cover image Silent Lightning

Silent Lightning

Joe L. Gribble. Onyx Books, $6.99 (368pp) ISBN 978-0-451-19405-3

Gribble's first novel, a techno-thriller in the style of Tom Clancy, parades the author's considerable expertise about the air force and its planes, though the plotting and characterization do not fly as high. Syria is preparing to launch an attack that will wipe out Israel's air superiority. The U.S. enters the fray as Colonel John Kirk pulls Captain Lance Brandon and his Airborne Laser Laboratory (ALL, or Silent Lightning) out of retirement. It's an interesting premise, with ALL able to destroy any targeted, locked-on missile threatening protected aircraft. Unfortunately, Gribble circumvents the action scenes with page after page of acronyms and military jargon, ultimately causing the book to short-circuit. (Nov.)