Lash-Up

While I am only half way through this book, I am confident that my review would not change after finishing it. Larry Bond writes a crackling good thriller--every time. The Chinese have developed a "gun" big enough to take out our satellites orbiting in space. Once we realize this, the race is on to find a way to defeat it. Civilian engineer Ray McConnell works hard to develop a space defender and the story takes off.
I love the way Bond adds lots of technology, both military and industrial. I am not particularly savvy about technology, but have no trouble following the details. Bond makes things clear.
I also like the way he develops his characters and keeps all the plot lines going. The characters are three-dimensional;they could be real people. And I like the way they have doubts and worries, but do their best. They are American heroes.

This book is absolutely amazing. It is riveting at every stage. From the beginning of the spacecraft's creation to the final battle of the book, every page makes you want to keep reading. The very deep technical detail in this book makes you feel very immersed in the story. Every little detail from the composition of its fuel cells to the exact amount of fuel used in the vessel's weapons, to the exact banter used by the military personnel is incredibly accurate.

I'll admit this appeals to me more as an aerospace engineer, but nevertheless it's a great read. Great premise that was interesting, based on actual existing technologies, but probably appeals more to the technically minded readers.

Nothing wrong with Lash-Up, but I just have always loved big army stories that combine massive conflict with several involved parties; a soldier on the line, a general, a politician. It is a familiar pattern, I know, but that is what I like best. Lash-Up had to spend more time on people-drama, because the battles were much less of the book.

C'mon. China secretly develops a huge gun, buried in a mountain no less, that can shoot down US GPS satellites, thus neutering the US advantages in precision weapons. And uses the presumed temporary advantage to invade Vietnam. But a rogue aerospace engineer and his circle of friends quickly develop a plan to pull from mothballs the Venture Star (think super space shuttle), circulate said plan within the defense community, get the Presidents backing, take over a section of Edwards AFB, spool up the space plane, modify it with a custom sensor suite and weapons, train a crew including our protagonist who've never been to space, launch, and save the day by shooting down the Chinese ASAT weapons and then bombing their launching gun from space...all in 70 days....

There is also a Chinese spy, and the most unconvincing romance in history between the rogue Engineer and a Navy officer who must be 20 years his junior.

Minimal technical details, lots of unconvincing bureaucratic problems (and even less likely solutions)... It starts slow but gets better and did a nice job of filling up a long flight, but this is a very poor book. Bond has written much better.

great read

Love Larry Bond.

If you're looking for some mindless summer reading (or mindless fall reading, or mindless winter reading, etc.) this is a good book. Essentially, I think it is what computer programmers, design engineers, project managers, finance and accounting team members, and others of similar ilk -- it's kind of what they dream of. The plot is pretty simple really -- China decides it's time to flex it's muscle in a greater part of Asia, and builds a really, really big gun to shoot down U.S. GPS satellites. That causes problems in the U.S. ability to monitor real-time developments on the ground. But -- yippy-k-yi-oh!! -- a programmer named Ray (like, what else?) whose hobby is following unfolding geo-political developments on a large video screen in his living room, knows just what to do.

So, he calls in all his buddies with expertise in just the right areas, who work around the clock to gin up a re-design of a shelved aerospace project, then network the you-know-what out of it to get the big-wigs interested, who give it a go-ahead, and Ray ends up on the design team, and is actually the project manager, and everything works out in the end, after overcoming one administrative catastrophe after another, spies, inter-agency competition, and a host of other "project development" challenges. Ray actually ends up getting to fly into space on the thing, and helps save the world. Best of all -- they come in under budget, on time, a great on-site safety record, and he gets the girl.

Like I said, it's what they dream about. But, hey! We all gotta dream, right? It's a fun read.

Plausible story line, great suspense in a military setting, set slightly in the future but totally feasible.
Enjoyed this Larry Bond novel very much; well worth the price.