Larry Bond’s Red Dragon Rising: Blood of War

Bond and DeFelice’s excellent fourth and final Red Dragon Rising military thriller (after 2012’s Shock of War) offers blazing combat, heroic deeds, and the sometimes sad, sometimes joyful personal stories of the men and women who have carried this saga on land, at sea, and in the air. Assisting the Vietnamese opposing the Chinese forces attacking their country are U.S. Army Maj. Zeus Murphy, a ragtag cadre of SEALS, CIA fighters, and battle-hardened mercenaries, all backed by a U.S. president prepared to wage an undeclared war. Meanwhile, off the Vietnamese coast, Dirk Silas, the commander of the American destroyer McCampbell, faces several Chinese warships determined to sink him and begin WWIII. Those coming late to the series would be advised to start with the first entry, Shadows of War, and read straight through all four books. Readers doing so will find themselves stopping only long enough to put one down and pick up the next. Agents: (for Bond) Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media; (for DeFelice) Jake Elwell, Harold Ober Associates. (Jan.)