Book Reviews - The Red Effect by Harvey Black (2013)...

First in a trilogy of novels set in early 80s Cold War Europe. The plot centers around the escalating tensions between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The early scenes in the novel follow a two man covert Ops team sneaking around Eastern Germany photographing Tank regiments and their clandestine movements along the border. The real world event of Korean Airlines 007 being shot down also factors in as the mistrust grows between the two sides. The further we get, the more the reader realizes war is coming and its only a matter of time before shots are fired. NATO, specifically British SAS, learns of the subterfuge the Soviets plan to use under cover of their normal war games as they plan to launch their attack with hordes of tanks and troops massing on the East German border. There is also a chapter on an East German couple trying to escape the clutches of the Soviet war machine as they sneak across the forbidden zone in an attempt to escape to the West - a very melancholy and personal side story. The final 1/3 features a ton of military spec jargon and troop movement detail. While this serves to firmly plant the reader in the moment, it can also get very tedious and overly detail oriented to the overall detriment of the story's progression. There are some interesting individual unit plotlines started, esp the SAS unit that digs in underground and waits for the impending Soviet assault. Theirs could be one of the more interesting stories as they look to be a guerilla warfare type group who will undoubtedly nip at the Soviets heels, finding ways to leave their mark and thwart the large Soviet forces when and where they can.

All of this comes to a head in the final pages as the Warsaw Pact Assault begins with a barrage of rockets, missiles and Tank warfare. For lack of a better tern, its a massive blitskrieg as they push their way into West Germany. And then the novel ends. ARRGGHH!! Gotta get started on book two - The Black Effect.

Recommended for readers of Tom Clancy, esp of his book Red Storm Rising.

3.5 out of 5 Khans!