Onyx, 1998, $6.99, ISBN 0-451-19405-5, 365 pages

It's always good to read a novel about the USAF by a guy in the USAF. It's even better to read about a USAF laser weapon mounted on a modified KC-135 written by a USAF involved in laser weapon development (or so his bio. says). In any case, it's pretty obvious he knows his way around a plane and that comes out in his prose.

The clever Syrians have a new laser weapon that shoots down stealth fighters. Without air support, Israel stands a good chance of being overrun. Sure enough, the Syrians are massing, so in comes the USAF with its prototype laser weapon called Silent Lightning, to take out the Syrian command jet. Simultaneously, a commando strike by the Israelis would destroy the ground-based installation. Meanwhile a space-borne attach with another USAF prototype is being prepared. You can guess which prototype gets the call--both.

Gribble's prose and plot move along, and if it is not stellar, it doesn't tangle either. He adds a few twists, a few daring-do characters, and some authentic-sounding air operations. Of course, you know the operation will be a success, for all novels of this genre call for US victory. The bad guys will suffer losses in disproportion, for that's a part of the genre too. And the reluctant hero will go back to home, hearth, and health.

Gribble has a way to go to catch Clancy, but Silent Lightening is a good first step.

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