The Red Line

I really wanted to enjoy this book. Mr. Gragg ties too hard at being Tom Clancy. A bunch of pages could have been trimmed to let other pages fill in more detail. Would a US President authorize the use of nukes? And what would be the reaction of the citizens of the US? This could have been explored in greater detail than some of the story lines presented. Could we have seen a President at least argue with his staff over the use of nukes? That would have been interesting to see.
It is my hope Mr. Gragg has something else in the works. I will be looking forward to seeing something like this again.

Bought this on recommendation of an interview on the John Batchelor Show. The premise may have worked when the author was serving during the Cold War, but not in present day. The political environment the author imagines to set up his rationale for war is laughable. He should have written this novel back then, not waited several decades without updating his plot. Final nail was reading how a soldier reloaded his M16 variant with a "clip." Tom Clancy - to whom this author is foolishly compared - would know the proper term is a magazine. I could go on, but mostly I'm just disappointed.

A fanatical Russian leader in the near future orders the entire force of the Soviet military
to destroy Germany and reclaim the Eastern sector. The understaffed and insufficiently
equipped Americans guarding the German-Czech border are unable to stop the Soviet
advance - and so World War III begins. The losses on both sides are staggering,
tactical nuclear weapons are deployed, and in the end everyone loses. This story
is very disturbing, but so realistically portrayed and superbly crafted, that it is a must
read for fans of the military genre.

Not good. The writer knows something about weapons systems but not writing. Everything hurtled from the heavens, or was dragged into the hellish abyss. Why use an adjective or adverb when 2 work, every sentence, taken from Greek epics. I really was hopefull for another Red Storm Rising.

I will start this review by saying that there are no grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors. The story is interesting. These are the only reasons this book didn't get zero stars. That's right, you read that correctly, not one star, zero stars. The author states in his bio that he was in the US Army at some part of the US Army European Command. If you are going to use that to gain credibility, then you'd best have your story wired tight. I have spent the last twenty years as an infantry officer in command of both paratrooper and Bradley units. The author committed some egregious errors that made me want to burn this book. No soldier that has been through BRM say's "clip". It is a magazine. Seriously, that is basic training type of knowledge. Next, the TOW missile launcher on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle is not independent of the M242 Bushmaster 25mm cannor or the M240C coax machine gun. In other words, you cannot fire them both at the same time and you cannot track separate targets unless you have a CITV version. Contrary to what Walt Gragg thinks in this story, no infantry or cav soldier would wait until enemy tanks were within a couple hundred yards to fire their TOW missiles. Seriously, this is retarded. The Bradley is not a tank. You want to keep tanks as far from you as possible so you don't die. The TOW 2A/2B have a range of 3750 meters. The idea that you would wait until they get close to fire and then dash forward into the enemy formation is enough to cause guys like me to smack our heads into the wall. It isn't in the realm of possibility. Lastly, and this is the one that really torques me off, is he continually refers the 82nd Airborne soldier's as having a "burgundy" beret. I invite him to go to Fort Bragg and say that. We refer to our berets as, "maroon". It is really obvious that Walt Gragg was some commo pogue at a HQ that was echelons above reality. He could have save this book by having someone like me as a beta reader. Like I said earlier, great idea for a story that was ruined by totally idiotic details that are easily fixed by using Google or someone with first hand knowledge. If you know anything about the military, don't read this book. Last thing, if the author wants to delete this review, that is fine, but I dare him to email me and make excuses for his mistakes first.

There were times when the action scenes were riveting but much of the book was the same graphic description told over and over again. The main premise and the main villains were shallow and predictable. It was somewhat novel to have characters that you thought should survive but didn't.

The reinvigorated Communists invade Germany with their entire military, just because they don't like East Germany having gotten free when the Berlin Wall fell. They out man the Americans 70-1 and for 4 days they use armor, air, and infantry, and chemical nerve gas and nukes to kill tens of thousands of military and civilians, destroy every building, village and city, and burn down every forest. Then, having poisoned and irradiated all of eastern Germany, the Russians declare a unilateral cease fire and abandon corpse-Covered eastern Germany and return to pre-invasion boundaries. The allies set about rebuilding east Germany and cleaning up a trillion tons of destroyed military hardware, and the survivors , rather than seeking any sort of retribution, shrug their shoulders and philosophize about the wakefulness of war.

A story with its beginnings pulled from the headlines of today and realistic events that could happen, The Red Line gives a scary look at a what if of the near future. First of all, I liked the book overall. The pacing was good, and the everything was well developed. However, for my own personal taste there was almost too much detail. I know the author intends to give a comprehensive covering of all the aspects of the what if scenario but I personally didn’t need to know the shot by shot coverage. That being said, it was done well and you could feel the tension in each scene. There is definite realism in the story. I like that we don’t get all sunshine and roses throughout the book. We do get realities of war even when it hurts, and that hurt is to the plus of the author’s talent. You feel the losses that take place. I would recommend this book to anyone that really gets into war stories and likes to feel the action.

There were times when the action scenes were riveting but much of the book was the same graphic description told over and over again. The main premise and the main villains were shallow and predictable. It was somewhat novel to have characters that you thought should survive but didn't.

The reinvigorated Communists invade Germany with their entire military, just because they don't like East Germany having gotten free when the Berlin Wall fell. They out man the Americans 70-1 and for 4 days they use armor, air, and infantry, and chemical nerve gas and nukes to kill tens of thousands of military and civilians, destroy every building, village and city, and burn down every forest. Then, having poisoned and irradiated all of eastern Germany, the Russians declare a unilateral cease fire and abandon corpse-Covered eastern Germany and return to pre-invasion boundaries. The allies set about rebuilding east Germany and cleaning up a trillion tons of destroyed military hardware, and the survivors , rather than seeking any sort of retribution, shrug their shoulders and philosophize about the wakefulness of war.

A story with its beginnings pulled from the headlines of today and realistic events that could happen, The Red Line gives a scary look at a what if of the near future. First of all, I liked the book overall. The pacing was good, and the everything was well developed. However, for my own personal taste there was almost too much detail. I know the author intends to give a comprehensive covering of all the aspects of the what if scenario but I personally didn’t need to know the shot by shot coverage. That being said, it was done well and you could feel the tension in each scene. There is definite realism in the story. I like that we don’t get all sunshine and roses throughout the book. We do get realities of war even when it hurts, and that hurt is to the plus of the author’s talent. You feel the losses that take place. I would recommend this book to anyone that really gets into war stories and likes to feel the action.

The graphic descriptions of women and children dying is disgusting, almost like the author was working out some form of sick perverted snuff fantasy in his own head. At times the grossly disturbing death descriptions are not even relevant to the plot, it’s the work of a sick mind reveling in death. No remorse, no humanity, just copy-pasted repetitive descriptions of death via trite banalities like the “hails of gunfire” trope (exact phrase used ad naseum, multiple times in some chapters). Long sections read like gore horror novels, it’s sick. Dialogue is expository, it's difficult to read much less imagine someone speaking it. You can follow the plot reading the first and last sentence of sections, and skip over the enumerated (and ridiculous) body counts, including huge numbers of dead American children. Oh did I not mention that part yet? The most gratuitous deaths aren’t even German civilian deaths in a war happening in Germany, the most needlessly irrelevant killings to the plot are lengthy descriptions of American non-combatants being slaughtered. Not even calling this travesty a heavy handed anti-war diatribe can save what amounts to 500+ pages of dead children, murder porn, and Nazis.

I gave it a chance because some comments compare this to Tom Clancy’s classic Red Storm Rising. This drivel isn’t fit to be mentioned in the same sentence as Clancy, he at least had a conscience in killing characters and developed a plot instead of just writing interminable chapters of gore.

This is an atrocious fan-fiction-quality re-write of Red Storm Rising. The stock Russian General character has none of the depth or development of Clancy's Alekseyev, the Americans are all John Wayne heroes stoically running to their deaths, and the Germans are actually described in the narrative as skin-headed brown-shirted jack-booted Nazis. Even the author gave up 500 pages in and abruptly ended the narrative with a plot device somehow more contrived than the premise.

**Review of an Advanced Copy** In the near future, revolution has run rampant throughout Eastern Europe, and the result: Russia (under the dictatorship of a twisted Stalin-esque premiere) has reclaimed all former Soviet countries, magnifying its power, size of military, and wealth of influence from the Baltic to the Black Sea. And with the eyes of the double-headed eagle greedily searching for other "opportunities" for expansion, a fractured Western Europe and flaccid NATO nervously take the wait-and-see approach to dealing with the new "USSR".

Germany, the last stalwart centurion in Russia's path to breaching the west, fears the threat the Slavic giant poses to its nation's fabric. Out of this palpable fear of an East/West Germany split, a new Fuhrer arises by the name of Manfred Fromisch, a charismatic savior who promises unity and protection from all enemies. But Moscow will not stand for a potential Hitler in Berlin and plants revolutionaries within east Germany. However, Fromisch quashes these uprisings with his ruthless SS-type paramilitary forces. The Russian premiere, in blind fury, then demands a fool-proof plan for the strategic destruction of Germany and the death of Fromisch. At all cost, he says, the country must fall.

Thus, in the midst of a blizzarding January night, a sprinkling of frigid American soldiers posted along the German-Czech border find themselves facing over a hundred divisions' worth of charging Russian tanks and infantry in a bloody blitzkrieg played out amidst thick drifts of snow. World War III begins from this fateful moment with American and Russian lives needlessly sacrificed for the sake of one man's all-consuming agenda.

An action-packed thriller filled with unforgettable characters and cinematic descriptions, THE RED LINE provides a foreboding, grim look into the horrors of modern warfare and illustrates the devastation a full-blown military conflict between nuclear powers would inflict upon humanity and the world. A must-read for anyone who appreciates wide-scope, globetrotting war stories without the density of technical details.

Despite the cartoonish evil of the Neo-Soviet premier, I managed to go along with the story line, despite it's many holes. As a fan of this genre, I wanted this book to succeed, but the ending really left me cold and unfulfilled.
The battle action sequences are done reasonably well, and there is some decent character development, but I cannot get by the totally deflating end result.
Worth reading, with the caveats above. "Red Storm Rising", or even "Team Yankee", it ain't.

The fast paced narrative really is the proverbial page-turner. The story is all plot, with virtually zero character development, but I guess that's OK in this case because the plot (not the characters) is the story here.

The one thing I found really distracting is the author's continued use of the word "Soviet" when he clearly meant to say "Russian". The story is set several decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, but maybe readers who are less OCD than me won't find it a problem!

This book is incredibly well written. The author clearly wanted to send a message and reach more than just military men and army buffs. This book seems to be written for everyone! The level of description helps one visualize every scene with incredible detail.
I'm a little confused by the two negative reviews posted here because the preface of the book clearly states that this book is a FICTIONAL story and is NOT a techno thriller. Clearly the people who gave such reviews aren't very nice people and aren't able to read or comprehend such skilled literary writing. I can't imagine the kind of person it takes to write such a negative review, especially over a book that is this excellent! This book will change your life. The author did a fantastic job!

The plot strains credulity;, i.e. Germany and Russian basically recreate the 3rd Reich and the Soviet Union. The battle scenes are somewhat interesting, though they seem like they were cribbed off US Army War College war-games circa 1983. There are far too many characters to develop any meaningful interest in, and (SPOILER ALERT), the author then kills off all but one or two by the end; character-icide writ large.

All together, a disappointing book. IF you want a gripping World War III adventure, Red Storm Rising or Arc Light are the books for you.

I received an advanced copy through Goodreads and certainly glad I did! Much research and in-depth, forehand knowledge went into the writing of this fictional War that begins not in the Mideast but in Germany when Russia, under a maniacal leader, decides to "take back" Germany and in the process resorts to nuclear and chemical weapons with devastating results. Mr. Gregg has created a documentary type of tale with many characters in various states and stages of the conflict. Chronicled in a way that in each chapter you feel you are reading a newspaper account of the War. It is obvious that Mr. Gregg is writing from experience as well as privy information concerning the U.S. strength of position (or lack of) in Europe. Well done.

Repetitive, amateur writing, poor scenario / world construction, utterly generic weapons, equipment, and engagement descriptions etc. I've read every single >self published third world war book out, including buying a lot of out of print hardcovers and this is definitely low on the list. If you're looking for stuff after the obvious candidates like Clancy, Coyle, and Bond (be careful, they all get awful the further into their careers they get), try Harvey Black's Red/Black/Blue Effect books and Farman's Rubicon series (he's got some weird kinks but they're pretty fun).

The tension never lets up in this gripping thriller!
What would happen if Russia and the U.S.A. met on the battlefields of Europe today? The Red Line is a beautifully crafted depiction of a conflict that feels only too real. I was unable to put this down; the action, characters and vivid descriptions of a world gone mad with war are riveting. Fans of Tom Clancy will be thrilled to discover this author.

I bought the audible version and listened to it. The author seems to know very little about modern warfare and the weapons that would be used. He places this war in the 2020's yet the Russians are driving T-62 and shooting AK47's. The tactics he describes are those that a civilian might think the military would use.