Vortex

Larry Bond's books take the balance of power at a certain moment, and then show what would happen if it were tipped. They're plausible, and Bond's command of military detail gives them a reality that not all thrillers have. Really, they're military procedurals: If you have to take this hill, or this city, or this nation, how do you do it? What do you do first? How does the enemy counter? How do you follow up? What are the logistics? What snags will mess you up? He doesn't have to resort to melodramatic world-threatening plots; in some ways his are more gripping precisely because he doesn't do that, and because they thus feel so real.This one, published in 1989, has been overtaken by events, concerning as it does a white minority government in South Africa that no longer exists and a Soviet-sponsored Cuba more prone to foreign adventurism than today's destitute Cuba.The military detail is not yet today's. In this last era before the Internet, there's nary a laptop, cellphone or handheld GPS in sight. Nor any jihadis. It's a conventional war.At the outset, much of the white minority government, moving glacially towards racial accommodation to appease world opinion, is wiped out by an ANC terror bombing - one an extremist Afrikaner faction secretly knows about but deliberately fails to stop. Lead plotter Karl Vorster takes power and begins a brutal crackdown. Supported by his fanatical bullyboys, he invades the only-recently-made-independent Namibia to reoccupy it.Meanwhile a US newsman entangled with the daughter of one of Vorster's ministers stumbles, with her help, across the assassination plot. Exposing it can delegitimize the Vorster regime. Now, if they can only get the news out.Cuba, entrenched in nearby Angola, defends Namibia by counterattacking. Its charismatic General Vega stops South Africa's offensive, then comes up with an even more audacious plan: to invade South Africa itself, bring the apartheid government to its knees, and seize its strategic mineral wealth, enriching the Communist bloc.The U.S., mired in economic slump, eyes the situation nervously as mineral prices soar and world stock prices plummet. After weapons of mass destruction enter the picture, the U.S. invades to seize South Africa's nuclear arsenal, depose Vorster and keep the Cubans out of South Africa's catbird seat.Bond finds many shades of opinion among the white South Africans. Some Afrikaners are fanatical; others are patriotic but not nuts; and others still grow more alienated as their government uses more and more brutality to compensate for a failing war effort. English South Africans, more on the outs than ever in the Afrikaner-led state, are among the first to rebel against it. Black South Africans are split by their tribal loyalties, the Xhosa to the ANC and the Zulus to the Inkatha party.Bond is most in the zone, though, with mid-level officers, good soldiers who lead men well and follow orders despite questioning the regimes they serve and the impossible situations their superiors put them in. The American Lt. Col. Bob O'Connell leads a first paratroop strike into South Africa. The South African Capt. Chris Taylor finds himself at the head of a rebellion in Cape Town. The South African Commandant Henrik Kruger thinks the Vorster government insane but does his duty as a soldier as long as he can. Vega is probably the most interesting character here, as he develops his bold military strategy and sells it to Castro.Bond's handling of the fighting itself really shines - the weaponry, its use, its limitations, how you counter it. I've seen references to recoilless rifles in dozens of books over the years, but never really understood until now what one was. Bond does a great job bringing the whole palette of modern weaponry to bear on a fictional war so true to life you have to remind yourself at the end that it never happened.

Thier a civil war going on in South Africa as members of a neo-Nazi group AWB "Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging" are fighting against ANC "African National Congress" with the two sides clashing but neither of them are winning. Karl Vorster, South African Minister of Law and Order has been trying to get Africa to violently remove all blacks from the country and pretty much make it how Aldof Hilter wanted to do with Gemany.Karl is the least favoruite member of South Africa government and is losing power within the group. However unknown to the rest of the government members Karl is secerty part of AWB group with hatred towards blacks and other races also is fighting against ANC. Karl then learns the President of South Africa is hitting for a peace meeting on the Blue Train. He uses this event to assassinat his rivals and quickly takes control of the government and begans recreating Nazi Germany.American journalist Ian Sherfield along with his parther Sam Knowles watch in horror as the country they have been working and living in quickly becomes a dangerous place. Trying to tell the world what's going isn't easy as Karl keeps tight control within his country and has his AWB members beat or kill anyone who threatens Karl's new world order.With the help of Ian's girlfriend and daughter of Karl Vorster, Emily she is able to save Ian and his friend's life along with getting word out to other news stations what's going on however it isn't enough to stop a full civil war. Karl has his army begining to invade other parts of Africa forcing those to work with Karl Vorster or die. Anyone who doesn't belong in Karl's master race will be wiped out.When news does get out about this civil war other countries such as Cuba begin fighting against Karl's army with Col. Vega with the goal of claiming more land and taking valuable resources to aid Cuba. At the same time US along with UK realize the threat this civil war is going to have on their stock market with gold, diamonds and the dollar going up. However things go from bad to worse when Karl Vorster threatens to use nukes which puts the world at risk of WWIII.A very solid written novel with non-stop action, over the top violance, well written dialogue, layors and layors of detail from weapons, places, characters, how each country works along with their military. A lot of characters we come to know in the novel are killed off leaving only a couple of suriviors.I'm glad to finish this massive thick paperback as it took quiet a while to get through. I have a few Larry Bond novels on my wish list. Can't wait to read them.

The first half of this book is a bit of a slog. It's well-written, but when white supremacists are fighting communists, who do you root for? Once the Americans get involved, it's much more interesting. Overall I thought the book was well worth reading, I just wish the author could have found a way to condense the setup.

Excellent product !!

decent author in this genre i got several of these for my nephew asa gift and read a couple myself they arent bad at all

Interesting

great read.

The book is super fast paced, and the merchant that sent it deserves a great deal of praise for the speed of delivery and condition of the book.

Getting my favourite books back in hardcover for that nostalgic feel. this book is in excellent condition and delivered quickly this second order. 1ST order didn't work.

The book is a gift

以前の書評で読もうと思いつつ、時間が経ってしまいました。思いのほか話の展開規模が大きく、多少疲れましたが、とても面白く読みました。