FNG: a Black Spear novel by Benjamin Spada

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MWSA Review

Benjamin Spada hits it out of the park with his debut novel FNG: A Black Spear Novel. The American government has run its share of off-the-books “black ops,” but none blacker than “Black Spear.” Even among the military, no one seems to be sure if they exist. But exist they do, and when the really bad guys come calling, Black Spear is our best defense. Made up of only the absolute best operators, this small unit operates in five-man squads whose only rules of engagement are “accomplish the mission,” and they do so by all means necessary. When conventional forces and sworn lawmakers can’t get their hands dirty, it’s time to send in Black Spear.

A disgruntled veteran has a vision for revenge against the government, and has gained a following of other former servicemen along with access to one very dangerous bioweapon. Black Spear’s Cerebrus Team is down a man and pulls in a recruit for one tremendously action-packed first day. Black Spear has no rules to follow but their own, but will it be enough to stop a madman with a deadly bioweapon and an intense thirst for vengeance?

This story is a non-stop thrill ride from the first page. The heroes are likable, the villains deplorable, and the action fast-moving, graphic, and exciting. It’s very much like the “A-team” of the 80s TV show on steroids. Fans of spec-ops stories or techno-thrillers should enjoy this very much. Personally, I can’t wait for the next one!

Review by Rob Ballister (March2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

FNG: NOUN. INFORMAL. MILITARY TERM, "F****** NEW GUY":

A PERSON JUST OUT OF TRAINING OR NEWLY TRANSFERRED INTO THE UNIT, WHO EITHER HASN'T PROVED THEIR WORTH OR DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO OPERATE PROPERLY DUE TO LACK OF EXPERIENCE. 

"Welcome to Black Spear." With these four words Cole West is immediately thrust into the shadowy world of the military's most deadly black-ops program. No warning. No training. No choice but to buckle up as Black Spear conscripts him to fight against a paramilitary group of renegade veterans known only as "Terminal." Terminal is no ragtag militia but a veritable private army of disgruntled soldiers with one mission: Stop at nothing to topple the government they think failed them. 

Armed with a highly volatile bioweapon capable of absorbing the properties of other contagions, they plan to wash the country clean through an ocean of blood. It's up to Cole West and Black Spear to prevent Terminal's terrorist attacks and stop the insurrection before it can happen. To survive in Black Spear, West will have to prove himself. But even on day one, there are no second chances...

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 328

Word Count: 86700

Ninety Day Wonder by Lynn Ellen Doxon

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MWSA Review

Ninety Day Wonder by Lynn Ellen Doxon is a look at the trajectory of one man’s life changed by an outbreak of war. High school chemistry teacher Gene Sinclair’s carefully laid out plans to get into medical school are thwarted the day he receives his draft notice from the U.S. Army. He reconciles that serving his country is a temporary diversion and that he’ll serve his year and re-apply to medical school.

After basic training, Sinclair is sent to train on coastal artillery but he yearns to get into sone area of the medical corps. Eventually, he’s assigned to the pharmacy training program. but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor necessitates him returning to artillery. From there, Gene is chosen to attend the ninety-day Officer’s Training School.

During his officer training, Sinclair meets southern belle Sarah Gale, eventually falling head over heels in love before he’s commissioned as an antiaircraft artillery officer. Gene struggles with conflicting feelings as an officer when it comes to leading his men. When Sarah joins the WAACs they are unable to see each other because she is an enlisted servicewoman and he is an officer. Somehow, they manage to overcome that obstacle. Separated by continents, Sarah and Gene stay in touch by letters. After a Japanese air raid in Darwin, Australia, Gene is assigned to deploy to parts unknown, leaving us to wait until the next book comes out to resolve my unanswered questions.

Review by Nancy Panko (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

On the eve of World War II Gene Sinclair is drafted, ruining his plans to become a doctor. Gene adapts to army life, but still dreams of being a doctor, until the attack on Pearl Harbor. He is sent to Officer's Training School to become a "Ninety Day Wonder" junior officer for coastal artillery. Gene struggles to understand his place in the army, which becomes more complicated when he falls in love with Sarah Gale while at OTS.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 368

Word Count: 120244

Payback by Joseph Badal

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MWSA Review

Joseph Badal’s Payback is an action-packed thriller of revenge—often gory murders—and deep friendship. Badal’s characters come to life. Whether you love them or hate them, you can’t wait to find out what happens. Then, just when you think the story is over there’s another twist in the road, and a whole new adventure.

Bruno Pedace’s investment banking bosses attempt to frame him, but he gets out by the skin of his teeth, taking “insurance” with him. For the next eight years he sits on millions of dollars’ worth of documents, bonds, and cash, living on the fringes of society, afraid of his own shadow. Enter Janet Jenkins, an advocate at a women’s shelter, who saves him during a mugging. From that day their friendship begins and Pedace embarks on a metamorphosis, from victim to avenger.

Bruno contrives a very dangerous, intricate, technologically ambitious plan to destroy his former employers. As brave as he is, however, his timidity precludes him from telling Janet that he loves her. Janet is dragged into Bruno’s life of conspiracies, corruption, blackmail, kidnapping, and assassinations. Bruno ingratiates himself into Janet’s life at the shelter, ultimately helping countless women, with his grandiose philanthropic plan.

Payback is a story about revenge and dignity, and the courage we amass from each other.

Review by Sue Rushford (February 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

When Bruno Pedace learns that his investment banking partners are setting him up to take the fall for their own corrupt practices, he does what he has always done—run away. But the documents he takes with him put a target on his back. He changes his name and, for nine years, goes underground, until an assassin tracks him down in California and badly injures him.

Befriended by Janet Jenkins, a courageous woman who works in a battered women’s shelter, Bruno, for the first time in his life, with Janet’s help, fights back. He constructs an ingenious financial scheme to get payback for the crimes perpetrated by his former partners.

In PAYBACK, award-winning, Amazon #1 best-selling author Joseph Badal weaves a story about a sympathetic protagonist who, when pushed too far, finally pushes back. This is a story about revenge that includes assassins, corrupt Wall Street investment bankers, a Mafia capo, Asian gangs, and heroic cops. And, to top it all off, it is a story about friendship and love.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 310

Word Count: 79,337

Justice by Joseph Badal

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MWSA Review

Justice by Joseph Badal is a well written story although the subject matter is horrific. All good mystery thrillers have twists, but Badal has created a new one during the attack in Nicaragua. Players from three continents act and interact in crime, corruption, and revenge seeking.
In this third book of the Curtis Chronicles, Matt’s wife and her friend are kidnapped by Matt’s fierce enemy, Lonnie Jackson. Matt and his former special ops friends join to attempt a rescue in the jungles of Costa Rica. A thrilling read.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (March 2023)
 

Author's Synopsis

Amazon #1 Best-selling author, Joseph Badal, delivers Justice, the third in his Curtis Chronicles series, with the same relentless tension that is a trademark of his award-winning suspense novels.

In Justice, Matt and Renee Curtis return, along with their maniacal tormentor, Lonnie Jackson. On a trip to Costa Rica with their friends Esteban and Alani Maldonado, Matt and Renee believe they are beyond Jackson’s reach. They soon find out how wrong they are, however, when Jackson orchestrates the kidnapping of Renee and Alani and transports them to his human trafficking headquarters located in Nicaragua.

Matt and Esteban recruit former special operations soldiers living in Costa Rica to help them rescue their wives, sending readers on an action-packed journey.

As with all of Badal’s novels, Justice is a bold and complex thriller. It weaves an intricate plot involving multiple international locations, a human trafficking organization, the CIA, Special Operations, corrupt politicians, Bulgarian organized crime figures, Swiss bankers, and a compelling cast of engaging, inspiring, and diabolical characters.

The Curtis Chronicles is an epic series that delves into the age-old conflict between good and pure evil, where each book leaves you begging for more.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 356

Word Count: 100,045

Operation White Out: A Mac McDowell Mission by Robert G. Williscroft

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MWSA Review

Operation Whiteout (fourth in the Mac McDowell series) is another page-turner by author Robert G. Williscroft.

Commander J.R. “Mac” McDowell already has a reputation for heroics in the face of danger, so he wasn’t looking for trouble when his secret submarine USS Teuthis was tasked with a secret cable-laying mission in the southern hemisphere.  After a routine start, it turned into anything but as a beautiful Russian spy, two Chinese submarines, and an unexpected underwater drilling operation all intertwine to put Mac center stage in a showdown that could bring China and the United States into war. Under the watchful eye of their Orca guardian, can the USS Teuthis and her crew stay hidden and complete the mission?  Will Mac survive another brush with fate?

The author is knowledgeable about submarines and deep-sea diving, and uses that knowledge to add technological credibility to the story.  Also particularly enjoyable was the presence of the Orca mascot, named Borysko (fighter/warrior in Ukrainian), who appears from time to time to help out when able.  This character added an element not often found in techno-thrillers.

Fans of cold war thrillers, submarine fiction, or military techno-thrillers in general will enjoy this book, whether they have read previous Mac McDowell stories or not.

Review by Rob Ballister (May 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

Recovering from his Operation Arctic Sting injuries, USS Teuthis Executive Officer Mac McDowell is tasked with laying SOSUS arrays in the southern Atlantic and off Thurston Island, Western Antarctica. Teuthis tangles with Argentine subs in the south Atlantic, then confronts a ChiCom sub off Thurston Island. Mac and his team experience serious setbacks at the hands of the ChiComs while installing a relay transmitter on a nearby mountain peak. Teuthis discovers an underwater oil operation off Thurston Island and is tasked with escorting a Taiwanese sub and underwater tanker under the cover of the largest military marine exercise since World War II: PacEx89. Teuthis is attacked by a Chinese Han-class sub and a previously unknown North Korean AIP sub despite the protection provided by three U.S. fast-attack subs. Will Mac and Teuthis complete their mission, or will they finally meet their watery graves on the Pacific Ocean abyssal plain?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 414

Word Count: 97,900

The Return by Carole Brungar

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MWSA Review

The Return, an incredible story of one woman’s search for love, by Carole Brungar is book five in her Nam book series. Author Brungar draws the reader into the life of dynamic business woman Jackie Coles, an orphan saved during the fall of Saigon. Jackie is adopted by veterans Terry and Evelyn even though she was told that fellow veteran Jack Coles was her birthfather.

When Jackie’s stepfather Terry falls ill, she fears losing the only father she has known. During his illness, the two talk and reminisce. Terry encourages Jackie to return to Vietnam and seek out her mother’s family. “It will help you discover who you are,” Terry insists. Jackie promises she will go to Vietnam and meet the family who abandoned her as a baby. Will she discover a truth she never knew she was searching for? As Jackie approaches age 40, she is overwhelmed by the feeling that something is missing from her life. Will leaving a new and budding relationship with rescue pilot Jeff Hunter be compromised by her traveling to Vietnam?

After Terry’s death, Jackie convinces Frankie to accompany her to the country of her birth. While in Vietnam, Frankie divulges that Jack Coles is not Jackie’s birth father, but the man who saved her, raised her, and loved her, Terry, is her birth father. He loved her, she loved him, and they spoke of their love for each other. If only she had known the truth.

Jackie's trip to Vietnam brings changes to her life in unanticipated ways. She makes a major decision that may affect both her future, and her future with Jeff.

Well-developed characters and a great story line draw the reader into the life of Jackie Coles.

Review by Nancy Panko (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

They say love will set you free, but do the orphans of war ever really experience that freedom?

Ambitious and dedicated, Jackie Coles is the shining success story of a once abandoned child.

But as her 40th year approaches, the realization that something is missing in her life is overwhelming. How can someone who has everything lead such an empty life?

Rescue pilot, Jeff Hunter, fell in love with Jackie the first time they met. Years later, a chance meeting brings all those same feelings flooding back.

When Jackie’s stepfather falls ill, she makes him a promise that she will return to the country of her birth and meet the family who abandoned her as a baby. But what will she find in Vietnam? The answer to her loneliness? A truth she never knew she was searching for?

And what about Jeff? He’s more than perfect and falling in love with him is far too easy.

But what if Jackie’s trip back to Vietnam threatens to destroy every chance at happiness with Jeff? Will she have to choose who she can love and who she can’t? Or will Jeff make that choice for her?

Format(s) for review: Kindle Only

Review Genre: Fiction—Romance

Number of Pages: 336

Word Count: 93279

Loving Summer by Carole Brungar

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MWSA Review

Loving Summer by Carole Brungar is book number four in her multi-award-winning Nam Legacy Series. Loving Summer can easily stand alone, a testament to the author’s writing skills.

In 1967, a Christmas card project organized by Summer Bryant’s school to send messages to the soldiers in Vietnam. Lovable Summer Bryant is a flower child born into the transient world of hippies, communes, and free love. And she’s against the war that’s killing thousands of innocent lives in Vietnam.

Scott Taylor is the consummate leader of warriors and becomes the recipient of Summer’s Christmas card. He decides to answer with a thank you. Thus, begins a pen-pal relationship lasting years until the correspondence abruptly stops.

Scott returns to New Zealand to find that his wife is distant. Their relationship deteriorates despite a pregnancy about which they are both excited. He continues to write to Summer. When Scott finds out earth-shaking news, the marriage disintegrates and he stops writing to Summer. He finds solace in alcohol. In 1978, with the help of Army pals, Scott starts to get his life on track. Set up on a blind date, Scott Taylor’s broken life changes its trajectory, sending him on an unforgettable, poignant journey.

Carole Brungar skillfully takes you deep into Scott and Summer’s unforgettable love story with her detailed descriptions. She weaves a tapestry of two unlikely soulmates and knits it all together for the reader to feel the warmth and passion. Loving Summer is hard to put down and requires a box of tissues.

Review by Nancy Panko (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

It’s Christmas in the killing fields of Vietnam, and Corporal Scott Taylor calls his men together and hands out mail from a school back home, unaware the card he opens will change his life forever.

Everyone loves Summer Bryant. She’s a wild child born into the transient world of hippies, communes, and free love. And she’s against the war that’s killing thousands of innocent people and the soldiers fighting there.

Yet, through the pages of Scott and Summer’s letters, an unforeseen friendship forms that becomes a bond so strong, that neither understands the grip it has over them.

Home from Vietnam, Scott finds the world has moved on without him. When his life spirals out of control, he’s convinced even the letters from Summer can’t save him this time.

After years of silence, fate throws them together. Shocked to finally come face to face with Summer, Scott realises the attraction between them is stronger than ever. But the past is rapidly catching up to this beautiful free-spirited woman. Will Scott’s unconditional love be enough to save Summer? Or will this be another war that Scott has no chance of winning?

Format(s) for review: Kindle Only

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 390

Word Count: 112800

Where The Light Enters: A Soldier's Journey by Leland Austin Gagnebin

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MWSA Review
“Part of me needs you to know how we suffered, how I ached for years, needing to be appreciated, acknowledged, and simply recognized. I needed your sympathy and understanding.” Leland Austin Gagnebin’s Where the Light Enters: A Soldier’s Journey is by no means a typical Vietnam story. It is an inspiring memoir of his long, hard battle with the consequences of a war (still haunting a generation), long after the uniform gets hung up. Gagnebin describes Where the Light Enters as a collection of short pieces, but I beg to differ. The book is a cohesive, superbly written, smoothly flowing story of his Vietnam experience while assigned to the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Air Cavalry Platoon in 1969.

The book is not made up of blood and guts, but of guts of courage—and not just in the jungle, but also at home. “You’re never more alive than when you’re almost not.” Gagnebin shares the significance of the unique, powerful, combat-soldier bond: lifesaving in the field and severely underrated at home.

After struggling with PTSD for years (even though in the beginning there was not yet a name for it), he eventually opens up and asks for help. Through a now more compassionate VA, he works his way out of despair, anxiety, and depression. He bares his soul in this book, shedding light on epiphany after epiphany, with hopes that he can help others who also need to overcome any insidious, corrosive inner conflict.

On his journey to mental health, Gagnebin takes us on a cathartic pilgrimage to Vietnam—to the same locations—thirty-eight years later. He makes fresh healing memories, painstakingly, and successfully appreciates the beauty of the country.

If anyone in your life served in Vietnam, or suffers from PTSD from any cause, you must read this enlightening book.

Review by Sue Rushford (April 2023)
 

Author's Synopsis

So, who fits the soldier with the emotional and spiritual prosthesis? Where The Light Enters is a memoir about the impact the Vietnam war had on one soldier's life. It is a healing story, a spiritual journey, the path taken in search of redemption, reconciliation and reconnection. It is not a war story but rather a story of war. Through a collection of short pieces the author conveys the transformation from a loss of innocence and purity of heart, through the struggles endured as an Infantry Rifleman with the 101st Airborne Division during the historic Battle for Firebase Ripcord, the disillusionment, the betrayal, the loss of self, to what the author endured after returning home. It is about the path followed in pursuit of as full a measure of peace in life as might be possible, and encourages others to pursue theirs. Moreover, this memoir shines a light into the noble and heroic story of what heart and strength of character it takes for men who struggle through years against themselves and the intense, inner wound of PTSD and succeed. This memoir transcends the Vietnam war giving voice to all those struggling to put words to their own mental narratives. It further suggests a social prescription to assist reintegration into community. This finely crafted work has many layers - emotional, physical, behavioral, ethical, political, spiritual, the importance of family and the bonds with fellow soldiers - all woven artfully into the tapestry of the author's life story. Conveyed in a raw, straightforward presentation without being crass or superfluously graphic, its descriptions are vibrant and visual, drawing emotion from the reader. This memoir shines a ray of hope upon both veteran and non-veteran, anyone seeking redemption and forgiveness.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 434

Word Count: 131,165

Porch Music by Kathy Maresca

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MWSA Review

With the same precision and care that Ma-Ki Ebbing took to create her sawtooth quilt, Kathy Maresca has weaved a story stitched with strength and resiliency. Sixteen-year-old and pregnant Rose, banished from her family home, finds acceptance with Ma who knows the stain of prejudice and hypocrisy only too well. Set in northern Florida during the early fifties in a place where “progress moves backwards instead of forwards,” reflections on Seminole spirituality, Christian faith, and a woman’s strength are the threads that hold the pieces together. Four more characters patch in their own intricate first-person voices to the tapestry. Sharing inner thoughts and experience, each one invites the reader to understand how events impact behavior. Vivid images bring place and time into clear view. And then there’s the music: folk songs, traditional hymns, and even “America the Beautiful” sung at just the right moment, like the appropriate tune that appears out of nowhere to match a mood. A riveting ending promises to unlock truths held captive in long-kept secrets. Ma’s Seminole wisdom adds touches of color that linger like gems in any great work of art: “We live in a white world, better to have them fit in than to teach them things that set them apart.” “Ain’t every Christian bad. But if somebody’s pure evil, you can count on one thing. He’ll call himself a Christian.”

Review by Janette Stone (February 2023)
 

Author's Synopsis

All sixteen-year-old Rose has is what she carries: a pillowcase of clothes, her boyfriend’s unborn child, and a heart full of shame. In the face of 1952’s strict moral code, Seminole matriarch Ma-Ki Ebbing embraces Rose. Ma-Ki, on the fringe of society, clings to her Native American traditions and secrets surrounding her husband’s murder while her adult children unravel from social injustice.

When Ma-Ki’s children were young, Burl Ebbing approached a wealthy, powerful man who had sexually abused his children. The villain shot Burl’s heart right out of him. Twenty years later, Ma-Ki fears that her children will avenge their father’s death and refuses to disclose the criminal’s identity. The Ebbing women band together, marching through a chorus of grit and grind to unite a family once rendered powerless by a people who invaded their land. Will another tragic death cause Ma-Ki to identify the villain and embrace Rose’s newfound faith?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction

Number of Pages: 312

Word Count: 81,000

The Original Jeeps in Pictures by Paul R. Bruno

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MWSA Review

The Original Jeeps in Pictures is written by Paul R. Bruno and is a follow-up book to his earlier works, The First Jeep and The Original Jeeps. The book is a chronological review of the development of the first Jeeps during the period preceding the United States’ entry into World War II. Author Bruno uses photographs and original procurement documents to walk the reader through the complicated process of developing a military vehicle from inception to production. The use of historical photographs of events that were happening while the Jeep was being developed imparts a sense of the critical nature of this vehicle’s importance in preparing the USA for a war that was clearly on the horizon.

Author Bruno uses the photos and the original procurement documents to tell the story of how the Jeep evolved over the years leading to World War II. The author does not tell a story per se in this book; rather he uses comments and narratives about the photographs and documents to tie the story together and explain why the photograph or document on a particular page is significant to his story. Some of the procurement documents might be too bureaucratic in nature for readers who do not have experience with government procurement processes; however, the use of the documents offers the reader a view of the complexities involved in bringing any invention to life in the military-industrial complex that existed before World War II.

This book will be of interest to those who are interested in the history of World War II, especially the United States’ lead-up and preparation at a time when the primary political attitude in the country was isolationism. This book will also be of interest to modern day Jeep enthusiasts who want to know something about the early development of the modern-day Jeep 4x4 vehicle that so many outdoors people view as the ultimate macho vehicle. The Original Jeeps in Pictures is not so much a discussion of the development of the first Jeeps as it is a visual salute to those early vehicles.

Review by Larry Sharrar (February 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

The spring and summer of 1940 witnessed the resounding defeat of the French Army and British Expeditionary Force at the hands of a modernized German Army, designed to take advantage of the latest advances in technology. This included mobile vehicles, tanks used in formation to puncture enemy lines, as well as close air support of ground forces. The evacuation of the British from Dunkirk, and the final defeat of their French ally in June 1940, left only a thin line of English fighter planes between that island nation and total defeat.

While events unfolded rapidly in Europe, leaders of the United States Army, decimated by demobilization after World War I and budget cuts during the Great Depression, knew they were completely unprepared for this new type of mobile warfare, called Blitzkrieg or “lightning war.” Experts in the Army had worked from the end of World War I to develop a combined light weapons carrier and command/reconnaissance vehicle—but with limited success. In June 1940 the military compiled a list of requirements for a revolutionary new truck to replace the cart and mule as the Army’s primary method of moving troops and small payloads.

This book tells the story in images of the American Bantam Car Company, Willys-Overland Motors, Inc., and the Ford Motor Company, who all dared to meet the challenge to build pilot models, and eventually production models, of this vehicle. Their journey throughout 1940 and into 1941 comprises a story from which legends come. Overcoming incredible challenges and long odds these firms built the original ¼-ton truck 4x4 “lights”, later known as the iconic Jeep.

Format(s) for review: Paper Only

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 206

Word Count: 8,500

Intrepid Spirit by David Tunno

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MWSA Review

Intrepid Spirit is an engaging thriller set in the contemporary Middle East, where a terrorist fanatic is planning to foment Shiite uprisings across the region. The goal is to alter the balance of power under the leadership of the principal Shiite state, Iran. At the core of the strategy lies a bold move designed to paralyze the ability of the United States to counter the pending Jihad—the kidnaping and assassination of the American Vice President.

The inspirational twist in the story is in placing the USS Constitution, the oldest ship afloat and the oldest commissioned US Navy warship, on a goodwill tour of Mediterranean ports. The ship, known to American sailors as “Old Ironsides,” has just been given a new commanding officer as a consequence of an unfortunate encounter between a US Navy patrol boat and an Iranian corvette. The American vessel had sunk the Iranian ship in an attempt to rescue a group of refugees. The ensuing international brouhaha led to the American boat’s overly aggressive skipper being relieved of his command and sent to a low-profile assignment as the captain of the Constitution.
It is inevitable, however, that the turn of events results in the Constitution being the only US Navy vessel in a position to thwart the Shiite terrorists’ plan.

Author David Tunno has crafted an exciting and innovative story that pits the technology of the early days of our republic against modern-day weaponry in a setting of continuing international tensions.

Review by Ingo Kauffman (March 2023)

 Author's Synopsis

Against orders, navy loose cannon Moses Redding destroys an Iranian patrol boat firing on a refugee vessel, jeopardizing upcoming mid-east peace talks and banishing him to command of 200-year-old USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides," still a commissioned warship, in Italy on a goodwill tour - purgatory for a man of action. Conflicts arise immediately between the disgruntled Redding, his second in command, his crew and Dr. Miriam Hannah, attached to the cruise as a naval historian and top aide to V.P. Virginia Mitchell, point person on the peace talks.

The alpha-male Redding and the alluring, intellectual Dr. Hannah clash from the start, but the mutual attraction is undeniable. Their battle-of-the-sexes romance alternates between intellectual challenges, heated exchanges and touching, often comic moments.

The other woman in Redding's life is Constitution. Known to be haunted, she plays a mysterious supernatural character interceding to affect the arc of Redding and at key moments in the epic battle to come.

A terrorist plot is unveiled by Iranian Colonel Farzad, his Amazonia Guards, a traitorous Egyptian general and a radicalized operative on Mitchell's staff. They abduct the V.P. in Egypt to end the peace talks and launch a world-wide jihad, to be ignited by the V.P's beheading on the 4th of July at a remote location on the Libyan coast.

In a speech to international journalists, Dr. Hannah reminds her audience that the threat from Islam can be traced back hundreds of years, and a lengthy invective from the deliciously evil Farzad reveals the failures of the west to recognize that threat and the current political landscape in the U.S. that aids and abets it.

The plot fools the navy and by chance, only the crew of Constitution know the terrorists are in an ancient fortress near their position, but Redding can't convince the navy. Against orders, he and the crew must foil the plot with nothing but the ships antique weaponry, Redding's brilliant strategy and large doses of bravery in an epic battle on land and sea against the descendants of the ship's historic foes, the Barbary Coast pirates.

Author’s website: https://davidtunno.com/

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 328

Word Count: 88,482

Life on the Dark Side -- Short Stories and Plays by George J. Bryjak

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MWSA Review

Life on the Dark Side by George J. Bryjak is a compilation of short stories and plays that forces readers to question classic notions of good and evil, right and wrong. Covering a wide variety of themes, the author blurs lines between protagonist and antagonist, exploring questions of morality, tragedy, malice, victimization, and predicaments without solutions. 

Each of Bryjak's accounts presents its own well-developed and nuanced characters. Despite a few editing opportunities with typos and punctuation, the format and familiar language make for a fast and thought-provoking read. Strong-stomached readers looking for a stimulating account challenging how we view mankind and the world will find this hard to put down. Sensitive readers may find some scenes overwhelming, and those expecting happy, feel-good endings will be disappointed. The themes and characters blur ethnic, gender, geographical, and historical boundaries: an elderly couple and their assailant, a jealous husband, a girl posing as a Union soldier, a trapped teenager, a young lieutenant in Vietnam faced with a moral dilemma, a young priest in Peru, a black police officer, Nazis, and vengeful survivors, to name a few. 

Does the end justify the means? Can we transcend human nature? When all options are bad, which is best? Is it evil to punish evil? Life on the Dark Side lets the reader ponder these questions, and many others. 

Review by Ingo Kaufman (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

To fully experience the brightness of life one must know its darkness. The fear, hate, rage and despair of that ever-lurking shadow world is exposed with a Hitchcock twist in this collection of short stories and plays.

* A homeless Afghanistan combat veteran finds the streets as unhinged as a war zone.

* An unhappily married man discovers a travel agency offering a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

* A petty thief targets an elderly couple who have their own aims.

* A priest can neither face nor outrun his worst demon.

* A bickering couple visit a fortune teller and learn of a future they could never have imagined.

* A retiring police officer recounts the ominous side of being a black cop.

* Two Nazi concentration camp survivors capture one of their tormentors and give him a choice.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction

Number of Pages: 285

Word Count: 55,651

Moss by Joe Pace

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MWSA Review

In Moss, author Joe Pace relates the story of Oscar Kendall, a prep school literature teacher and son of world-famous, critically-acclaimed writer Isaiah Moss. Oscar struggles with his own writing, compares himself to his father, and gives up on both his writing and relationships with predictable frequency. He prefers to live life with no one expecting anything from him.

Oscar freely admits he hates his father, and Isaiah, through his letters over the years, tells Oscar he never loved him and doesn’t care to know him. Yet when Isaiah dies, he bequeaths his New Hampshire lakeside writing cabin and everything in it to Oscar.

During the summer he spends at the cabin, Oscar finds an unfinished manuscript of his father’s and anguishes about what to do with it. After reading it, he concludes it is Isaiah Moss’s best work in a lifetime of extraordinary writing. Oscar’s dilemma is whether to pass it off as his own to launch his own writing career or relegate it to his father’s legacy.

While at the cabin, Oscar meets the colorful neighbors at the lake and learns their sometimes-tragic stories. He drinks his father’s liquor and, trying to find his own muse, starts to write using his father’s typewriter. Throughout the summer he learns some of his father’s secrets. Learns more about the man he said he hated. Learns more about the neighbors, more about himself. As the new school year begins and Oscar returns to the classroom, he finally realizes the extent of the gift his father gave him.

Mr. Pace’s prose flows beautifully, and his delicious descriptions of people and places create images that will stay in the reader’s mind for a long time. He draws on both literature and mythology for spot-on metaphors, and leaves the reader wanting more.

This book is written for a literate reader, and it does not disappoint. It is a book to read more than once—not only for the story, but also for the beauty of the way it is written.

Review by Patricia Walkow (February 2023)

Author's Synopsis

Isaiah Moss was one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. His illegitimate son Oscar Kendall wasn't. Living in Isaiah's inescapable shadow, Oscar has become an inveterate quitter who hides his own literary work from the world rather than suffer the pain of failure or rejection.

When Isaiah suddenly dies, Oscar inherits the old man's lakefront writing cabin in New Hampshire. There he finds his father's typewriter, a full liquor cabinet, and an unpublished manuscript of such genius that it could launch Oscar's career if he claims it as his own.

As Oscar wrestles with his own twisted inspirations, he meets the women in Isaiah's life and begins to learn the depths of his father's secrets...and the costs that come with unresolved trauma and romantic delusion.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction

Number of Pages: 234

Word Count: 76,414

LST1150 A Lucky Draw by John Wyle

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MWSA Review

College completed, an anticipated career as an architect is interrupted for the author by induction threats into war in Vietnam. John Wyle has choices in the hand he is dealt. Graduate school with the risk of the draft into the unfavorable Army with its inevitable battlefield hardships and possible death or, as recommended by family friends, go Navy now and have a bed and three meals a day aboard ship. The author briefly details his early years’ experiences then begins concentrating accounts with his entry into Navy OCS. Details become more in-depth following his reporting aboard the World War II, LST 1150, USS Sutter County, his first assignment as a new ensign, the junior among eight officers. The officers’ daily poker games become a metaphor for life. Sometimes it is “a lucky draw.” But no matter, as he explains, one must execute with the hand dealt.

The author details his ‘dealt hands’ through a three-year Navy career and how unexpected assignments for which he had no experience, or some he could not even define, along with the people with which he is forced to work, establishes life-long bonding. Maturation for a mid-twenty’s college graduate, suddenly responsible for the lives of others, comes rapidly through meeting the challenges from many unexpected tasks. The greatest emotional impact affecting the author, however, is the combat death of a very close friend from his youth. The shock of this personal tragedy is driven deeper with the author’s assignment to escort his companion’s body home to a grieving pregnant widow and family.

The author brings remarkable accounts of atypical shipboard life aboard this small beach assault ship, with unusual assignments in a war following the war for which it was conceived and built. Some tales are somber to terrifying, and some are downright laugh-out-loud hi-jinks. The greatest lesson Wyle takes from his brief Navy career is the forever bonding of strangers through shared experiences during the brief intense period of war.

Review by Tom Beard (March 2023)
 

Author's Synopsis

This is the story of one man’s journey to manhood, based not on age, but experiences shared with friends who contributed to the evolution. Some of the author’s friendships were lifelong and formative, with others forged during the period leading to and through the Vietnam war.

Unlike so many stories focused on the war itself and the men who fought heroically, this book is about how relationships, most notably with the officers and crew of the USS Sutter County and the wartime culture they formed, brought about a new level of maturity that prepared them to meet the demands of a world in turmoil. It also taught resilience which would later be necessary to engage a much different world than the one that had faced the previous generation. These were experiences that transformed “The Boys of Sutter”, into The Men of the USS Sutter County LST1150.

It is also the story of how young men in the 1960s faced the draft, when on most evenings Vietnam’s escalating body count led on the nightly news. Women faced their own unique challenges to be full participants in American society which at the time did not include service in combat.

The story is told through the eyes of a young man from Alabama who, with his friends, found their way into the military, each with outcomes much different than expected, but all having been subjected to “The luck of the draw”. It is the author’s story of service, first aboard a WWII vintage LST running the rivers and coast of Vietnam, as well as ports throughout the South China Sea. It is a story of camaraderie, where emotions played on the routine of shipboard life, anxiety about the unexpected when in-country, and on occasion, sheer terror. It was where he and his shipmates learned to survive not just physically, but mentally as well … to paraphrase the Beatles … “With a little help from his friends.” And of the author’s friendships, one stands out - Morgan Weed, a best friend from high school who was killed in action and is now memorialized on a black granite wall in Washington DC. There and in the minds of family, friends, and the ones he led to battle, Morgan will remain ever present and honored by a grateful Nation.

From this tale of hi-jinks and fear, the author sums up his thoughts in an epilogue with lessons learned; from fighting a war, to the value of living in an interdependent community with all races and economic strata. He offers his hopes for America’s future which are rooted in service on the USS Sutter County LST 1150, a ship on which the author was lucky to have drawn duty.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 156

Word Count: 60,000

Doolittle's Men by Paul D. Burgess

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MWSA Review

Author Paul D. Burgess makes the drama, bravery, and bravado of the men of the April 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo relatable to everyone.

In Doolittle’s Men, the author focuses on three of sixteen Army aircrews under Doolittle’s command. They knew they would not have enough fuel to return to the USS Hornet as they flew into the unknown, but volunteered for the mission, nonetheless. The author takes us aboard their planes as we follow them through their harrowing takeoff from the carrier, their bombing raid on Tokyo, problems with the airplanes, and the aftermath once they landed at an Allied airbase in China, crashed, or parachuted to land.

Burgess relates the assistance offered by Chinese villagers and missionaries who aided the airmen, offering them whatever medical care they could, providing shelter and food, and leading them through the countryside to safety as Japanese forces relentlessly took China under its control, mile by mile.

The Chinese risked their lives to help, and they were severely punished for it. The women were raped, most of the Chinese who aided the airmen were killed, their livestock was slaughtered, and their villages burned to the ground. The author, sometimes in disturbing detail, depicts the depravities the Japanese conquerors forced on the Chinese population as well as on one captured aircrew.

The pace of the book is riveting. The end of each chapter forces the reader to turn the page. The emotions are genuine. The characters are well-drawn, and the dialog is realistic, ensuring the reader understands the closeness of each five-man crew. Each crew created bonds only those who were there at that time could ever share or fully appreciate.

This book brings the Tokyo raid to life. For those unacquainted with World War II, it provides the context for why Doolittle’s raid was so important during the first year of America’s involvement in the war. It takes the dry facts of history and breathes life into them, as we accompany these men, many of them quite young, on a mission that was a surprise attack on Japanese soil.

We owe these airmen, the Chinese villagers, and the missionaries in China a debt of gratitude for delivering a wake-up call to Japan—a call that made them realize they were not invincible. And Japan’s response to that call revealed the kind of enemy the Allies faced.

Doolittle’s Men is a book worth reading. Though written as a novel, the airmen in the book were real people, living real lives, in an extraordinary time. Their names are in history books. Their fates are in history books, too. Burgess brings them to life for us.

Review by Pat Walkow (February 2023)
 

Author's Synopsis

January, 1942. With Pearl Harbor still smoldering, President Roosevelt seeks to give America hope that all is not lost. The resulting mission called for renowned aviator, Jimmy Doolittle, to lead eighty men in sixteen army bombers off the deck of the carrier, USS Hornet. They would bomb targets in Japan, proceed to allied bases in China, and give America that hope. Almost nothing would go as planned.

In this novelization of the Doolittle raid, we follow three of those sixteen crews as they struggle off the storm-tossed flight deck of the Hornet, attack their targets, and escape against all odds to the Chinese mainland where their most harrowing experiences await.

Doolittle's Men is more than an edge-of-your-seat telling of an iconic war story. It is also an analysis of the human qualities required of those facing unimaginable challenges.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 351

Word Count: 89,500

Stewards of Humanity: Lighting the Darkness in Humanitarian Crisis by Robert Seamus Macpherson

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MWSA Review

Stewards of Humanity is a book that needed to be written. Given the author's 30-year military career, it was especially impactful to read about his experiences and respect for people who do important and often dangerous work, but usually without the benefit of a heavily armed infantry battalion to back them up. As a veteran myself, I always appreciate when people tell me "Thank you for your service." But I always remind people that service doesn't require one to wear a military uniform—there are many who serve, whether as civilian diplomats, teachers, health-care workers, and as the author has so vividly written about, humanitarian workers. Thank you for sharing these stories with us.

Review by Frank Biggio (May 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

Robert Macpherson has been a writer, aid worker, and career infantry officer in the U.S. Marines with service in Vietnam, Iraq, and Somalia. After retiring from the Marines, he joined the humanitarian organization CARE, where he spent fifteen years directing global risk mitigation for staff and vulnerable populations and led humanitarian response missions worldwide.

As a humanitarian worker, he negotiated and coordinated with non-traditional powers such as, paramilitary forces and an assortment of armed local groups and militias who controlled territories where humanitarian organizations wanted to assist. These included the Taliban in Afghanistan and local militias throughout central and east Africa such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Somalia. Throughout this period, he conducted kidnap negotiations in Zimbabwe, southern Sudan, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq. This work resulted in his own abduction in Somalia.

Stewards of Humanity is his debut book. He lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife and service dog, Blue.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Creative Nonfiction

Number of Pages: 288

Word Count: 90,800

The Last Road Trip by James Elsener

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MWSA Review

James Elsener’s The Last Road Trip is a sad commentary on the inability of some professional athletes to make a life plan for their retirement. Fictional mediocre Kenneth “Stub” Rowe finds himself out of a job after his final season with the Cleveland Indians. He decides to take a road trip across America to see what he missed when flying at 30,000 feet to all the cities where he played Major League Baseball for sixteen years. In part he wants to visit old friends in the industry while visiting attractions he missed in the whirlwind of his career. At thirty-six, Stub also wants to find himself and discover skills for continuing his life without baseball. Instead, he finds that he is great at womanizing and drinking, but not reconnecting with his ex-wife and their two kids, or learning any new marketable skills.

Baseball aficionados will likely enjoy the book, but it’s not particularly suitable for young teens. The language and shallow sexual encounters will be off-putting to some adults as well.

Review by Betsy Beard (February 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

Stub Rowe’s mediocre major league baseball career ended with a ground out to the second baseman.  He considered that to be the wimpiest out in baseball.

He had never been a star, but he was considered steady and reliable.  Some team always needed a third baseman with a little pop in his bat…until the years ran out on him. Now it was time to consider what to do with the rest of his life.

Stub had bounced around professional baseball for 16 years. He ran out the string with a couple of unremarkable years with the Cleveland Indians. 

He hadn’t given a lot of thought to retirement. Now it was here staring him in the face.  He wasn’t sure if he had any marketable skills. The years had changed his relationships with people and he began to wonder where he would fit in a life outside baseball.

His ex-wife and children seemed to be getting along fine without him.  He has a few other personal relationships that need some closure as well. 

Stub decides to drive across a country that he had mostly seen from 30,000 feet flying from city to city to play baseball.  He wanted to see sights that he missed and visit old friends along the way.  This would give him time to think about his future. 

He drives from Cleveland to Los Angeles with stops in-between to visit old friends and family or just to be a tourist.  He spends time with his sister and her family including the husband Stub can’t stand.  Then he visits his ex-wife and children who hardly know him.  

His spends time with a former teammate who is a born-again Christian with a picture post card family.  Then he meets up with another ex-teammate who has become a helpless alcoholic. These visits aren’t going exactly the way he thought they would.

Stub eventually reconnects with Katie Riley, a one-legged Iraq War veteran who works for the movie industry.  Things are getting exciting when he gets an emergency phone call from his sister Tina and must head back to the Midwest to deal with family issues and the need to find a real job.     

He had never envisioned himself becoming a baseball lifer and starting all over as a coach and manager in the low minor leagues.  It’s a life of low pay, long bus rides, cheap hotels and babysitting for rookie players. But, it maybe his only option. He starts his new career in baseball the same way he ended his last career – hitting ground balls to the second baseman.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction

Number of Pages: 190

Word Count: 56,000

Advance To Contact: 1980 by Alex Aaronson / James Rosone

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MWSA Review

Advance to Contact: 1980 is the flagship novel in the series of the same name.
It’s 1980.  The Shah may be falling in Iran, and President Carter and his staff are working tirelessly to keep this US ally in place in the volatile Middle East.  When the Soviets invade Afghanistan while at the same time Iranian fanatics storm the US Embassy, tensions flare.

The world knows what actually happened in the aftermath, but authors Alex Aaronson and James Rosone take us on a marvelous alternative history journey of what could have happened, and the realism is shocking.  Using in-depth knowledge of the historical military dispositions and political personalities, the two weave together an incredible story that shows just how bad things could have gotten, with CIA agent Fred Poole doing everything he can to avoid World War III.

This reviewer was continuously impressed with the military accuracy of the vast weapons platforms mentioned on both the east and west sides. At the same time, there are plenty of “raw grunt” moments that show that any soldier has more in common with his enemies than he thinks.  Fans of Dale Brown, the late Tom Clancy, or any military alternative history series will surely find this worth the effort.

Review by Rob Ballister (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

The Cold War threatens to go hot…

…when American hostages are taken in Iran.

Where will this conflict lead?

The Soviets invade Afghanistan, and the governments of Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev jockey for position on the international stage. CIA operative Fred Poole races against the clock to decode the pieces of a Soviet puzzle that could lead to war.

Will he be too late?

US Marines and Soviet paratroopers advance to contact with the enemy on battlefields across the globe, from the jungles of Central America to the deserts of the Middle East.

Can Poole and his ragtag team untangle the Soviet plans?

Or will skirmishes turn into a global nightmare?

You’ll love this gripping opener of the Soviet Endgame alternate history series because the history you remember takes a turn you never expected.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 329

Word Count: 119924

A Girl's Guide to Military Service: Selecting Your Speciality, Preparing for Success, Thriving in Military Life by Amanda Huffman

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MWSA Review

A Girl’s Guide to Military Service by Amanda Huffman is a must-read for any young woman considering a future in military service. Ms. Huffman walks the reader through the history of each service branch and what they have to offer. She challenges the reader to seek within themselves what they really want for their future and explores that with them. The pros and cons of life in the military are laid out—touching every facet, from basic training and benefits to challenges women still face.

There are testaments from many female service members (past and present) on the issues and stresses they experienced during their careers. The advice they give is worth its weight in gold. The book is a straightforward factual roadmap for joining the military. The author poses deep and insightful questions throughout the book, which dare readers to consider the consequence of each decision they make.

A Girl’s Guide to Military Service is insightful and encouraging. The author provides further resources at every turn and helps navigate the alphabet soup of acronyms of the military. I highly recommend this book to any young woman who feels the military life might be for her.

Review by Sandi Cathcart (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

For any young woman considering a job or career in the military.

With information, tips, and perspective gathered from a variety of women who serve, this introductory guide will help you:

- Discern if military service is the right choice for you

- Evaluate enlisting or commissioning as an officer

- Select a service branch and career field

- Prepare for training, mentally and physically

- Integrate personal life, relationships, and motherhood with military service

- Manage stress and increasing mental toughness

- Navigate unique challenges as a woman in the military

- Thrive in your military career!

Applicable for enlisted and officer careers in any US Armed Forces service branch and type of service commitment, including:

- Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, Space Force

- Active duty, National Guard, Reserves

"... a solid, factual, and practical guide to help young women make a major life decision with confidence ... Strongly recommended."

—Mari K Eder, Major General, US Army (Ret)

"... a perfect guide to help any woman considering life in uniform get straight talk on how it all works ..."

—Jose Velazquez, Sergeant Major, US Army Public Affairs (Ret)

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Young Adult (fiction or non-fiction)

Number of Pages: 176

Word Count: 48,498

Red Markers: The Rest of the Story by Gary N. Willis

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MWSA Review

This is the story of U.S. Air Force pilots and enlisted ground crews performing the Forward Air Control (FAC) mission for the Republic of Vietnam military during the Vietnam War. Artillery and airstrikes in the vicinity of friendly ground troops has always been a perilous operation, especially before our current era of precision guided munitions, GPS, and secure communications. While artillery spotting from aircraft started in World War I, faster aircraft introduced during the Korean War led to development of the FAC concept, which reached a peak during the Vietnam War. The Red Markers operated in isolation and in austere environments, with U.S. Army advisors and Special Forces among the Vietnamese airborne troops. This is the second of two books by the author on the Red Markers and builds on the first book with further information on operations with the Vietnamese airborne troops. Through this story, the reader obtains a unique perspective on the major battles and campaigns of the Vietnam War. Five appendices provide a glossary and rosters of the offices and enlisted who served with the Red Markers, as well as other interesting information. This book makes a great reference for this chapter in U.S. Air Force history that is little known but serves as an outstanding example of service and sacrifice during the Vietnam War.

Review by Terry Lloyd (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

Red Markers: The Rest of the Story is a sequel to Red Markers, Close Air Support for the Vietnamese Airborne, 1962-1975, published in 2012. The Rest of the Story expands on the history of the Red Marker FAC detachment with more stories about the 175 airmen who served in the unit. It includes accounts from U.S. Army advisors in MACV Team 162 who fought alongside the Vietnamese Airborne for more than a decade. It also chronicles support provided by other forward air controllers and from Medevac, Cobra gunship, and field artillery units. Stories include the opening hours of the Cambodian Incursion in 1970, the daring rescue of a downed Medevac crew, and fierce battles by the Airborne during the Easter Offensive of 1972. A chapter on Dumb Things in the War Zone captures a lighter side of the unit history. The final story covers the shipboard escape of hundreds of South Vietnamese led by a Catholic seminary student.

Format(s) for review: Paper Only

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 304

Word Count: 100,959