Monday, August 8, 2016

Scorched Earth, by George Caldorisi

I have been a fan of the Op-Center series of books that Tom Clancy originated. So, upon his death I wondered how they would fare. They had been written by others most of the time, but without Clancy's influence would they drop in quality.

I think this latest addition to the series answers the question, the quality has not dropped off it remains the same and presents an exciting read for Clancy fans of Op-Center.

After an act of terrorism POTUS approves an air strike against the leader of ISIS and the compound in which he is believed to be with his top advisors. The air strike doesn't kill the leader, instead it kills his first born son.

This drives the leader of ISIS to put together a plan to bring the war of terrorism onto U.S. soil and to exact revenge against the American President and the American People in an effort to demoralize them and take the fight out of them.

It is decided to kidnap the Navy Commander who orchestrated the attack on ISIS. This man is now back stateside and working at the Pentagon. Thus ISIS comes to the U.S., takes his captive, and works to get him exfiltrated out of the U.S. and back to the Middle East where they can behead him on camera.

When conventional methods of law enforcement can't track down the kidnap victim and bring him home the President turns to Op-Center and gives them the green light to try to find and rescue the victim.

There are many small twists and turns that will surprise the reader. There are political statements made in the story regarding how we should go about fighting terrorism and whether or not certain agencies should be given broader powers to operate both in country and outside of the country.

It is an excellent read and one that I am sure you will enjoy.