And now it starts. The book that will restore your faith in pulp novels. The series I have been wanting to review since I started this thing, but always decided against for reasons unknown. The...you know what, let's just get into it before I burst with anticipation.
Now, anyone care to remember how we opened Out of the Ashes? Well, for those of you who can't or don't want to, it was to something along these lines: "Ben Raines drinks himself into a stupor because American politics aren't to his liking". I think I know what Johnstone was attempting there; he was trying to make Raines into a kind of fallen hero. But really, in a series like Ashes, it doesn't work. I read stuff like this to have fun, and a depressed, drunken fascist is really not my idea of fun. But I've talked long enough about the many ways in which Out of the Ashes sucked; let's talk about the far superior novel I'm focusing on now.
Total War opens with John Rourke leading a group of twelve Pakistani soldiers against a group of opium smugglers. The smugglers, of course, fight back, leading to a very nice fight scene. THIS is how you open this kind of action novel; you establish your character as a badass from the get-go. Just from this one scene, we can already tell a few things about Rourke. For starters, he's a leader, as demonstrated by the fact that he's at the head of this strike force. Next, that he's brave; he's physically at the front, leading the strike force into the fight, charging a group of armed men. Third off, that he has some tactical sense, as the narration (which, as he is our viewpoint character, I assume is a sort of look into Rourke's mind) both cover for the smugglers and for Rourke's team, and he's had the sense to bring in surprise backup in the form of a machine gun-equipped truck. Finally, that he's a freaking action hero. For instance, after the smugglers reveal their own machine-gun truck, Rourke bravely charges it (from behind, admittedly, showing that he's not a brave idiot), managing to take out the gunner just before the man can gutshoot him.
So far, so good. The smugglers are defeated, only two of Rourke's men are killed, and all is well with the universe. In that one scene, we've covered all the necessary requirements for the opening of a good action novel. We've introduce the main character, and established his badass credentials. We've introduced his signature weapons (Aherns had a major love affair with certain weapons, I'm told, and takes the time to spell out exactly what make and model gun Rourke uses. It would be annoying, but somehow, it actually works). And, thankfully enough, we don't have a lot of the gorn Johnstone loved. Admittedly, there is some; for instance, at one point one of the smuggler's trucks explode and there's a hail of bloody limbs, but I'd say that that level of gorn is par for the course. I can handle a certain level from an action book, especially if you're going for the gritty, down-to-earth feel. I'm a big fan of Joel Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame series, which does tend to describe the deaths to some degree, but it doesn't over-describe it. But I'll get to those books later. Back to Total War!
It's now that we first get introduced to Rourke as a character, when he's chatting with a Pakistani, Captain Mohammad, after the fight. One of the first things I noticed was Ahern's handling of the race and culture issues. In Ashes, Johnstone repeatedly stated his character's racial views, almost as if he had to convince himself that Raines was not a racist. With Rourke, however, we just get that impression immediately. Both in his interactions with the Pakistani Muslim Mohammad and the Jewish Paul Rubenstein later on, Rourke acts in a casual manner, never making an issue of differences in race and creed that seems to be bothering everyone in Ashes so much. That immediately endeared me to him after the Ashes experience. We also see here that he's more than his badassery; he wants to smoke his favorite brand of cigars after the fight, probably because it steadies him. Stuff like that is what I love; it shows me that he's human. Again, Raines did not; he killed people, he acted out his philosophies on life, and he occasionally stopped to meet new and increasingly unimportant characters. That's it. We didn't have any real character-building moments for him. We get more for Rourke in this one appearence than we do for Raines in his entire book.
So Rourke is forced to return to the States. After giving a speech to his men, expressing his desire to see them all again some day and setting up a new team leader, he departs. Mohammad accompanies him, and they share some exposition. Amazingly enough, it's not boring. We learn that Rourke is a survivalist and makes his living teaching counter-terrorist tactics; that he used to work for the CIA; that he's worked in Latin America with anti-communist groups. We also get another peek at his badass creds; after his team in Latin America was wiped out, he survived for the better part of two months with just a gun or two and a bayonet, eventually making his way back to the US. Awesome. During the banter, we also learn that Rourke fears that the world's going to collapse any day now. This is what motives his interests in survivalism, and it also puts his several leagues above Ben Raines. Why? Because, when Raines was convinced his country was going to collapse, he became a drunk. When Rourke becomes convinced his world was going to collapse, he started training himself to survive it. Even, as we'll see later, at the cost of his wife's good graces.
So, on their way to return Rourke home, Mohammad and Rourke check a Pakistani outpost at the border of Afghanistan in the Khyber Pass, which was at this point a Soviet satellite state. The military lost contact with the post a while back, and are beginning to worry. As the duo and their chopper approach the outpost, they see perhaps the worst site either can imagine; there is a freakin' Soviet army marching through the Pass. The two flee report the news, and we switch viewpoints to the group of soldiers Rourke had just been working with. They're watching as the Soviets advance, and agonizing over what to do. If they fight, they'll all die, but if they run, they'll be failing in their duties to protect their nation. The man Rourke appointed leader, Ahmed, leads his men into a suicide mission to delay the Soviets and allow their people more time to prepare. Before this, we get a rather emotional scene of Ahmed taking his last smoke and saying goodbye to his wife's picture, which was actually very emotional for me. Of course, the soldiers all die in, again, a very emotional scene, but they do manage to cause some damage and some delay. Hats off to you, brave sirs.
...
Dear Lord, did I just salute minor characters? Well, yeah. Like I said in my introduction, Aherns is good at creating characters you want to care about. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to wipe my eyes before I finish this...
Okay, all better. Moving on.
We switch viewpoints again to Ambassador George Stromburg, the US ambassador to the USSR. He's woken up at 3 am to learn about the invasion of Pakistan and the US's rather explosive planned response if the Premier doesn't agree to call it off. Stromburg goes to meet the Premier, who despite sitting in the villain shadows and being the man who's about to start WW3, we also find ourselves...if not liking, then not hating, either. The pair dance around each other, until they finally come out in the open with it. The Russians believe that invading Pakistan to make their position in Afghanistan more tenable, after explaining to Stromburg that, being American, he probably can't truly understand the Russian way of thinking. It's not that complicated, really; the Premier knows that the US is filtering aid to Afghan freedom fighters, and that it's making him lose ground. At the same time, the USSR cannot simply pull out of Afghanistan, because that would run the risk of letting Muslim fundies take over and, neighboring the USSR as they do, in particular several important research facilities, perhaps pose a threat to the Soviets. It would also be treated by rebellious factions within the USSR as a sign of Soviet weakness. The plan makes perfect sense to me. The idea behind it continues to evade me, but the given reasons make sense enough.
It's then that the Premeir reveals his trump card to Stromburg; the Soviets have developed advanced particle beam weaponry. They have used it to create cannons that provide a missile defense system that can shoot down any American bomb or missile that attempts to attack them. Ridiculous, I know, but we're reading a book, folks. We can ignore it. Stromburg attempts to convince the Premier that the US is superior, but the Premier calls his bluff. In the alternate universe that I say this story takes place in, the USSR is capable of surviving the war, and winning, with what it has. I suppose being immune to any missiles the US might throw at them gives them a small advantage in that field.
Much as I would like to continue this well into the night, even I, mighty man that I am, need sleep. So, goodbye and good night. For the record, I estimate that there shall be five or so more posts...and that they'll be far more enjoyable than either of the other books I've done so far. Of course, that isn't saying much...
You know what, my eyes are sagging. Good night, my non-existent readers!
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