Silent Lightning

by Joe L. Gribble

With armed forces marshaling on Israel's border, Mossad confirms Syria's development of a devastating new weapon--an airborne, laser-guided missile system which would surely nullify Israel's defenses.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451194055
• ISBN13: 9780451194053
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Onyx Books
• Length: 365 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Not Bad

I rate books on a 1-10 basis, giving this an 8. It seemed like a good first effort, but didn't hold my attention as well as others of this genre. The book dragged in the beginning, picking up in the later pages. Hard to pinpoint why, but being an easy marker on this type of book, I thought he needed a little more experience.

Action-packed and very original!

The Middle East is in crisis as Syria develops a new laser weapon that manages to knock down a stealth fighter. Not only that, Syria is also planning to use the weapon, featuring a sophisticated laser radar(LADAR . . . hang on, hasn't Dale Brown borrowed this idea for BATTLE BORN! ), along with SCUD chemical missiles to invade the Golan Heights and ultimately Israel. So enter Lance Brandon, an Air Force commander who formerly worked on an experimental anti-missile laser system called the Airborne Laser LAb, an NKC-135 aircraft. He comes out of retirement and with the aid of assorted military and scientific colleagues, redevelops the laser systems for use in combat against the Syrians. Some excellent action, not just in the air but at sea as a naval wing of EA-6B Prowlers assists the laser plane, and on the ground a Special Forces unit is caught in a bombing raid! And there's more . . . the prose comes fast and furious and very easy to understand, especially when it comes to the weapons systems of the NKC-135 and the story is a great update of FLIGHT OF THE OLD DOG(re: The Kavaznya laser becomes a more feasible system in this one!) but definitely leaves Dale Brown sitting on the taxiing ramp! Don't miss it. I thought the characters, notably Lance and his married life, and the Special Forces unit were strong, and I very much look forward to reading the follow-on, SILENT SABRE. So buy this book now and get ready to rock!

very interesting novel

I found "Silent Lightning" extremely interesting. As I'm in my second year of mechatronics engineering, the subject matter of this novel captivated me. The series of events leading up to the climax of the book could have come out of the newspaper, and the action sequences in the book were incredible. I am very much looking forward to reading Mr. Gribble's sequel to this, "Silent Sabre."

Great Action

To me, it was obvious that Mr. Gribble is a first time writer, but this should not detract techno thrill readers from buying this book. The action is fast paced and realistic. It takes some wadding to get through the character's development, but once this passes, Mr. Gribble spins a story of spell binding action.

One of the best military techno-thrillers of the year

Israeli spy Ha'im learns that Syria has a plan to conquer his homeland. Apparently, the Syrians possess a new type of laser radar that will wreck havoc on his country's air force. After disabling the Israeli air power, the Syrians plan to conduct a tank invasion through the Golan Heights. Finally, the Syrian forces will use DARSHAM, a special weapon to defeat their enemy. Bottom line is war is imminent in the Middle East. An American F-117 is blown out of the Kuwaiti sky by a powerful new laser weapon. The fear in DC is that the Syrians have upped the ante in the Middle East with a weapon that has the potential of devastating the Israeli air force and subsequently lead to instability and perhaps global conflict. American Air Force Captain (R) Lance Brandon is given the suicide mission to stop the conflict before it begins. He will lead a squad using the last hope for limiting the fight to a regional conflict, a laser guided missile system, that has never been tried in combat. The situation boils down to this: either Lance and his men will be heroes in the minds of the Western world or simply unknown dead men. Rarely does a first novel pack the wallop that Joe L. Gibble's debut tale does. The story line is built around laser technology that seems so real, it will leave readers fearing its plausibility and demanding the President begin using the budget surplus to develop new and smart counter-weapons. Though the characters are not fully developed, readers will not care since SILENT LIGHTNING makes recent military techno-thrillers pale as the non-stop action will elate fans of the sub-genre.Harriet Klausner