Fire of the Raging Dragon by Don Brown

In Fire of the Raging Dragon---the second book in bestselling author Don Brown’s Pacific Rim Series---Stephanie Surber is stationed on board a submarine tender in the South China Sea when a naval war breaks out. After a gruesome discovery escalates America’s involvement, Stephanie’s father, U.S. President Douglas Surber, must choose to take a stand against evil … or save the life of his daughter.

My review: Back around 2005, I picked up one of the first, if not the first, military style Christian fiction books I have read. That book was Treason by Don Brown. I devoured that book and couldn't wait for the sequel to come out, and the rest of the books in The Navy Justice Series. Since then, I have eagerly grabbed each book he has written and enjoyed them all. I was delighted when I got an email offering me the chance to review his newest book, Fire of the Raging Dragon.

    This book is fiction, but its a scary look at what could happen if the USA and China got into a skirmish. Not to get too political in a book review, but this book impressed upon me how important it is to have the right man in charge of our country and our defense. Even though the events portrayed are scary, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and once I started, I only put it down long enough to eat, then picked it up again and read until the finish.

    A few things I really appreciated in this book, and all of Don's books: There is no bad language. Yes, you can write a book of this type and have it be realistic without bad language. Also: There is a lot of action going on in different locations. There are several ships from 3 countries, jets and helicopters from 2 countries, plus action going on in the White House, China, and Taiwan. Every time the location changes, it is indicated and that makes it extremely easy to keep up. I have read books where there is a lot of location change and it isn't clearly marked. Lastly: There is a lot of military jargon action, commands, etc used in the book, but Don does a great job of making it easy to understand for we civilians. Knowing his background, it makes me appreciate the story all the more and know it is realistic.

    This is a fiction book, but it still made me come away with a greater appreciation for our military and gave me a little more insight into what life on the sea and in battle is like for them. It also made me realize just how fragile the peace is between we and so many countries, and as I stated before: how important it is to have the right people in power, which we do not at this time.

   This book would be more for men, though women who enjoy military/suspense books would like it also. There is no romance in the book, but there is a lot of suspense and action. I highly recommend it.

   This is the second book in the Pacific Rim Series, but it is not necessary to read the books in order.

About the author:

Don Brown is the author of Thunder in the Morning Calm, The Malacca Conspiracy, The Navy Justice Series and Black Sea Affair, a submarine thriller that predicted the 2008 shooting war between Russia and Georgia. Don served five years in the U.S. Navy as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps, which gave him an exceptional vantage point into both the Navy and the inner workings of 'inside-the-beltway' as an action officer assigned to the pentagon. He left active duty in 1992 to pursue private practice, but remained on inactive status through 1999, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He and his family live in North Carolina,  where he pursues his passion for penning novels about the Navy.

Visit his website at www.donbrownbooks.com.

More about the book here.

Fire of the Raging Dragon is available from Zondervan Publishing.

Thanks to Zondervan for the review copy.