You will feel like you are a part of their family, happy when things go properly and hurting so terribly when things go wrong.



4. First of all let me start by saying that I have read most of the books by DB but Retribution was not something that totally had me at the edge of my seat. I am an aviation buff and have a great deal of respect our stuff but portraying the Indian and Chinese airforce as dumbos is plain ridiculous considering that some of the IAF flight jocks scored more than us in joint air events. I would have expected some shoot down scenarios etc in this but it was like an invincible force on the prowl. And as another reviewer pointed out, too many names which added to the distraction of remember who is who, especially brining in the Iranians again when in the previous book (Strikeforce) the Ayatolah and the General have already been dealt with. I would give it a 3 Star becuase I am biased towards aviation otherwise from a story line it would have been a 2.

5 comments about Dale Brown's Dreamland CD.

1. Dale Brown has collaborated with Jim DeFelice(check out his WAR BREAKER, by the way) to produce an excellent new novel set roughly around the end of Dale's DAY OF THE CHEETAH but tying in nicely with SHADOWS OF STEEL. In the story, Colonel Tecumseh DOG Bastian is assigned by the White House to get Dreamland, the secret base at Nevada's Groom Lake, back into shape or else defence budget cuts will force the place to close. The first half of the book deals with experimenting on new weapons systems, in particular the FLIGHTHAWK unmanned aerial vehicles and also development of the EB-52 Megafortress, another old favourite! Dale Brown has also done well in creating some new characters, such as hotshot F-16 pilot Mack Smith, paraplegic ex-pilot Jeff Stockard who is a leading player with the FLIGHTHAWK system and is also burned out, concerned about his marriage to Megafortress pilot Breanna Bastian Stockard, daughter of 'Dog'. All these personal dramas intertwine well when things heat up in the book's secomd half. As well as the new faces, we also get cameo appearances from Patrick MacLanahan, loose cannon General Brad Elliot(who I sadly miss, this character really rocks!), Madcap Magician SPECFOR operative Hal Briggs and also National Security Advisor Deborah O'Day, who is undecided about closing Dreamland. Overall, memorable characters, fast pacing, easy-to-read narrative and some interesting military technology which might be in use today(you just never know what they've got hidden away) and some pulsating action scenes in the air and on the ground with a deployment of a Marine Expeditionary Unit on a search and rescue mission make this new Dale Brown story well worth the read. I eagerly look forward to reading more in the DREAMLAND series!



2. As soon as I saw the recommendation from Clive Cussler I should have known....
   Dale Brown has written some good stuff but this is awful. Overly technical and the first half reads like a soap opera! No action until way into the second half of the book and while the action is well handled, the characters are on the dull side.
   I am sure many of you will now enjoy voting that this is an unhelpful review, but this was a painful read at times.
   Zzzzzzzzzz.



3. Was excited about this new series from Brown based on the goings-on at Dreamland. The opening novel takes place in 1995, not long after the events in his novel Day of the Cheetah. Basically, General Elliot is out of the picture at Dreamland, and Congress and all the other higher ups are close to closing this place down.

   Enter Colonel Dog Bastian. He takes over Dreamland, figuring it will be ditched by the powers that be. This is the slow, and I mean slow part of the book, pretty much the first one half to two thirds of the book. Generally, we introduce new characters, besides Bastian, including his daughter and pilot Breanna Stockard, and her husband, who is wheel-chaired after a training accident in the prologue, Jeff. A few cameos from Dale Brown's other novels appear, such as McClanahan and Briggs. The only one that takes part in most of this novel from the past novels is Nancy Cheshire.

   While they are working on projects at HAWC, tensions are mounting in Somalia, where Iranians are shipping in Silkworm missles. Also, involved is Libya. The Iranians are trying to get a "Greater Islamic League" set up against the west.

   Eventually, our friends at Dreamland are sent over, in their modified EB-52 Megafortresses...along with U/MF's Flighthawks, which are unmanned planes flown by Jeff from inside the EB-52.

   The novel picks up speed in the last one quarter as we have aerial and land battle scenes. Can the guys and gals of Dreamland succeed in their mission, and if so, this could save the Dreamland facility.

   Also enjoyed Brown and Defelice adding some action from the Navy, and Marines in this one. If not for most of the book being slow, this would have ranked higher.

   Betting the series will get better, now that the characters have been developed. Worth getting if you're a techno-thriller fan.




4. This is my first Dale Brown book, so I haven't read enough to make a judgment on the author. However, I found it hard to keep my interest in this book. The character development consisted of little more than their name and call sign. The characters all tend to be petty, and self centered with little variation. The 'no one is better than me' attitude was tiring in the beginning, and the trend stayed through the entire book. It was very much like a soap opera.

   On a good note, the action scenes were enjoyable, but I found myself not really caring what happenes to the characters in the end. I just wanted to get to the end so I could know what happened, and not completely waste the couple of bucks that I spent on the book. My recomendation if you want to read this book is to check it out at the library.




5. This is the first book I've read by Brown and overall it was pretty good. The book has an interesting cast of characters, each with their own personality and although they're backgrounds are often somewhat mysterious, their is a definite uniqueness to each.

   The problem I had with this book is that I sometimes found it difficult to follow what was happening and how various events were related. But, their were fairly detailed descriptions of the various aerial scenarios which are often riveting.

   I'm a pretty big Tom Clancy fan and for those of you who've read his work I'll tell you that Brown's writing, unlike Clancy's, focuses much more on the military side to stories and only a little on the political implications. And this story seemed a little less intricate than Clancy's work.

   I think the book is pretty good and the stories concerning this top-secret government installation have a lot of room for potential. Dale Brown is no Tom Clancy, but he's talented and has written a novel worth reading if you're really interested.

No comments about Dale Brown CD Collection: Flight of the Old Dog, Silver Tower.

5 comments about Act of War CD Low Price.

1. This was one of the few books I just could not get through. Managed about 2/3 and just gave up. At least to the point where I called it quits, the plot was just goofy.



2. I merely added this to my dale brown collection.



3. And Suddenly, there was a flash.. and so starts at least 4 battle scenes. We never learn how the task force gets it's intelligence to be where the terrorists turn up, how they get into position, what planning is done or if there is any plan. Each time, they just suddenly appear at the right time and surprise the terrorists.
   
   The action in each of the battles is slow. You can almost count the minutes that the task force is standing around idle whilst the terrorists are firing away.. and of course, most of them get away each time.
   
   The dialogue between characters is incredibly weak and could easily have been written by a 14 year old. That is not to insult any 14 year olds, just a comparison to the language that you would expect from a young teenager of today.
   
   Overall, extremely poor written book and boring cartoonish action.



4. This book is not real high on plausibility, but if you can stop looking at all the many loose ends, it really is a pretty entertaining read. If you're a stickler for details, pass it by. If you want to read a fast-paced action thriller for the fun of it, this might be for you.



5. Had to grab this book when I saw it. Its the last in its series till the author writes another. Great steal!!!

No comments about Act of War CD.

5 comments about Strike Force.

1. Excellent plot that with a real life scenaria. I believe the author gives us an insight as how future wars in the 21st Century will be fought.



2. Dissapointing. Only interesting if you want to know about Iran's internal politics and mindset vis a vis the west. (Actually quite timely) A lot of quick and unrealistic twists in this novel keeps this reader confused.



3. Space Ships, a Princess and Improbable Dialogues are the highlights of this novel. Eminently forgettable.



4. Got this book along with his latest one Shadow Command. I am a big time fan of Dales writing. This book is a good read from start to finish. If you are a DB fan and don't have this book you can't go wrong by adding it to the collection.



5. Strike Force by Dale Brown is a work in progress. It contains many plot holes, and in some instances the author simply moves from point A to point D with no attempt at an explanation of how he arrived there. The descriptions of future technology as it applies to warfare are interesting but the book falls far short of even being considered "good".

5 comments about Edge of Battle CD: A Novel.

1. Once upon a time, Dale Brown was one of my favorite authors. OLD DOG was a great, and HAMMERHEADS is one of my all-time favorites. That Dale Brown is gone. The stories that appear instead are campy, overly dramatic, and highly unbelievable. On top of that, character development has all be disappeared. This novel does a poor job of using established TALON characters in a scenario involving immigration issues and a potential war with Mexico. Overworked, overdramatic, overdone. Just plain "over."



2. Not up to par. Poor disorganized unbelievable plot. Hard to believe written by Dan Brown.



3. I cannot think of anything to recommend about this book. Several of the authors that I have enjoyed reading in the past have disappointed me lately. "Edge of Battle" is the most disappointing of all. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.
   
   Very soon into the book I found myself skimming lengthy, uninteresting dialogue by uninteresting characters. Worse yet, I didn't even find any of the thinly-developed characters particularly likeable. There was very little coherence to the storyline and, overall, I found it a struggle rather than a joy to read.
   
   I'm sorry Dale, but you just lost me as a reader. (Note to one reviewer: maybe it was just a typo, but you are right, this wasn't written by Dan Brown, but Dale Brown. If not just a typo, the confusion is understandable: not only are their names very similar, but it just so happens that Dan Brown hasn't done a very good job with "present-day techno-thrillers" either. Case in Point: "Digital Fortress.")
   
   I gave this book two stars only out of respect for Dale Brown's early work. It would be interesting to know why so many "established" writers seem to end up writing and publishing uninteresting, uninformative, and unimaginative negative contributions to literature. Are they under contract to produce so many books within a certain period of time? Is it just for the money? Do most writers only have a few good books "within them"? Fortunately for readers, there are always new authors to explore--and lots of older ones that we never got around to reading who await our discovery!



4. I'm not going to go into all the reasons this book is bad. They've been touched upon already in previous reviews. I personally read 10-15 books a year and through the years have only had 1 or 2 other ones I just could NOT finish. Add this to the list. Just a poor book all around. The fact that several other reviewers also talk about not being able to finish the book should speak for itself, and raise a big red flag for anyone thinking of buying this book. Don't waste your time, and money.



5. At the beginning of the book, I thought this book, except for the cybernetic infantry devices, could actually happen. But it quickly spiraled to places that lost any slight grasp on the realms of possibility. And it needed to have some slight plausibility because the writing was so uneven. Some of the action sequences are quite good, but they are separated by pages upon pages of redundant bombastic rhetoric. To be sure, Brown gives equal voice to both sides of the Mexican illegal immigration equation, but he does so repeatedly and breaks no new ground. While it has it high points, its low points make them too difficult a climb.

5 comments about Shadow Command.

1. Another in Dale Brown's Dreamland series. A very good read but way over the top in reality. Almost to the point of science fiction. As always worth the price.



2. As expected from Dale Brown. I really hope our military officers are not like he proatraits



3. The characters are like old friends. I await each of his books with great anticipation and have read some of them more than once.



4. I'm glad I didn't read the other reviews before I read this. I have to agree there is some cheesy sex parts in it that could have been left out. I'm not a prude or anything it just doesn't go so well with the flow of the book.
   
   Other than that I did like it pretty well though. I like to use these kind of books as a bit of an escape from reality. On that front it does deliver big time. One person said that he hopes the officers in the military aren't like McLanahan. Personal opinion if we had stuff like is in the book and an officer like him in real life the conflict in Iran would have been solved a long time ago.
   
   It is a bit over the top but still a good read if you are a fan of his writing. Maybe wait for it in paperback, but I don't regret the hard bound copy either.



5. The book was the most difficult read I have encountered since Tom Clancy overwelmed me with Weapons Technology and Agency Initials. The autored seemed bogged down in detailing this stuff, leaving the story, moral, and flow lost to the reader.