Dale Brown seems to be the only author writing credible war thrillers, since Larry Bond has quit the genre. The PKK is demanding an independent Kurdish nation created from parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran and has been conducting guerrilla operations in Turkey. Turkey feels that none of its allies cares and stages a ground invasion as America is withdrawing its troops there. Private contractors are performing duties once the province of the military. At Allied Air Base Nahla near Mosul, Iraq, Scion International is testing the XC-57 (nicknamed, the "Loser"), a modified Stealth bomber, accompanied by retired General Patrick McLanahan and the brilliant Jon Masters.

As hostilities escalate, during Vice President Phoenix's visit to promote peace in the region, McLanahan and his cohorts deploy its fancy weaponry, including the Tin Man, CID, drones, satellites, and other technological gizmos in behalf of the Iraqi army when he is summarily fired by President Gardner. As always, the action is fast and furious, keeping readers very engaged.
( )

Newly inaugurated president Joseph Gardner has followed through on his pledge to pull American forces out of Iraq. But the region has quickly re-emerged as a hot zone, as Kurdish nationalist attacks have led the Republic of Turkey to invade northern Iraq. Reluctant to recommit U.S. troops, the commander-in-chief turns to former president Kevin Martindale and retired Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, who have left government behind for the lucrative world of military contracting. Their private firm, Scion Aviation International, is suddenly the only credible armed force in the region capable of blunting the Turks' advances. America's most lethal military contractor has become more powerful than anyone anticipated-too powerful for even the President to control.

If a defense contractor faces a crisis, to whom should his loyalties lie: to his client, his country, or his company?
Patrick McLanahan is again retired from the U.S. Air Force and has joined former president Kevin Martindale in a new venture: providing high-tech aerial surveillance and other support missions for the U.S. Army in northern Iraq.
America's withdrawal from Iraq is underway, even though the Iraqi army is not yet ready, and the power vacuum has created new tensions. The Republic of Turkey is becoming much more aggressive against separatist Kurdish terrorists who are attacking targets in Turkey and then escaping to safe houses in Iraq.
As the violence escalates, the Turkish government feels it has no choice...but to invade Iraq.
The last American assistance and training brigade left in northern Iraq takes the brunt of the Turkish assault. Unwilling to have any more American casualties in Iraq, and equally unwilling to return any American troops to Iraq after ordering their withdrawal, President Joseph Gardner orders McLanahan and his contracting firm to watch the border for any more signs of trouble--after all, no one will care if a civilian contractor gets hurt.
But Patrick McLanahan has no intention of getting hurt. Instead of just watching the frontier, he blunts another Turkish assault with his XC-57 "Losers"--stealth bombers who lost the Next Generation Bomber competition and have been converted to multi-role aircraft.
His unilateral actions enrage the President and threaten to spark a war between allies America and Turkey. Patrick's contracts are canceled, and he is placed under arrest until he can return home to face prosecution.
But before he is taken into custody, Patrick receives a new contract and a new client: the Republic of Iraq. His new task: help the fledgling Iraqi army stop the Turks from taking the vital northern Iraqi cities and oil fields.
Vastly outnumbered except for the mind-numbing aerial technology at his command, Patrick and the Iraqi army must hold on long enough for Vice President Ken Phoenix's and Secretary of State Stacy Anne Barbeau's diplomatic missions to succeed. But will they be in time?

Coming in at number 15 in the Patrick McLanahan series is Rogue Forces, sadly both the quality and length of book continues to dwindle with this entry weighing in at a mere 321 pages.

The overall plot was okay and could have made for a decent technothriller / military action novel; and yet it didn't. The characters are one dimensional, the scene building is sub par and the flow of the novel seems disjointed.

Disappointing really. ( )

Dramatic story which we were seconds away from nuclear war. Well written and dramatically told. ( )