Since the release of Team Yankee, I have pulled a fair
number of dust covered books off my shelves to read, along with buying a small
pile of new ones – thank goodness for the Kindle I say!
Here is my 2 cents on where you can start if you are looking
to get in the Team Yankee mood…
Team Yankee
Pretty much the book that started it all. If you are looking
for a fun read, that follows a single US Combat Team through World War III then
this is the place to start. If you are planning on playing US forces in TY then
this is a no-brainer to give you a little inspiration.
Red Storm Rising
Tom Clancy was one of the most riveting writers of last century
as far as I am concerned. Red Storm Rising covers WWIII with a great mix of “in
the trenches” coverage mixed with the strategic concerns of fighting the war. Some
of my favourite aspects of the book include his coverage of the war in the Atlantic
onboard the USS Reuben James – needless to say it lead to me playing a lot of
Harpoon in the late 80s and 90s.
Red Phoenix
Larry Bond worked on Red Storm Rising with Tom Clancy and not
long after ended up writing a number of great books including Red Phoenix. In
this, his first solo novel, he explores a war in the Korean Peninsular. After a
domestic incident in South Korea, US politians seek to withdraw troops, leading
to the North Koreas taking advantage of the situation and rushing forth across
(and under) the DMZ.
Spoiler Alert: there is a sequel that follows on from Red
Phoenix, called Red Phoenix Burning, but is set 20-something years later…
If you want to read more from Larry Bond then Vortex, which
is set in South Africa is a good read. Sadly, I left my copy on a trans-tasman
flight about 20 years ago. Luckily there is a Kindle version.
Last, but not least, is Cauldron, where France and Germany
unite (you can tell this is fiction already right) to dominate Europe politically
and then militarily. Great if you are looking for a book where the French and Germans
are the “bad guys”.
The Red Storm Series
I’ve been devouring this series of novels by James Rosone
and Miranda Watson over the past few weeks. Set in Europe “now” these novels
feature the Soviet Union and China teaming up to take on the US “head-to-head” for
control of the world.
Set against an all to real backdrop of high tech social
media manipulation and quickly developing battlefield weapon systems this
series reminds me of Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising book – just longer.
Book 1: Battlefield Ukraine
Book 2: Battlefield Korea
Book 3: Battlefield Taiwan
Book 4: Battlefield Pacific
Book 5: Battlefield Russia
Book 6: Battlefield China
Book 2: Battlefield Korea
Book 3: Battlefield Taiwan
Book 4: Battlefield Pacific
Book 5: Battlefield Russia
Book 6: Battlefield China
The Red Effect
Set in the 80’s, The Red Effect (along with the two
follow-on books, Black Effect and Blue Effect) chart a similar course to Red
Storm Rising with the Soviet Union launching all-out war on the west. Unlike a
number of the other books of this genre it explores the use of battlefield WMDs
by both sides. I really enjoyed the coverage of the lead up to the war with
some interesting insights in to the work of the British Army Intelligence Officers
that were responsible for spying on the Soviet Army in Germany.
Armageddon's Song
This series of novels written by Andy Farman is a whole lot
more enjoyable than the cover art appears… As a series of novels I found it to
be more “boys-own” adventure rather than Tom Clancy accurate, but it is a good
roller coaster ride with plenty of action and adventure. Just leave your
rivet-counting to the side and enjoy the explosions.
So,
which one is my favourite? Good question... I've read Red Storm Rising
over and over again, so much so I have two copies. But I've also been
picking up some of Larry Bond's other books about submarine warfare -
you did remember how much I enjoyed playing Harpoon though. Right now I
am devouring the Red Storm Series on the train each day even though I
could be watching the final season of Game Of Thrones so that must tell
you sometime.
Check them all out, read the reviews and take a risk, you will probably enjoy them...