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Dale Brown
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Fatal Terrain Paperback – April 1, 1998

by Dale Brown (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,506 ratings
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The bestselling author of Dale Brown’s Dreamland and Warrior Class, Dale Brown thrills readers with his chillingly realistic descriptions of high-tech warfare. Now, in this explosive novel, Brown takes to the Asian skies…

The People’s Republic of China has launched a terrifying attack against Taiwan. Cold. Swift. Deadly. The U.S. isn’t willing to stand by and watch, but when they come to Taiwan’s aid, they’re dealt an unexpected blow from Chinese forces. It looks like the U.S. is going down…

Until aerial strike warfare expert Patrick McLanahan and genius Jon Masters come into the picture. Together, they have created a monster—the EB-52 Megafortress. A high-tech display of weaponry, fully equipped with stealth cruise missiles. The most sophisticated bomber the world has ever seen. The unsinkable “flying battleship.”

Now China is on its way to a nuclear high noon. And the Doomsday clock is ticking…

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Previous page
  1. Book 4 of 20
    Patrick McLanahan
  2. Print length
    496 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Berkley
  5. Publication date
    April 1, 1998
  6. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1.5 x 7 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0425162605
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0425162606
  9. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Brown is excellent at fully animating his characters…and his ability to bring technical weaponry to life is amazing…Brown’s combat sequences are first-rate.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Dale Brown is a superb storyteller.”—W.E.B Griffin

“A master at mixing technology and action. He puts readers right into the middle of the inferno.”—Larry Bond

About the Author

Former U.S. Air Force captain Dale Brown is the author of several best-selling military-action-aviation-adventure novels: Flight of the Old Dog (1987), Silver Tower (1988), Day of the Cheetah (1989), Hammerheads (1990), Sky Masters (1991), Night of the Hawk (1992), Chains of Command (1993), Storming Heaven (1994) and Shadows of Steel (1996).Dale's novels are published in 11 languages and distributed to over 70 countries.

Dale was born in Buffalo, New York on November 2, 1956. He graduated from Penn State University and received an Air Force commission in 1978. He was a navigator-bombardier in the B-52G Stratofortress heavy bomber and the FB-111A supersonic medium bomber, and is the recipient of several military decorations and awards including the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Combat Crew Award, and the Marksmanship ribbon. He flew over 2500 hours in various military tactical and training aircraft from 1978 to 1986 and was also a graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne School.

Dale is a volunteer pilot for AirLifeLine, a non-profit national charitable medical transportation organization who fly needy persons free of charge to receive treatment. He also supports a number of organizations to support and promote law enforcement and reading. He is a member of the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association, The Writers Guild, and a Life Member of the Air Force Association and U.S. Naval Institute. He is a multi-engine and instrument-rated private pilot and can often be found in the skies all across the United States, piloting his Piper Aerostar 602P. On the ground, Dale enjoys tennis, scuba diving, and hockey. He lives in Incline Village, Nevada.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley; First Edition (April 1, 1998)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0425162605
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0425162606
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1.5 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,506 ratings

About the author

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Dale Brown

Dale Brown

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Former U.S. Air Force captain Dale Brown is the superstar author of 29 action-adventure "techno-thriller" novels: FLIGHT OF THE OLD DOG (1987), SILVER TOWER (1988), DAY OF THE CHEETAH (1989), HAMMERHEADS (1990), SKY MASTERS (1991), NIGHT OF THE HAWK (1992), CHAINS OF COMMAND (1993), STORMING HEAVEN (1994), SHADOWS OF STEEL (1996), FATAL TERRAIN (1997), THE TIN MAN (1998), BATTLE BORN, (1999), WARRIOR CLASS (2001), WINGS OF FIRE (2002), AIR BATTLE FORCE (2003), PLAN OF ATTACK (2004), ACT OF WAR (2005), EDGE OF BATTLE (2006), STRIKE FORCE (May 2007), SHADOW COMMAND (2008) ROGUE FORCES (2009), EXECUTIVE INTENT (2010) A TIME FOR PATRIOTS (May 2011), TIGER’S CLAW (2012), STARFIRE (2013), IRON WOLF (2014), PRICE OF DUTY (2015), THE MOSCOW OFFENSIVE (2017), and THE KREMLIN STRIKE (2019). Fourteen of his novels have been New York Times best-sellers. He is also the co-author of the best-selling DREAMLAND techno-thriller series and writer and technical consultant of the Act of War PC real-time strategy game published by Atari Interactive and the Megafortress PC flight simulator by Three-Sixty Pacific. Dale's novels are published in 11 languages and distributed to over 70 countries. Worldwide sales of his novels, audiobooks and computer games exceed 12 million copies.

Dale was born in Buffalo, New York on November 2, 1956. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Western European History and received an Air Force commission in 1978. He was a navigator-bombardier in the B-52G Stratofortress heavy bomber and the FB-111A supersonic medium bomber, and is the recipient of several military decorations and awards including the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Combat Crew Award, and the Marksmanship ribbon. Dale was also one of the nation's first Air Force ROTC cadets to qualify for and complete the grueling three-week U.S. Army Airborne Infantry paratrooper training course. He was also an Air Force instructor on aircrew life support and combat survival, evasion, resistance, and escape.

Dale supports a number of organizations to promote law enforcement, education, and literacy. He is a Life Member of the Air Force Association, U.S. Naval Institute, and National Rifle Association. He is a command pilot for Angel Flight West (www.angelflightwest.org), a group that donate their time, skills, and aircraft to fly medical patients free of charge. He is also a mission pilot with the Civil Air Patrol, flying a variety of missions in support of the U.S. Air Force and other federal agencies. He is a multi-engine and instrument-rated private pilot and can often be found in the skies all across the United States, piloting his Cessna pressurized P210 Centurion. On the ground, Dale is a soccer referee instructor and enjoys tennis and scuba diving. Dale, his wife Diane, and son Hunter live near Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
3,506 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Don H
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and intense series
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
I have been reading the McClanahan series and have trouble putting each one down as I start one. Though a bit adventurous, they all have been great reading. I'm looking forward to the next in the series. I assume I'll be done with it in a couple of days
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John J. Franco
4.0 out of 5 stars One of the better Dale Brown books
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2014
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Patrick McLanahan and the Old Dog crew are back for another round. In this book, Taiwan has declared its independence and the United States has decided to back them. The Chinese are deeply offended by this and unleash a full scale war against Taiwan. The Old Dog crew comes to the rescue but ends up sidelined by bureaucracy within the US command structure. They keep fighting in spite of their troubles and ruffle some feathers along the way.

I liked the fact that the "bad guys" - in this case, the Chinese, weren't incompetent for most of the book. They used some unconventional tactics (borrowed from Sun Tzu) that actually worked. I wasn't as sure that it was realistic that they were a little too eager to start throwing nukes around.

Dale Brown clearly has some strong feelings about how the US should manage and use their heavy bombers, and sometimes he's a little too heavy-handed in trying to make those who don't share his views look like idiots.

But the battle scenes in this book were very well done, and there were a lot of them. I felt like the book ended quickly, given how long it took to build to its conclusion - when I saw there were 20 pages I had no idea how they would wrap it up so fast. But overall it was enjoyable. If you like military thrillers you'll like this book, if you don't, then you definitely won't.
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Mary M.
5.0 out of 5 stars As usual, Dale Brown has another, I can’t put it down story in Fatal Terrain.
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2024
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Action packed, brave Americans versus the current bad guys. An unbelievably good plot with great characters. This could be our future and past in real time.
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Gunslinger357
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
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A fitting chapter to the Old Dog crew. Dale Brown has written another amazing novel. It's always a pleasure to relax with a Dale Brown book.
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Richard
4.0 out of 5 stars Super Heros with gigantic political problems achieve miraculous results with equipment that only be dreamed of----maybe!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2018
Verified Purchase
Very interesting book. Some details too detailed. Story is amazingly current. I guess the concerns over China becoming overly aggressive and attempting to take Taiwan back are not new. How various parties react and others not at all that should is the core of the story. Throw in political mash in Washington with clash of the two parties and the heroic action of the EB-52 and what it's capable, and you have a great book.
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Philip Atticus
3.0 out of 5 stars China versus the United States over Taiwan
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
Another excellent core scenario: what lengths will China go towards to re-take Taiwan? How will the United States react? This is a recurring real-life scenario. Fatal Terrain sees the Mao Zedong aircraft carrier repaired en route to Taiwan and the launch of hostilities between China and Taiwan.

As with his other books, the basic premise is excellent, but the delivery is flawed (even taking into account historical hindsight). A few salient facts that we know about China and Taiwan, even back in 1997:

1. China has thousands of missiles aimed at Taiwan. Dale Brown accepts this, yet these missiles play a far more minor role in the Chinese campaign than to air-to-air combat and air-launched strategic and tactical bombing campaigns. It's a difficult circle to square.

2. Taiwan and China were, even in 1997, beginning their process of economic integration. There is no mention of economics in this (or nearly any other Dale Brown opus), or the fact that a nuclear strike on Taiwanese territory is probably not a first strategic option for Chinese military planners.

3. Once again, the basic scenario calls for Patrick MacLanahan to defy common sense and national law and take to the skies to defend a plucky ally (Taiwan) against a menacing Communist threat (China). This is so unrealistic, particularly as we are dealing with B-52s, as to be laughable. Mix this in with the continual self-doubts and internal conflicts, and one wonders how this crew even managed to take off, let alone take on swarms of modern fighter aircraft.

Brad Elliot was such a pain in the ass, I was happy to see him fly his aircraft into the ground by the end of the book. While I've heard of some arrogant generals, I've never seen anything like the fictional lengths Brown goes to cast Elliot as a "hawk". Most of the time, he comes across like a grandfather in dementia.

I'm on my Dale Brown "trip", reading the back issues again thanks to Kindle. I read them in paperback when they first came back, and am going back in time, dipping into the ones I missed or don't remember. Amazon is perfect for this. What's not perfect is that the recurring themes are getting so entrenched in these series, once can practically predict what will be on the next page. I'm now wondering what happens if Stratfor could hire Dale Brown to tart up some of their scenarios. It would make for excellent reading.

It's also interesting to see how rapidly things have changed in so little time. I remember starting freshman year when the Berlin Wall came down. By 1997, the UK had handed Hong Kong over to China, and China was worrying about export-led industrialisation. In 1998-99, a series of tariffs started falling with China's GATT membership, and by 2001 it had entered the WTO, leading to a flood of exports to the United States and Europe (and everywhere else).

To make a long story short, it's interesting to see just how far China has come since then, and (relatively speaking) just how much power Taiwan has lost. Hopefully, a military solution to the reunification of Taiwan and China is off the table. And yet, the Chinese military has been improving by leaps and bounds. Something tells me that no matter how awkward Dale Brown's specific work of fiction is, the issue of Chinese superiority over the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait has not disappeared.
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David A. Tatman
5.0 out of 5 stars Intense and frustrating
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2024
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The build up to the way with China and the deception they used was scaringly conceivable even to their use of our own news media and politicians. The frustrating part was the jealousy between the different armed forces which I am very familiar with.
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Horacio
4.0 out of 5 stars He does a great job in depicting the sinister Chinese admiral
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2014
Verified Purchase
An entertaining story, indeed, but it seems that the author has a penchant of overloading the reader with a lot of technical terminology and it takes a bit before the gist of the plot develops. Indeed this has happened several times with his topical genre, especially about the bombers and the political machinations in DC. He does a great job in depicting the sinister Chinese admiral, the snidish-politician, the conniving admiral, and of course raises the bar about the main character McLanahan's and his crew, very aptly humanizing them. I am duly impressed at his ability to describe all of the technical jargon about the aircraft, the missiles, and the electronics involved. An excellent read, though perhaps it would serve him to tone down the high technical nomenclature, 'cause, just how many of us readers are there out there who can decipher all of the technological-avionic mumbo-jumbo? So what's next for Patrick McLanahan and his merry band of high tech pilots and crew? Looking forward to it!
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Top reviews from other countries

Mal
5.0 out of 5 stars Earthmoving.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2021
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Fast, somewhat improbable but not impossible. Where is Coming going in the long term. Riviting read, could not put it down. Forget the washing up!!
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Craigboy53
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
Reviewed in Canada on February 26, 2017
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Another great McLanahan book! Dale Brown has another hit in this one.
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LEONARD
4.0 out of 5 stars over tom clancy
Reviewed in France on March 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed reading this book although not so interesting as 'flight of the old dog'.

I don't understand why all the best technotrillers-authors leave the subject of global moderne wars and concentrate too much on fight against terrorism.

My favorite book is still 'red storm rising' from Tom Clancy and Larry Bond.

Tom clancy stopped global war-novels. Thats why i don't read him so much anymore.

Larry Bond headed the same way. His three first books (Vortex, Red phoenix and Cauldron) where realy amazing but now i don't read him anymore.
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Len Krois
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in Australia on November 29, 2015
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Entertaining read. Love the tech details. Looking forward to the next Dale Brown adventure. Might need a new adversary though.
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Shaun McGrath
4.0 out of 5 stars Fatal terrain
Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
I liked most of this book, some of the technical data was a little hard to cyfer. When describing all that bomb hardware I found it confusing, but I liked this book very much.
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