"Political and military intrigue is the focus of this thrilling novel"
Reviewed by Sharon Galligar Chance
Posted June 20, 2011
Thriller
Political and military intrigue is front and center of Dale
Brown's latest novel, A TIME FOR PATRIOTS.
Set in 2013, Kenneth Phoenix has just been elected
President after a bruising campaign. With the national
economy in a free fall crisis and deep budget cuts gutting
government programs and public safety, one has to wonder if
the new president will be true to his surname and be able
to raise the country out of the ashes.
With the National Guard all but eliminated, private
citizens all over the country begin to band together for
protection, and in Nevada, it comes as no surprise to find
that a retired Air Force general, Pat McLanahan, has
transformed his wing of the Civil Air Patrol into a group
of formidable flyers who dedicate themselves to protecting
their fellow citizens.
When radioactive materials are stolen by a group dubbed the
Knights of the True Republic and then an attack is launched
against Reno, spreading radioactive fallout around the
city, McLanahan, his son Bradley and their followers are
going to have to follow up their words with actions.
A TIME FOR PATRIOTS is Brown's seventeenth novel featuring
the intrepid Pat McLanahan whose adventures and missions,
while very technical and precise, are still fascinating,
and chillingly close to the reality of today's world.
Readers will find thrilling, fast-paced action and a
mesmerizing storyline in this novel that is sure to keep
them glued to their seats until the very last word.
SUMMARY
Welcome to Battlefield America When the stock markets
crash and the American economy falls into a crippling
recession, the president must make massive cuts in the
federal budget, including the public safety budget. In
response, entire communities of armed citizens band together
for survival and mutual protection. Against this dismal
backdrop, an entire FBI SWAT team is ambushed and
radioactive materials are stolen by a group calling
themselves the Knights of the True Republic. In this
time of crisis, a citizen organization rises to the task of
protecting their fellow countrymen: the Civil Air Patrol.
The Nevada Wing—led by retired Air Force Lieutenant-General
Patrick McLanahan and his son, Bradley—uses their military
skills in the sky and on the ground to hunt down violent
terrorists. But how will Patrick respond when extremists
launch a catastrophic dirty bomb attack in Reno? With
A Time for Patriots, New York Times
bestselling master of the modern thriller Dale Brown brings
the battle home to explore a terrifying possibility—the
collapse of the American Republic.
ExcerptNorthwest of Battle Mountain, Nevada
That same time
They had walked another two hundred yards or so in the
new direction without any more signs. "Whaddya say, Marky?"
Ron Spivey shouted. "We got nothing. We should’ve stayed on
that original track. Now we need to start over."
Brad looked at Ralph Markham. "Sergeant?"
Ralph appeared indecisive, but only for a few
moments: "Another hundred yards," he said. Ron groaned.
Ralph made some quick calculations in his head. "Then we’ll
turn right to three-four-zero, go for…for forty paces, turn
back to one-seven zero, and search back towards the crash
site."
"Where in heck did you come up with all that, Marky?"
Ron asked. "Why do we have to do all that?"
"He’s putting us back on the reciprocal of the original
search bearing," Brad explained with a smile. "The one-in-
sixty rule. We go out six hundred feet and changed heading
ten degrees, so we’ve offset ourselves one hundred feet, or
about forty paces. Ralph’s plan should put us right back to
where we found the sneaker, on the original search bearing."
"So why don’t we just do that now?" Ron asked.
"Because I want to search another hundred yards on this
bearing," Ralph said. "Line up and let’s go." Ron rolled
his eyes in exasperation but did as he was told.
Brad was starting to get a little tired slogging through
the damp, uneven ground, and he could feel the sunburn
building on the back of his unprotected neck. The terrain
was getting a bit more rolling, and now they came across a
wide wash that had a thin rivulet of water flowing through
it from the recent thunderstorms. This last hundred yards
was going to be tougher than the previous two hundred.
"I say we jog now, before we have to cross this wash,"
Ron said.
"It’s not so bad," Ralph said. "Just sixty more yards."
Ron said something under his breath but pushed on.
Every now and then Brad would glance up at the search
plane overhead. He was so close to becoming a Senior member
and flying that plane, he could almost taste it. Ground
Team work was OK, but where he really belonged was…
Just as he descended from the wash’s embankment and
started to look for the best place to cross the water,
something made Brad turn around…and there, half-buried in
the embankment, covered in dust, mud, and insects, was a
young boy!
Reno, Nevada
A short time later
"We are at the scene of a horrible airplane crash
here at the Bruce R. Thompson United States Courthouse and
Federal Building in downtown Reno," the female reporter
began. "The crash happened about fifteen minutes ago and is
the worst air accident in Reno’s history. My cameraman
Jerry Fleck is with me and he’ll be providing you of shots
of this unfolding tragedy."
The camera panned to the southeast face of the
building. Thick smoke and flames were still shooting out of
the hole in the building, and the entire structure appeared
to be tilting away from the camera. "As you can see, the
plane had hit almost directly in the center of the ten-
story building here on the four hundred block of South
Virginia Street," the reporter went on. "We do not know who
the pilot was, how many passengers he had on board, or what
kind of plane hit the building, although some observers say
it is a medium-sized turboprop used mostly by small
companies. We have a call in to air traffic controllers at
the Reno-Tahoe International Airport to find out if they
were in contact with the pilot and what could have caused
this terrible accident.
"We have been told that the fire department has just
upped the response to this accident with a fifth alarm. The
plane did not appear to crash all the way through the
building, but the force of its impact blew out the north
and northwest sides of the building, spreading fire and
debris across onto the Bank of America office complex
across Virginia Street, the U.S. Bank office building
across Liberty Street, and onto residents and visitors on
the streets below. Fortunately, most workers were not in
those buildings on the weekend. The police have cordoned
off two blocks in all directions, and they ask that you
should not try to come downtown for any reason and allow
police, firefighters, medical personnel, and investigators
to do their jobs."
The reporter touched her earpiece to listen closer,
then said breathlessly, "I have just been given word by my
producer John Ramos in the truck that, according to a
spokesman for the FAA air traffic control facility at the
Reno airport, an aircraft called a Beech King Air, which is
a medium-sized civilian turboprop aircraft, overflew the
airport minutes ago at very high speed and very low
altitude. We must conclude that it was the same airplane
that hit the Thompson federal building. There is no
speculation from the FAA if the plane was trying to land at
the airport and the pilot became disoriented, or if this
was a deliberate act. It is simply too early to…"
The reporter stopped again and listened into her
earpiece while the camera moved away from her and zoomed in
on the shattered building. Off-camera, she said in a
whisper, "What do you mean, we’re getting out of here?
We’re two blocks away—it’s safe! We’re…John? John?" A
moment later, a man with headphones on ran up to the
reporter and pulled her away, briefly crossing in front of
the camera. "John, what are you doing? I’m on the air!"
"I know you are," the man said. "We’re getting out of
here, now! Jerry, pack it up!"
"I’m not going anywhere!" the reporter whispered
angrily. "This is the biggest story of my life! I’m staying
with it for as long as…!" The producer whispered something
in the reporter’s ear as he dragged her towards the crew’s
truck. "What? What did you say, John?"
"Radioactivity!" he replied.
"What…!"
The producer grabbed the microphone. "U.S. Secret
Service investigators detected large levels of
radioactivity at the crash site," he said. "The plane that
crashed into the Thompson Federal Building was carrying
some sort of nuclear device or weapon. The entire downtown
district of Reno is being evacuated."
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