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The emergence of a stable and democratic Iraq has greatly shifted the balance of power in the Middle East. As a consequence, Saudi Arabia has found itself all but marginalized. When hard line elements in Russia, promising to return their nation to its former glory, come to power the Saudi’s see an opportunity. A Russo-Saudi alliance is formed with the goal of driving the United States from the region and gaining control of the worlds oil reserves. Standing in their way are elements of the Unites States military and the battle hardened Iron Tigers.

That is the premise behind Michael Farmer’s military thriller “Iron Tigers”. It is a straight forward, get to point war story. While not on a par with Tom Clancy’s World War III masterpiece “Red Storm Rising” or works by Larry Bond (Vortex and Red Phoenix) it is nonetheless a fast paced, enjoyable read.

As an active duty member of the military serving with CENTCOM Farmers knowledge of tactics and tank combat is clearly seen within the pages of “Iron Tigers”. His writing reminds me of Harold Coyle (Team Yankee and The Ten Thousand). He also does a nice job of taking the reader into the halls of power in Washington and Moscow to observe some the statecraft and brinkmanship involved in waging a war.

The characters in “Iron Tigers” are fairly one dimensional and standard for a novel of this type. There are two exceptions. Rolf Krieger is a Schwarzenegger-esque type character, the son of parents from the East Germany he has a burning hatred of Russians and is delighted for an opportunity to confront the Russians in battle. The other is a Jack Russell Terrier named

Phantom who survives a run in with a brutal Russian Colonel to fight another day.

The story while fast moving and entertaining does feel a bit rushed particularly a cloak and dagger B plot inside the Kremlin itself. This B plot alone could make a great read. Fans of the movie “Patton” will appreciate the climax of “Iron Tigers” be it a bit farfetched.

A few faults aside “Iron Tigers” is a nicely conceived, well-executed military thriller and well worth a look.

“Transfer of Power” by Vince Flynn is an exceptionally well written, well paced action novel that is literally impossible to put down. “Can’t put it down” is one of the most overused cliches in publishing but in this case it happens to be true. I devoured it in a handful of sittings. Rarely have I enjoyed a political thriller more.

The plot, which in a post September 11 world takes on new significance, involves the capture of the White House by a group of Middle Eastern terrorists and the efforts made to take back the presidential mansion. What comes in between is enough political intrigue and special forces action to satisfy even the most jaded of techno thriller fans.

My only criticism is that the character’s that populate Flynn’s book are a fairly standard lot for his type of novel. The protagonist of “ToP” Mitch Rapp, while a very engaging and likable character, is nearly indistinguishable from Tom Clancy’s John Clark or Jack Ryan or any of the other black ops super spy’s that are so common in this genre. Other character’s suffer from the same sense of familiarity. The exception being the villain. Terrorist mastermind Rafique Aziz is a very well crafted foe for agent Rapp and is one the reasons the novel is so entertaining. I should note that while the characters are fairly standard I still found myself making a significant emotional connection with them

It’s minor character flaws aside “Transfer of Power” is an example of the political/techno thriller at it’s finest. It moves at lighting speed with not a single wasted page or sentence and packs a number of very satisfying moments. I highly recommend it!