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Currahee -> RE: Counter-Factual Fiction Books - NATO vs. Russia/WW3 (5/25/2014 3:30:20 AM)
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I think I have read the vast majority of 'WWIII literature' out there.
Red Storm Rising - one of my favorites. Like any good Command/Harpoon player I have read it at least six times (and I'm not even out of High School yet...)
The War that Never Was - excellent (and detached - I prefer stories about global war to exclude romance) story of naval warfare in the 1989 time frame(I think - some things in it however weren't in existence until 1991, like the SLAM-ER)
The Third World War - dated, written back in the 70s, but still good, chilling, and authentic. Even if it is older than me.
Cheiftains - decent until the end. Really? A Nuke? That's how your going to end the story? How about I burn the book? That would convey the same effect. And the author believes too much in the power of artillery. I mean, he has like half of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment wiped out by concentrated artillery fire. And he thinks all Americans are idiotic Custer-like commanders - which is understandable, I guess, since the writer is British.
Arc Light - scary nuclear warfare scenario, and then we invade Russia and somehow make the surrender. Now, I believe in the power of the US military as much as any other American, but the conquest of Russia seemed a bit...quick. Of course, the bulk of Russia's army was trapped in the East by radiation zones, so maybe it's not too implausible.
Protect And Defend - We (NATO, if I recall) defend Siberia from China after anarchists topple the Russian gov't. It was a little far fetched.
The Red Effect Series - Cheiftans 2.0 (w/out the stupid ending). Little naval combat, however, but since I am mainly a ground warfare guy I liked it. It chronicles the Soviet invasion of Western Europe in 1984. It is a very good series and I recommend it.
Red Army - a good story from the other side. Yeah, the sovs make all the breaks it seems, but that was kind of the point of the story. Made me glad that the war never went hot.
When Angels Wept - a counter-factual history of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was disappointed the author seemed to want to devote 2/3 of the book to biographies of Kennedy and Khrushchev, but in the actual nuclear war part, it was authentic and frightening. Recommended.
Red Thrust - less a story than an hard core analysis of the Red Army, but still a good and realistic read.
Red Phoenix - good story of the NKs invasion of the south in 1988(?).
The Sixth battle - as mentioned before in this thread, another classic. It deals mostly with naval warfare. I wanted to kill the national security adviser however ("These world wide soviet naval deployments to cut off South Africa from the world and take it over are in no way threatening! We should take no action until it is too late so we can lose a carrier battle group to the entire concentrated forces of the soviet navy!") Oh, has anyone noticed how the author links his book to Red Phoenix by mentioning the F-16 pilot from that book?
Thunder of Erebus - now the superpowers want Antarctica. I haven't read it yet, but from flipping through it is seems a little fanciful - F-15Gs, soviet cruise missiles carrying torpedoes, magic mineral that zaps ICBMs. Heck, the Aurora conspiracy plane even makes an appearance.
Fourth Crisis - I wouldn't say it's garbage. I mean, it is an ebook, but it wasn't idiotic. Maybe some things were convenient (like the nuke threat at the end) but it was worth whatever I paid for it - which was less that $3.00 if I recall.
Red Tide: Chinese Invasion of Seattle - The first book was surprisingly good and actually made me think the Chinese could plausibly pull it off. Then the author wanted you to believe that a rag tag team of about ten escaped US Army Rangers could defang the entire Chinese perimeter, sink a Chinese amphibious ship, and liberate a college campus. And he has the 7th Infantry Division, equipped solely with .22 rifles and shotguns, somehow hold off a Chinese armored battalion. Sure, they suffered like 90% casualties, but still...
First Clash - the absolute finest book on modern (fictional) ground warfare I have ever read. Recommended, but only if you like land warfare and can pay attention to what is actually happening - it took me a few reads to truly appreciates its beauty.
I have exhausted my immediate knowledge of WWIII literature, and its late where I live. Btw, has anyone read Choke Point, First Salvo, or Show of Force by Charles Taylor? Are they any good?
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