Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Edge of War Book

CIA officer Mara Duncan is on assignment in bomb-torn Hanoi. Her task: get scientist Josh MacArthur and a seven-year-old witness to Chinese atrocities in Vietnam out of the country safely. They are pursued by a relentless Chinese monk turned commando who can call on the entire Chinese secret service in Vietnam for help. Their escape is further complicated when SEALs, who are helping Mara, gun down Vietnamese soldiers, making them wanted by both China and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, U.S. Army Advisor Zeus Murphy is given an impossible task: prevent the Chinese from landing on Vietnam’s coast. Heeding the President’s advice to “think outside the box,” he concocts a daring mission into the heart of the Chinese fleet in the harbor at Hainan. This operation will go down in the annals of SpecWar history as either one of the most daring triumphs of all time or one of the most foolish suicide raids ever attempted.

Or maybe both.

Publishers Weekly

Set in 2014, Bond and DeFelice's second thriller about a looming conflict with China more than fulfills the promise of the first in the series, Shadows of War. China, desperate for food, has invaded Vietnam, where environmental scientist Josh MacArthur witnessed the Chinese attack and a subsequent massacre. CIA officer Mara Duncan and a team of SEALs are smuggling Josh out of Vietnam so he can return to America and tell his story to President George Greene, who's trying to persuade Congress to stand up to the Chinese. Meanwhile in Hanoi, Maj. Zeus Murphy, at Greene's behest, is doing what he can to prevent the Chinese from rolling through and defeating Vietnam. Wire-taut suspense, credible characters, and an original premise make this one of the better recent entries in the military action subgenre. While the book works as a stand-alone, readers should begin with Shadows of War. (Nov.)