A post apocalyptic military thriller. Set a few years ahead of now, the world is in serious conflict, the “West” against “The Brotherhood”, an obvious Muslim land army of considerable power. It’s a WW3 type battle without nukes.
Meanwhile a squadron of allied troops are returning from the front for much needed R&R when their plane is shot down in the middle of nowhere. The survivors need to pull together and find their way back to civilisation. By the time they make it to safety, the world has changed beyond recognition.
Our squadron need to survive serious contact with the enemy and find friendly forces or a place of safety. If that is possible in the new world they have emerged in.
I thought this was surprisingly good, plenty of both action and pace. Some near future technology helps spice things up a bit. It is violent and characters you like might well not make it, but that makes it realistic it terms of military action, people die.
Enjoyed this.
The Last Squadron The Last Squadron eBook was published in 2017 and was written by Dan Jayson. This is Mr. Jayson's first novel.
I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence, Mature Language, and Mature Situations. The story is set in Europe in the near future. The primary character is Air Force Captain Natasha Kavolsky.
A war has been brewing for some time along ethnic and religious lines - the Allied Forces against The Brotherhood. As the multinational Allied 9th Mountain Squadron heads for some much needed R & R in a plane flown by Kavolsky, the war suddenly intensifies. Communications is disrupted and the plane is shot down somewhere over a remote area of Norway.
The survivors struggle in the severe winter. As they slowly make their way to civilization they encounter Brotherhood troops and must battle their way south. Kavolsky slowly transitions from pilot to one of the leading officers of the Squadron. The Brotherhood has surprised the Allied Forces with advanced technology, nuclear weapons, and biological weapons. The Brotherhood has escalated the war and is now trying to cleanse the Earth of all Allied Forces and their civilian populations.
The squadron must overcome many obstacles in this post-apocalypse world if it wants to survive. The casualties mount up as the Squadron travels through Europe. A base is established by those that remain in France. There they make a stand against a much larger Brotherhood force.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 11 hours I spent reading this 480 page military thriller. I liked the many characters that the story includes. I also liked seeing the military technology which the author predicts for 15 or so years in our future. While Kavolsky is the primary character, there are many others that have significant roles in the story, many of which do not survive to the end. I liked this more realistic attrition of characters. I can easily see sequels to this story and if they appear I will be interested in reading them. The cover art is OK, but I think something could have been chosen to better represent the story. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.
Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.
The Last Squadron Fantastic Book
I loved this book. The story line was so plausible I almost feel as though it’s going to happen. I’m no expert, but the descriptions of soldiers in action seem spot on. Boy do you feel like your in the middle of the fights. Just enough fighting, blood and gore to hammer home what war is like without overdoing it. Tremendous characters, you fight along with them every step of the way. Touches of romance and loss, grief and human resilience. Cannot recommend enough. Do yourself a favour and read this book. The Last Squadron A very good post-apocalyptic yarn
In the near future, the world is divided into Allied forces and The Brotherhood and low-intensity fighting have just escalated massively into full scale nuclear and biological war. 97 members of the Allied Forces are shot down over the Nordic wilderness and they eventually emerge only to find the world they knew no longer exists. The story is about how the survivors of the crash fight their way towards other Allied survivors from a man-made plague that has wiped out 95% of the population.
This is not really my genre but I did enjoy this book a lot. Three main things lost the book a star. There were many vivid descriptions of bloody death which did grate a little after a while. Occasionally a character that I came to like and be interested in met a sudden, grisly demise and there were far too many acronyms spread throughout the book.
The author's imagination is very good as many different types of advanced weaponry came to the fore, but it is his detailed description of the hand to hand combat with conventional weapons that really impressed me. I have to say that the ending came very quickly and the book contained probably one of the shortest epilogues I have ever read! However, the story certainly held my attention over three or four evenings and I would be interested to see if there is a follow up to The Last Squadron.
Digger 95
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
The Last Squadron An amazing read
Having never heard of this author, I went out on a limb and purchased this book. It was excellent. Set some time in the future, the tech made this veteran wonder if this is what the wars of the future would look like. A dabble of science, lots of military tactics, but the people were the heart of this book. Excellent. The Last Squadron
Great story
I really enjoyed this book and am really disappointed that it is the only one (hopefully more to come?!) from this author. I read a lot of books (more than 200 in the first four months of this year so far) and I rarely rate one as a 5 star. The Last Squadron absolutely deserves all 5 stars and I hope the author gives us more of the same. The Last Squadron Action Packed
I would’ve given it 4 stars had the conclusion taken a different direction. That said, awesome character development and interesting tech make this one well worth the read. The Last Squadron Another hit in my opinion
This story is about all out war, and the male anf female soldiers who fight it. It is written about the future, but could be tomorrow. Military and EOTWAWKI should both enjoy this book. The Last Squadron As a futuristic earth war escalates, a squadron crash lands and fights for survival.
The author does an excellent job of creating intense battles with very vivid and believable tech. The foot soldier has advanced in this arena, but is still very vulnerable and human. The squadron is not only a fight for their own survival, but that of humanity. The Last Squadron I loved it
Great hard hitting story with lots of twists and turns in between futuristic and current world events. I’m no critic but I know what I like and I really liked and enjoyed this book and recommend it The Last Squadron
Dan Jayson Ò 0 characters
Just fifteen years from now, the world is polarised along ethnic and religious lines. Regional low-intensity wars have now been raging for thirty-five years.
In the midst of the conflict, ninety-seven members of the Allied forces 9th Mountain Squadron enroute from the Northern Front for a long awaited period of rest and relaxation, are shot down over the Nordic wilderness.
With no way of communicating with the outside world, the aircraft’s captain, Natasha Kavolsky, and the squadron commander, Major Alexander Burton, lead the squadron out of the wilderness only to discover that during their absence the world they knew has ceased to exist.
This is a story of comradeship, hope and despair set in a world that is even now a real and terrifying possibility.
Realistic praise for Dan Jayson’s debut novel:
“I turned the pages faster than an Artillery piece at fire for effect!” – JC (Captain - retired - Royal Artillery)
“Captures the spirit of the infantry.” – JH (Corporal - retired - Royal Engineers Commando)
The Last Squadron
