The Empty Quarter (A USAF Pararescue Thriller, 2)

I'm a retired Pararescue and the current PJ'S are this good.

Better than the first book, which I also gave 5 stars. All characters are wonderful, but I was particularly happy to meet Nadya. Nothing like throwing a smart and principled Saudi princess in the mix. Normally not one to read serial books, I have changed my mind with this series and will be disappointed when it ends. It was great to encounter LB and Wally again, but in a completely different adventure, and I loved the addition of Berkowitz to the team. As with The Devil's Waters, I expect to see this on the big screen. It's a rare piece that would work well both places, and Mr. Robbins has accomplished that task. But the book, of course, will always be better.

The Empty Quarter is the second book in a series that was introduced to me by my sister-in-law. I chose to read this series originally to have a book club with my sister-in-law who lives 16 hours away from me. Quickly as I read the first book (The Devil's Waters) I was immersed into the characters and situations they faced. The Empty Quarter was no different. It is a beautifully written story and I was able to connect with all the characters. It has given me a very different perspective into another culture and group of individuals who I did not know much about. As I said in my review, I fell in love with the PJ's and continue to have much love for the character LB! I highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading the third book in the series, The Devil's Horn.

This is the second book I have read by the author. The empty quarter is an excellent book and a fantastic continuation of the Guardian Angel series. Be prepared for a great look at the the way a group of PJs work with each other to save others. For anyone that is a fan of military literature or the USAF this is a must read. Once you get just past the midway point be prepared to have to finish it in one sitting it is riveting.

I've read all of Robbins' works. He writes as he teaches; lean and mean. No wasted words. The readers are provided with a blend of history, technological action and fully developed characters; all in a believable setting in a region totally foreign to most. Robbins skillfully weaves the emotion of love into a sea of gore; be it a husband's love for his wife or a soldier for the brothers at his side.
The action grabs the reader and doesn't let go from the first page to the last. Robbins develops the characters so well the readers become anxious for the next book.
All of David L. Robbins books should be national best sellers. THE DEVILS' WATERS, THE EMPTY QUARTER AND BROKEN JEWEL should be on the big screen.

Excellent story, kept me interested. Not my usual genre.

just read this book and was so impressed by the amount of research that had to be done to write this. Loved the insight into Middle Eastern culture as well as info about military missions. Great character development too. I'll definitely be reading the Devil's Horn now.

What an exciting adventure combining military and medical thriller elements! It takes place in the Rub’ al-Khali, the world’s largest desert (“the empty quarter”), which occupies most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula. People are scarce there, except for the ones you most do not want to meet.
It’s a multiple point-of-view novel, told mostly from the perspectives of members of a U.S. Air Force pararescuemen (PJs) team. PJs’ combined military-medical mission is personnel recovery, and they use both conventional and unconventional combat rescue methods. The motto of this branch of service is “That Others May Live,” and Robbins effectively describes the team members’ dedication to that mission, despite their differences in personality and temperament.
We also read the point of view of Arif, a middle-aged Saudi man whose wife Nadya is a member of the Saudi royal family. Her father, Prince Hassan bin Abd al-Aziz is the country’s head of security. Arif has fallen out with his father-in-law, and he and Nadya are in hiding in the tiny Yemeni town of Ma’rib. Robbins portrays their mutual devotion quite movingly. A third key point of view is that of Josh Cofield, a former Army Ranger, assigned to the American Embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana’a. Everyone, the ambassador included, erroneously believes Josh is CIA, because he is “awkward as a diplomat,” a bit of a bull in a china shop, but a skilled speaker of Arabic.
When an attempt is made on Prince Aziz’s life, he mistakenly blames the exiled Arif. He wants his son-in-law dead and his daughter returned to him, and he wants U.S. help in achieving these goals He cannot get it, however, unless an American life is threatened. A plan begins to take shape in diabolical minds.
A wild nighttime chase across the desert occupies the last half of the book. Part of Robbins’s skill is in avoiding making any of the principal players obvious bad guys. They’re complex characters with conflicting goals, and all doing their best to resolve an impossible situation. I appreciated that the book includes helpful maps. Not as helpful—and something readers are bound to object to—is the frequent use of military abbreviations and acronyms. While Robbins defines a few of these in footnotes, it might have been better to have a list in an appendix or to retain the abbreviations in speech, but not rely on them as much in the narrative. It would be a shame if readers abandoned a top-notch tale because of the resulting confusion. Robbins has 10 other novels under his body armor. I’ll be reading more of them!

Great story. Learned a lot about that area of the world too.

Great book.