Book picks similar to
Black Star Rising by Robert Gandt


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military-fiction
aviation
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Harpoon


Matthew Willis - 2019
     Clydesdale is on the brink of becoming an ace. The only trouble is that he shouldn't be. Blind luck, mistakes and politics have seen him awarded with four of the five kills he needs. As the convoy Operation 'Harpoon' heads into the Western Mediterranean with only a handful of worn-out fighters to protect it, the eyes of the Navy and the press are on him. And soon, the eyes - and guns - of the enemy will be too. Six ships carry vital supplies, without which Malta cannot survive the Axis onslaught. The ageing carrier HMS Eagle, with its complement of battered Hawker Sea Hurricanes and their overworked pilots, must face legions of German and Italian bombers, all desperate to send the transports to the bottom of the Mediterranean. 'Harpoon' is the first book in a series chronicling the struggle of the Royal Navy's 'few' to protect the island fortress of Malta in the dark days of 1942. "Harpoon gets into the cockpit and inside the skin of a WW2 pilot. Willis has written a tale of triumph - and redemption. The author has used his intimate knowledge of the period to serve as a backdrop to a human - and thrilling - war story." Richard Foreman, author of Warsaw. Matthew Willis grew up near the historic port of Harwich and seaplane station at Felixstowe, developing a lifelong obsession with flying and the sea. He worked as a motorsport journalist and media relations officer before becoming a full time writer in 2011. His books include the epic novels of the Norman Conquest 'An Argument of Blood' and 'A Black Matter for the King' co-written with JA Ironside, and the novelette 'The Battle of Alma'.

Lions of the Sky


Paco Chierici - 2019
    A Top Gun for the new millennium, LIONS OF THE SKY propels us into a realm in which friendship, loyalty, and skill are tested, battles won and lost in an instant, and lives irrevocably changed in the time it takes to plug in your afterburners. Sam Richardson is a fighter pilot’s pilot, a reluctant legend with a gut-eating secret. He is in the last span of his tour as an instructor, yearning to get back to the real action of the Fleet, when he is ordered to take on one last class—a class that will force him to confront his carefully quarantined demons. Brash, carefree, and naturally gifted, Keely Silvers is the embodiment of all that grates on him. After years of single-minded dedication, she and her classmates can see the finish line. They are months away from achieving their life-long dream, flying Navy F/A-18 fighters. They are smart and hard-working, but they’re just kids with expensive new toys. They’re eager to rush through training and escape to the freedom of the world beyond, a world they view as a playground full of fast jets and exotic locales. But Sam knows there is a darker side to the profession he loves. There is trouble brewing in the East with global implications. If they make it past him they will be cast into a dangerous world where enemy planes cruise the skies over the South China Sea like sharks, loaded with real weapons and hidden intentions. Early Praise for Lions of the Sky Paco Chierici has written a humdinger of a book. Through vividly drawn characters, he takes us inside a Navy fighter squadron showing their incredibly difficult day to day lives, including the obstacles women still face in this tight knit community. ...a terrific window into a world very few people see. —The Honorable Ray Mabus, 75th United States Secretary of the Navy Lions of the Sky is gripping, fast paced, and authentic. If you want a real, edge of the envelope thriller, look no further! — Brandon Webb former Navy SEAL, pilot and New York Times Bestselling author. I was BLOWN away! Paco put me right back in the cockpit and the Ready Room. Lions of the Sky is intense, and personal, and thrilling, especially the ending. A must read! —Lea Gabrielle. Journalist and F/A-18 Naval Aviator Francesco “Paco” Chierici made flying some of the U.S. Navy’s most treacherous fighters look easy. But it’s his deep and lasting infatuation with that deadly aerial artistry — and his ability to describe it so accurately and vividly – that set him apart as an aviator, a documentary film producer, and writer. Paco’s eye for detail, salty irreverence, and skill as both an aviator and a writer, make this fictional work very real. Strap in for an unforgettable ride. — Dave Hirschman, Author of Hijacked – The True Story of the Heroes of Flight 705, and AOPA Pilot Editor at Large An experienced fighter pilot, Paco Chierici knows what he’s writing about here. Fans of military fiction, strap into your favorite ejection seat and get ready for a high speed, G-pulling, missile-shooting thrill ride. — Ward Carroll, author of Punk’s War, Punk’s Wing, and Punk’s Fight Paco Chierici’s debut novel is an unforgettable story of pride, lust, loss, betrayal and redemption...set today in a carrier-based fighter squadron in combat. Timely and gripping, Lions of the Sky is an exciting supersonic techno-thriller with well-written g-spikes of human drama that kept me turning the pages.

Flying Low


B.K. Bryans - 2012
    Navy fighter/attack pilot from 1956 to 1980. (What it was like to fly jets off aircraft carriers in the days before smart bombs, GPS, and automated carrier landing systems.) After two years at the University of Arizona, the author entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in Pensacola, Florida, and became a carrier-qualified jet pilot at age twenty. As a naval aviator, he flew 3,669 hours in thirteen different types of aircraft, made 652 carrier landings (163 of them at night), and flew 183 combat missions during the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and thirteen Air Medals. He went on to command Attack Squadron 35 aboard USS Nimitz.This is the story.

Torpedo Run


Robb White - 1962
    Navy PT boat, the Slewfoot, is off the coast of New Guinea during World War II. The new captain can only operate "by the book" which causes deep resentment and even mutiny, resulting in a test of wills.

Surprise Battle: A Different Outcome


Thomas Trimble - 2020
    He is the Captain of the USS Joseph Kane, a 2015 Virginia Class, Fast Attack Nuclear Submarine. The strange force has taken the boat and all the crew back to 1942 in the middle of WWII. In fact, the Navy Command at the time, not even knowing what a nuclear submarine is, ordered him into the middle of the battles near Guadalcanal during the amphibious landings. Starting with the Battle of Savo Island which in history was a harsh loss of brave Allied sailors. What will the outcome of the new battles be and will this cause the possible paradox in time? Come with Captain Richey and the crew and travel into an Alternate History.

The Malazan Empire Series: (Night of Knives, Return of the Crimson Guard, Stonewielder, Orb Sceptre Throne, Blood and Bone, Assail)


Ian C. Esslemont - 2017
    It was also prophesied that this night would witness the return of Emperor Kellanved, and there are those prepared to do anything to prevent this from happening…Ian C. Esslemont co-created the world of Malaz with his friend Steven Erikson, and Esslemont’s Novels of the Malazan Empire are set in the same world as Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen.Other Tor books by Ian C. EsslemontPath to Ascendancy Dancer’s Lament Deadhouse Landing Other books in the world of Malaz by Steven Erikson Malazan Book of the Fallen Gardens of the Moon Deadhouse Gates Memories of Ice House of Chains Midnight Tides The Bonehunters Reaper’s Gale Toll the Hounds Dust of Dreams The Crippled God The Kharkanas Trilogy Forge of Darkness Fall of Light Walk in Shadow* At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Legions of the Forest


Mark L. Richards - 2014
    Varus, a lawyer and former governor of Syria, has frighteningly little experience as a military leader. He is resolved to prove himself as one, nevertheless. He believes the Germanic people to be conquered. He is wrong.His ranks are filled with seasoned veterans and novices alike, the latter of which includes Lucius, a young man whose conscription into the Roman imperial legions represents only the first step in his epic, and terrifying, destiny.Valerius Maximus, a young Roman tribune, enters the legions of the Rhine as well—only to find that the danger he anticipated from abroad actually lies within his own ranks. The vicious politics of the officer corps prove to be more treacherous.Meanwhile, German nobleman Arminius lies in wait, preparing for the inevitable appearance of the Roman legions and growing in his determination to liberate his people from Rome’s rule at any cost.The fates of these men soon converge in a bloody battle that will decide the course of their countries…and their lives. The Germanic foes spring a monstrous ambush in a driving rain storm. The future of Western civilization turns in the blink of an eye.

Claws of Steel (S.S. Wotan Dogs of War Series)


Leo Kessler - 1974
    They had taken the most impregnable fortress in Europe, faced Stalin's cadets in the screaming inferno of the Russian front, and returned with only a handful of survivors. They were Hitler's elite, dedicated, relentless men, for whom death held no fear, Assault Regiment Wotan. Their next mission was a lightening blow at Kursk in the very heart of Soviet Russia. As they advanced across the burning steppes after the fall of Stalingrad, the men of Wotan found the bodies of German soldiers, hanged, tortured, and mutilated, and they swore they would not leave Russian soil until they had taken their revenge.

Battle Stations: A heart-stoppingly realistic military thriller


Roger Jewett - 1988
    

In Every Clime and Place


Patrick LeClerc - 2014
    Always Faithful. The motto of the United States Marine Corps. Words to live by. On the ragged edges of civilization, Corporal Michael Collins has lived those words, taking on riots and evacuations, rebels and terrorists. Asteroid belt patrol is just another deployment. Ninety nine percent boredom, one percent terror. But soon the platoon of Marines find themselves entangled in the threads of a conspiracy of corporate greed, government corruption, piracy, and a band of war criminals. As the fire team leader struggles with tensions in the close knit unit, Collins and his fellow Marines find themselves outnumbered in a pitched battle to stop a corrupt land grab that seems right out of the Old West, but on a new, wider, more unforgiving frontier. And now he must confront the harsh demands of being “always faithful.” Semper Fi. Words to live by. Words to die by. Time to earn that combat pay, Marines. Welcome to the Suck. And remember, you volunteered for this. Patrick LeClerc has crafted a tense, military action adventure on the edge of civilization: Earth’s mining colonies in the asteroid belt. “In Every Clime and Place” combines the spirit of classic s/f of Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers” or David Drake’s “Hammer’s Slammers” with the isolated, small unit grunt’s eye view intimacy of George MacDonald Fraser’s “Quartered Safe Out Here.” "In Every Clime and Place” is a frontier land grab; a tale of government corruption and corporate piracy, and a near future Marine science fiction story, told with gritty authenticity, gallows humor and raw emotion, evoking the closeness and isolation of a small unit deployed to the distant edge of a bleak and dangerous frontier. BOOK REVIEW Set some 60 years in the future, this impressive, fast-paced novel is as much ‘Semper fi’ as it is sci-fi. The convincing story centers on the hard-hitting law and order role of the USMC in dealing with organized commercial pirates causing mayhem on planet Mars. The plot’s development is cleverly stage-managed by the author (a former US Marine) From the very first page, authenticity is the dominant hallmark of this exciting and very readable book. Don’t expect to read this novel a chapter at a time, last thing at night and then drop off to sleep. I found it impossible to put down. This book demanded and held my attention. The very believable characters live off the pages. They, their gritty Service dialogues and the battle scenes are all USMC through and through. Long before that iconic US Marine legend, Chesty Puller, was mentioned in the story, I was sold on this book’s authenticity and the author’s credibility. I thoroughly recommend it as an absorbing, exciting read. It has, too, the makings of a great film. -Mike Williams, Royal Marine, SBS, Author of The Tremayne Trilogy

Vengeance; at Midway and Guadalcanal (Aviator #2)


Leland Shanle - 2006
    World War II experienced from the cockpits of fighter aircraft, and through the eyes of men trapped in island Tropical Hells. Written by a retired Naval Aviator and former Paratrooper; the author puts the reader in the F-4F Wildcat and jungle, as warriors engage in a titanic struggle around the globe. A diverse and rich cast of characters reveal the sacrifice and frustrations of war. A no holds bar accounting of the actual battles, shown through the eyes of the novels characters, uncovers mistakes and even incompetence at the highest levels. Vengeance shows the disastrous results of these decisions, on the lowest common denominator; the war fighter. Closely following the actual battles of Midway and Guadalcanal the reader gets an insider’s view so vivid the smell of cordite will hang in the air. A rare perspective written by an author that flew modern fighters over the historic battlefields, even from the decks of aircraft carriers that fought in the Pacific. A riveting story, Vengeance tells of the impact at an individual level, a personal level; of an entire world at war. From the struggles of a young man in Officer Candidate School facing down a sadistic Drill Instructor; to entire fleets engaging in War At Sea. Vengeance will pull back the curtain of historical perspective and frame it in reality. The harsh reality will come as a shock to readers who have read of great victories. But know little of the tremendous cost; like fifteen hundred sailors lost in a single nights battle, all five of the Sullivan brothers among them. To the soldier, sailor or airman: war is about the small unit they are a part of and the struggle not only to stay alive, but protect their comrades. Sometimes, even to avenge their deaths. Shanle's latest novel; End Game in the Pacific, will be released in the new year.

Hard Drop


Will van der Vaart - 2013
    Their objective is classified, marked only by coordinates leading them into a deserted city at the heart of the fighting. From the beginning, everything possible goes wrong. A missile strike rocks the carrier mid-launch, and only a fraction of the unit reaches the surface alive.Outmanned, outgunned, and scattered, with a hard deadline to orbital bombardment looming, it is up to Drop Commander Tyco Hale to rally his troops and reach their objective. But what they find, hidden deep in the tunneled passages under the city, will change everything about what he fights for and what he believes in. With the unit in tatters and loyalties divided, the choice he makes in the dark will seal all of their fates - and much more besides.