| | |  | Amazon Kindle | Home » » » Kill Zone: A Sniper Novel | | | | | | | Description: | | An American general is captured in the Middle East by terrorists who threaten to behead him within days. One strange fact: moments before he is rendered unconscious during the attack, the general notices that his captors speak American English. What’s going on? Gunnery Sgt. Kyle Swanson, a top Marine sniper, is vacationing on a yacht in the Mediterranean when he receives orders to mount a top secret mission to rescue the general. But as the Marines prepare to land in the Syrian desert, they fall victim to a terrible accident. Swanson, the only survivor, then discovers they were also flying into an ambush. How did the enemy have details of a mission known only to a few top American government officials? Swanson takes off across the desert alone to find the captured general and realizes he is fighting a particularly ruthless and dangerous enemy: American mercenaries working for a very-high-level group of U.S. officials with ties to the White House itself, part of a clandestine conspiracy whose hidden goal is nothing less than total control of the American military. Their sworn enemy is the captured general whose fate now rests in Swanson’s hands. Filled with the kind of action that author Jack Coughlin lived during his career as a Marine sniper, Kill Zone marks the debut of an extraordinary new series.
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Average Customer Review:
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53 of 60 found the following review helpful:
Strange bookDec 23, 2008
By B. Hueske I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book; it had been purchased for me as a gift. If the author was intending the book to be a James Bond-type affair, with technology and gadgets that are completely implausible, then I understand. However, it seemed that it was written with the tone that it COULD happen, ala Tom Clancy. In that regard, it was uneasily poor.
The first thing I had difficulty with was the blatant inter-service rivalries being espoused. The only heroes in this book were Marines, and everyone else was Army or Navy. Alright, I get it.
Second, the author writes as if he has an authoritative knowledge on Special Operations, yet just about everything written about the organization, deployment, and training of Special Operations soldiers is either exaggerated or wrong. Most transparent is his use of the term "Special Forces". Everyone under the SOCOM or JSOC umbrella knows that Special Forces refers ONLY to the US Army Special Forces. Everything else is "Special Operations". Period.
A super rifle named Excalibur, which is a computer-heavy, whisper-quiet, suppressed .50 caliber? The idea that a .50 BMG bullet could be suppressed to "whisper-quiet" defies the laws of physics, and a Scout Sniper should know that. Let's not forget about the SCRAMJET ride, set up somehow by a Marine Master Sergeant through the "Sergeant's Network". Even if such a plane existed, the idea that an enlistedman could pull in a few favors to secure his CO a ride strains believability to the point of breaking.
When I read military novels, the one thing I assume will be correct are all the little military details that reveal to the reader that the author has done his homework. The 82nd Airborne does not conduct static line jumps from 5000 feet. A "small little dirtvbike" does not have a 1200cc engine. A GPS receiver can't be tracked. Why? Because it doesn't transmit anything. Some of these are small, and some are fulcrums of the plot itself.
Not recommended.
17 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Nice read if you can overlook the technical problemsJul 12, 2010
By Sgt-Slyde Aside from military issues mentioned in other reviews (F14 wings may swing but don't fold, the extractor of a rifle bolt would withdraw the cartridge rather than leave it seated in the chamber to be "checked") this book had more editing errors than most commercial fiction I've read. To list a few, a product made in Britain or Europe (such as the "Excalibur" sniper system) would be calibrated in meters, not yards. It mentions the fact that on Carrier On-Board Delivery aircraft the seats face the rear but then claims the passengers are thrown against their seatbelts when the tailhook catches the trap wire - how could that happen if they face rearward? The sniper uses a rangefinder function to see that one of his targets is over 500 yards away, but then only has to crawl "1½ football fields" to reach the body after shooting him. So while many of us are bothered by ideas such as a completely suppressed .50BMG rifle, one who's optics are "gyro-stabilized" rather than firmly mounted to the action, F16s landing on carriers, Senior NCO's arranging flights for field-grade officers aboard experimental NASA aircraft, GPS "trackers" - indeed, the whole idea of having a GPS receiver built into a sniper rifle (why?), there are plenty of gaffs to interrupt the reading pleasure of just about anyone.
For anyone who can tune out all those distracters and ignore the rip-off of Stephen Hunter's "Swagger" novels, this book could be a pleasant read. And I'll admit I'm going to read the next book in this series (checked out from my local library) just to see if the editing has improved any.
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Suspense, action, and satisfactionJan 12, 2008
By Michael Ham A highly successful military/political thriller set in today's world, Kill Zone is hard to put down---in fact, I read it in a day: couldn't stop reading. Just the right amount of military background, political intrigue, action, and characterization. Well worth reading. It also shows some strong feelings that I suspect are common in the military regarding the increasing use of unregulated and legally immune mercenaries.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Not the worst military book I have read...Feb 02, 2009
By Robert G. Anderson
"Robert Anderson"
Matthew Reilly's 'Ice Station' was that. But this one is up there in the top three or so. Somebody read Stephen Hunter, Vince Flynn and Dick Marcinko then ripped all of them off as often (and badly) as possible.
Okay...so we have the evil but somehow almost supremely powerful politicians with no respect for anything but their own blind ambition. Check. Then we have the almost superhuman Marine sniper who could probably throw the bullets more accurately than a mere mortal could shoot. Check. The alluring and intelligent female officer who has somehow fallen in love with the previously mentioned SuperMarine. Check. And last, but certainly not least, the slathering, rabid monster military contractors (think Blackwater here) who are masters of the many crafts of war, but not of their own particular appetites. Okay! No...wait...I am one of those contractors and think I will take issue with the characterization.
The plot, as predictable as any, is also way too farfetched for my tastes. Even the epilogue is so trite as to make me groan audibly. And there is, apparently, a sequel! And I will buy a copy...really I will...if only someone will promise NOT to turn 'Kill Zone' into a movie starring John Cena.
I won't argue the "top-rated sniper" part of Mr. Coghlin's resume, but I would suggest he (1) stick to what he does well, and (2) fire his ghostwriter who, it seems, doesn't know much about the military.
But that is just my opinion; I could be wrong.
10 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Caution!Jan 23, 2009
By Ken A. Robarge
"shantadhyana"
I was plugging along, enjoying this story, until I came to page 54, where I learned that the United States Senate has only fifty members and that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Constitution. I don't know from Armani trousers and Louis Vuitton Tambour chronographs, Prada boots or Panasonic PV-GS250 video cameras, but I do know a little bit about the government and history of the United States. I know it's simply a thriller, but glaring errors of this order of magnitude really put me on red alert. Now I know why Lee Child's cover blurb says "just about perfect." The question remains, do I cautiously make my way through the remaining 276 pages, wondering when I'll stumble upon the next literary Claymore, or do I move on to my growing backlog of books by Daniel Silva, Michael Connelly, John Burdett, Louis L'Amour, Lee Child and the amazing Neal Stephenson? Gunney Coughlin, thanks for your service to your country, but you've been done a disservice by Mr. Davis, who should have had your back. Hasta la vista, baby...
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