Fire of the Raging Dragon

Whew! What an explosive work of fiction that kept me reading till the wee hours of the morning! The sequel to Thunder in the Morning Calm (Pacific Rim series book 1) is even more jam-packed with heightened tensions between the two Chinas. The island attacked by Communist China begins the surge of suspense written on every page. Unlike in the first novel, “Gunner” is not the main character of this story; however, the President’s daughter is as she is serving in the Navy soon to encounter war.Well-crafted military stories such as what Don Brown has authored remind us of the price paid for freedom, the hard decisions that must be made by our Commander in Chief and our dependence upon God for wisdom. High technology plays a role in the action taking place on the sea along with the easily evoked tensions between the two Chinas as the recent President of Communist China is determined to become the new world power by obliterating the United States.Don Brown shares just a small synopsis of the history of the two Chinas as well as where the relationship between these two peoples stands. No matter how many military novels I read, when through with one, I am humbled by the work of our troops as well as proud of the job they do often times without anyone knowing their names. The tough decisions by many in our government to preserve life and bring aid to any people show us at least one reason for which to pray for our nation and its leaders.I won’t soon forget the scenes richly painted on the page by the author, knowing that they likely pale in comparison to real life situations that occur. Fire of the Raging Dragon was highly stimulating and breathtaking. I cannot help but wonder what I will encounter as I approach the third book in the series, Storming the Black Ice. It is not just the plot that the audience will find intriguing, but the characters themselves as they work out their personal lives while carrying out orders from their superiors.Don’t miss this attention-grabbing, heart-thumping action novel!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I did Thunder in the Morning Calm, an earlier book in the Pacific Rim Series by Don Brown. It was well-written, with plot lines well-developed throughout. It was also laid out so that I didn't want to stop reading, because he only brings you so far with one character or story line before changing over to what's been happening in another location or with another character during the same time frame. Fire of the Raging Dragon was suspense and action, while opening eyes through fiction to situations in faraway Asia we may not consider relevant to the US, but that might have life-altering implications.What's the frustrating part? As with many novels I've read, it is obvious that someone (probably a publisher) decides the work is too long. In order to satisfy the publisher or editor, the author moves us along with lots of twists and turns, revealing in a timely fashion what happens. Until about the last one or two chapters. Then, the plot lines are dropped and the story is finished. Then, the Epilogue. In one short epilogue, all the loose ends are tied up, but without the drama that had been building. Personally, I'd much rather read three or four more chapters of well-written story than have it handed to me as what seems like an easy way out. The other option would be to do a bit more editing to reduce or eliminate a story line or character, thus carrying the main story to its proper completion.This is not aimed solely at Don Brown, for I have run into this many times with many authors. He just happens to be the one I read most recently.By the way, I have purchased several more of his books already, so I haven't let this turn me away from his writing. It's just a heads-up so maybe you'll not be as frustrated as I was.

The media could not be loaded.  The best political thrillers can eject the most twisted political ideas, and show a writer's penchant for paranoia, and the reader still loves the book. That reader probably would prefer said writer won't ever be his neighbor, lest reader be confronted by writer about mind controlling radio signals emanating from reader's lawn mower.Those are my feeling after reading this book, the first I've read of Don Browns (and there's a long list of them). Just like with me and Clancy I sometimes wanted to deck the guy on principle. No President is that ignorant, more likely he just doesn't give a crap. And no culture is so monstrous as to . . . well I'm not going to give the plot away.The upside here is that I kept reading, so it's fiction that works on all cylinders. Hell, maybe Don Brown had an Obama lawn sign up and this is just his act. Don't know, don't care. The point is on two levels, first the gritty political conspiracy and monstrosity, and second the sub plot involving the President's daughter on the captured ship, the book works as fiction worthy of the top shelf at the grocery store check-out line.

As the second book in the Pacific Rim Series, Fire of the Raging Dragon was something of a disappointment. None of the characters were as well developed as in Book One, and the plot, which was well developed in the beginning, suffered from (what seems to me) a rush to finish the story and bring the book to a close. This is a book that, if written well, could have had been much longer without ever losing the reader's interest. Instead, important events were glossed over in a way that, instead of creating suspense or a sense of finality, left me feeling as if I had watched a 2-hour movie in which entire scenes had been deleted in order to make it fit into a 90 minute time slot.I will most likely read Book One again at some point in the future. It was THAT good. Fire of the Raging Dragon will go into the archives, never to see the light of day again. Fortunately, it has no real connection to the first installment, so I may give the third book a try when it comes out. This one I give three stars because it held my interest enough that I finished it.

Another one of Don Brown's, 'can't put it down books'. I hope he keeps writing and is receiving the positive feed backs so he knows that his hard work is well appreciated.Tony BennettWgcdr RAAF retired