YEAR OF THE TIGER

A top gun re-evaluates her Naval career during a seven-day military operation against China.

It’s 2006, and satellite photographs show China preparing to invade Taiwan. The USS Abraham Lincoln, carrying a missile shield, has been deployed to the Taiwan Straits. Combat pilot Lt. Kelly Owen, in a career-busting move, has gone over the heads of her commanding officers to get experimental radars installed on her squadron’s aircraft. The Chinese soon launch torpedoes at the Navy group; using the missile shield and Kelly’s unauthorized technology, the U.S. wins the sea battle. The Chinese, however, are undeterred; they next launch an intelligence-gathering mission, only to have their radars jammed by the U.S. Navy’s superior technology–salvos of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles follow. Can a single battle group protect Taiwan against such an onslaught? Between each skirmish, Kelly discusses her career with her grandfather, Korean War veteran Greg Owen, who is on board to help with the missile shield. As Kelly struggles with her negative feelings toward administration policy, the powerlessness of the United Nations and her fiancé’s desire for a more traditional wife, her grandfather offers encouragement and advice. Throughout, the narrative tends toward the didactic, and Kelly’s constant vacillations slow the pace. Additionally, the dialogue of the Chinese diplomats often feels forced and awkward: “Comrade Director, you have told us nothing new about the Yankee capitalists. The United States is big and terrifying, only a blind man doesn’t know that. What of it? Are we to hide in a cave while this dragon goes about thrashing and threatening? No. The proletariat deserves better.” Nonetheless, the author’s invented technology is intriguing, and the energetic plot, led by an aggressive female protagonist, will keep the pages turning in Clancy-esque fashion.

With a bit of polish, Smith will be one to watch.