By Jack E. Romig
1st Books, February 2001
ISBN 0-75961-201-9 - Hardbound and eBook
Historical Fiction / Adventure / Suspense
- some violence
Reviewed by Beverly J.
Rowe, MyShelf.com
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The Korean war is in full swing, and rumor has it that the Chinese have a factory devoted to the building of jet engines. With the bodies of the planes being furnished by the Russians and the Chinese furnishing engines, North Korea would be able to accelerate the war against the United States, costing us many thousands of lives. Sgt. John Armstrong is assigned the task of leading a group of men into the interior of China to destroy this factory. The men are handpicked; each one having special qualifications to add to the unit.
Getting into the "belly of the dragon" undetected is fraught with unparalleled danger, and accomplishing the mission itself is difficult, but the main problem will be getting the survivors out of China after the completion of the operation. In fulfilling The Marine's creed, "We Bring out our wounded," John may be jeopardizing his own life.
Plagued with injuries, hunger, and no transportation, the survivors must navigate, undetected, through China for 600 miles to the rendezvous point on the coast by a certain time and date...a monumental task. But then it appears that John's own government may be taking steps to make sure there are no survivors to prevent embarrassment to the administration and allow China to think the raid was carried out by a renegade unit.
Plan to start reading this book when you have plenty of time, because you won't be able to put it down. The tension builds on every page. Just when you think the men's troubles are as bad as they can get...they get worse. The characters are fully realized...tough, and granite hard, but vulnerable, and above all, steadfast in their allegiance to their country. No one but an ex-marine who had been there could have written this story. I'm looking forward to your next one, Jack.
Jack's Dragon Country (Jack E. Romig's homepage)