Book picks similar to
The Killing Sky by Robert Gandt


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military-fiction
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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.

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'.

Project Queen II


Teresa D. Patterson - 2010
    When she enters their lives, she brings along chaos and mayhem. She desperately seeks the love that her mother, a woman who cares more for drugs than her own flesh and blood, couldn’t give. She only knows how to show and feel love by opening her legs. A night that begins as partying and fun turns into horror. The events that transpire blacken Della’s heart. She vows that the pain inflicted upon her will be inflicted back on her attackers. She will pay them all back - with a vengeance. What happens when her obsession with getting even causes her to spiral out of control?

The William Kent Krueger Collection #3: Thunder Bay, Red Knife, and Heaven's Keep


William Kent Krueger - 2014
    The past and present collide along the rocky shores of Thunder Bay, where a father's unconditional love is tested by a son's deeply felt resentment, and where jealousy and revenge remain the code among men.Red Knife: The daughter of a powerful businessman dies as a result of her meth addiction; her father, strong-willed and brutal, vows revenge. His target is the Red Boyz, a gang of Native American youths accused of supplying the girl's fatal drug dose. When the leader and his wife are murdered, the gang mobilizes, and the citizens of Tamarack County brace themselves for war, white against red.Heaven’s Keep: Intrepid hero Cork O’ Connor faces the most harrowing mission of his life when a charter plane carrying his wife, Jo, goes missing in a snowstorm over the Wyoming Rockies.

The Hill


Leonard B. Scott - 1989
    Point man for his platoon. Jason is the favored one: a football hero picked for officer training school who leads his men into a slaughter ground from which most of them will never return. Ty and Jason -- Oklahoma brothers different in character, yet close in soul -- are about to meet in the Battle of Dak To, upon the blood-drenched sides of Hill 875.

Thompson Sisters Boxed Set: Volume 1


Charles Sheehan-Miles - 2013
    This boxed set edition contains the complete text of three bestselling novels by Charles Sheehan-Miles: A Song for Julia Just Remember to Breathe The Last Hour A Song for Julia Everyone should have something to rebel against.Crank Wilson left his South Boston home at sixteen to start a punk band and burn out his rage at the world. Six years later, he's still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn't ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job.The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father's career and dominating her family's life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she's haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy.When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart. Just Remember to Breathe Alex Thompson's life is following the script. A pre-law student at Columbia University, she's focused on her grades, her life and her future. The last thing she needs is to reconnect with the boy who broke her heart.Dylan Paris comes home from Afghanistan severely injured and knows that the one thing he cannot do is drag Alex into the mess he's made of his life.When Dylan and Alex are assigned to the same work study program and are forced to work side by side, they have to make new ground rules to keep from killing each other.The only problem is, they keep breaking the rules.The first rule is to never, ever talk about how they fell in love. The Last Hour Twenty-seven year old Carrie Thompson-Sherman has the life she always wanted: her PhD, a prestigious fellowship, and an amazing husband.Her charmed life begins to unravel as a jealous colleague puts her fellowship in jeopardy and a hideous secret Ray carried home from Afghanistan comes to light. Hanging on by a single thread, a disastrous accident puts both her husband and her sister's lives at risk. Heartbroken, Carrie will be faced with the most devastating choice of her life.A choice that will change everything.

Scars


Brian Andrews - 2020
    Discover the story of Dempsey's first encounter with Mahmood Bin Jabbar (the villain in WAR SHADOWS) and learn how Dempsey got his iconic serpentine scar.With SCARS, Andrews & Wilson are launching the first installment in a new series of novellas called TIER ONE ORIGINS. Each short features a different Tier One character during a pivotal event in their past before joining Task Force Ember.

North SAR: A Novel of Navy Combat Pilots in Vietnam


Gerry Carroll - 1991
    . . chock full of the real stuff (Stephen Coonts)--as seen through the eyes of the Navy Combat SAR (Search and Rescue) helicopter pilots who flew many of the most dangerous missions of the war. Tom Clancy, who provides the introduction, calls North S.A.R. the best novel I have ever read.

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.

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

Attack on Nantucket


Thad Dupper - 2017
     A modern-day, Clancy-like thriller -- the US president, Nantucket, a terrorist plot and the US Navy. An adrenaline ride with great authenticity. Andrew Russell, the 46th president of the United States, along with his wife and two young children have brought back a Kennedy-era feeling of Camelot to the White House. President Russell and his family are spending another vacation on the beautiful island of Nantucket. After three years of planning, the Islamic Front has embedded terrorist cells on the island in preparation for the arrival of President Russell and his family. With the resources of the US Navy at the ready -- the President, an ex-naval aviator, responds to the attack on his family with the focus, determination and aggressiveness that made him one of the best fighter pilots in the Fleet. The people of Nantucket, descendants of hardy New England stock, along with the combined military and intelligence assets of the US Government are about to be challenged by the events unleashed on the tiny picturesque island. Nantucket serves as the backdrop for this larger-than-life techno-thriller.