The President of the United States, Christine Todd, has her full slate of battles to fight, some political, some military and some highly personal. Despite all the competing priorities, her focus is on ensuring that the Iranians do not get to fully develop their nuclear capabilities. That would be far too dangerous, but how to stop them?

Meanwhile Brenna Stockard, Head of the Department of Defense Office of Special Technology and Director of the elite joint CIA-Defense Department called Whiplash, ponders over the most optimal strategy. They could send in bombers, but the fallout could have terrible consequences. They could use the very promising, but still not fully tested new nano-UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), but they still need a pilot to help guide them. The only one pilot who had the training and skills is Capt. Turk Mako, a top ace test pilot. Could they afford to send in this valuable asset on what is almost a suicide mission? How could they afford not to take this option? With very tight timeframes, can Turk manage to get in place to handle the mission? If he does, can he get back out of Iran alive?

Written by New York Times best-selling author Dale Brown and Jim DeFelice, DRONE STRIKE is the fifteenth book in the Dreamland Thriller series. Similar to others in the series, DRONE STRIKE reads equally well as a stand-alone read or as a continuing part of the series which will be well appreciated by it legions of existing fans.

The story opens quietly enough as Turk, flying an old, but highly modified Phantom-4, handles a demo of the new Hydras technology for the stern Vice Admiral Blackheart. Like a roller coaster slowly climbing to a high steep grade, this scene sets the stage for readers to get to know Turk, his attitudes, and learn about the new nanotechnology, along with its strengths ad current shortcomings. From this vantage point, Brown and DeFelice quickly speed up the action and gets the readers' hearts pumping. With a well- constructed and researched plot, readers are instantly pulled in the arid deserts and air space over Iran as Turk gets guided to his mission accompanied only by a small, but highly skilled Delta Force Team and a very nervous and sweat-soaked small plane pilot.

One of the things I also like about the Brown and DeFelice writing team is that they do a very effective balancing act in showing respect for the enemy's (in this case Iran) capabilities and shortcomings and as well as developing the enemy side's characters as realistically human similar to how they develop the American ones. This is both a blessing and a curse as there are many strong and likeable secondary characters in DRONE STRIKE, but the body count is very high.

Brown and DeFelice also highlight how easily mission plans and small changes can cause situations to quickly spiral out of control with very unintended actions, especially in unstable environments. DRONE STRIKE also gives a real sense of what it is like to be in a military role, their thoughts and the conditions they have to endure. New and existing fans are sure to be caught up in the terse and fast paced plot as the action and conditions change quickly. Fans of military and fast action adventures stories are sure to relish DRONE STRIKE! Enjoy!