This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Thunder in the Morning Calm Zondervan (August 2, 2011) by Don Brown
BUT FIRST, A WORD FROM OUR BLOGGER:
One thing I can count on from life-and-death adventures is their predictability. Perhaps I should take comfort in experiencing few surprises in my reading, but I don't.
        Actually, predicting elements of a novel gives me a slight ego-boost to keep me going when the read becomes boring. THUNDER IN THE MORNING CALM rewarded me with some of that predictability, but I also found some surprises on my to a satisfying, good-guy-wins climax.
        Don Brown's story of Korean War aftermath presented some interesting characters, but they failed to grab my empathy at a deep, intimate level. As the characters dealt with typical Communist propaganda, I felt as though they were assailing me with typical Christian propaganda. While not encountering typical Sunday school-style conversions felt refreshing, all the brethren seemed to share a common, Evangelical Christian worldview. I mean, that happens to be my worldview, but God's church includes many other religious styles and traditions.
        And speaking of brethren, our progagonist met a passle of 'em, seemingly, every time he turned around. Yes, God is perfectly able to place as many of His people as He wants wherever He wants, but at a certain point in a story it just begins to seem unlikely.
        That said, please don't think this book is not worth reading. Nancy and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though some of the Korean names slowed me down a bit. If you want a competent action thriller from a strong Evangelical worldview, without all the sex and language that typically accompanies the genre, please consider Don Brown's THUNDER IN THE MORNING CALM.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

DON BROWN, a former U.S. Navy JAG Officer, is the author of Zondervan’s riveting NAVY JUSTICE SERIES, a dynamic storyline chronicling the life and adventures of JAG officer ZACK BREWER. After TREASON, his first novel in the NAVY JUSTICE SERIES, was published to rave reviews in 2005, drawing comparisons to the writing style of John Grisham, Don Brown was named as co-chairman of national I LOVE TO WRITE DAY, an event recognized by the governors of nine states to promote writing throughout the nation, and especially among the nation’s schools.
        Paying no homage to political correctness, Don's writing style is described as “gripping,” casting an entertaining and educational spin on a wide-range of current issues, from radical Islamic infiltration of the military, to the explosive issue of gays in the military, to the modern day issues of presidential politics in the early 21st Century.
        Don graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1982, and after finishing law school, continued his post-graduate studies through the Naval War College, earning the Navy’s nonresident certificate in International Law.
        During his five years on active duty in the Navy, Don served in the Pentagon, was published in the Naval Law Review, and was also a recipient of the Navy Achievement Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lieutenant Commander 'Gunner' McCormick is assigned as an intelligence officer to Carrier Strike Force 10, being deployed to the Yellow Sea at the invitation of South Korea for joint exercises with the US Navy. During his pre-deployment briefing, he discovers a TOP-SECRET MEMO revealing rumors that the North Koreans may still be holding a handful of elderly Americans from the Korean War in secret prison camps.
        As it happens, Gunner's grandfather, who was a young marine officer in the Korean War, disappeared at Chosin Reservoir over 60 years ago and is still listed as MIA in North Korea. Sworn to silence about what he has read, the top-secret memo eats at him. Gunner decides to spend all his inheritance and break every military regulation in the book to finance his own three-man commando squad on a suicide mission north of the DMZ to search for clues about the fate of his grandfather. Risking his career, his fortune, and his life, Gunner will get his answers, or he will die trying.
        Don Brown is building a loyal fan base by writing what he knows best: thrillers with heart. A former Navy JAG officer and action officer in the Pentagon, Brown pens action-packed plots and finely-drawn characters that are credible and compelling. Thunder in the Morning Calm is a novel of bravery, duty, and family love that will keep readers of all ages reading straight through to the last page.

        If you would like to read the first chapter of Thunder in the Morning Calm , go HERE