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Watching the North Korean elite Feb 12, 2008
J. Damien has woven tightly together two wonderful stories. As a techie, I loved the story about the development of laser weapons and life around developing weapon systems. But I was most drawn to the story in North Korea. When I realized that I was watching the North Korean elite maneuver, I became completely drawn in. I could not put the darned thing down and have lost sleep for a week compulsively page-turning. While there are some minor flaws in this book, its sweep, characterization, tensions, and love of its subject are simply riveting. Catchers in the Sky is complex, moving and informative. The research was excellent, the characters are engaging and the story moves at a surprisingly quick pace. What makes the book so excellent, though, is the North Korean storyline which is believable in so many ways.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Catchers in the Sky Feb 02, 2008
I highly recommend Catchers in the Sky. It's an interesting and easily accessible look at North Korea and the surrounding politics. It's also a good look at the personalities involved in the development of the Airborne Laser, and the potential of directed energy weapons. Besides being a well written, globe-spinning adventure, I also learned some geography, history, technology, politics, and cultural lessons. It's entertaining and educational - Bravo!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Read it - you will enjoy it and learn a lot Nov 28, 2007
The author asked me to review the book, and I put a short summary here:
"This is an exciting adventure story, illustrating the changes which Directed Energy may bring to modern warfare. The book painlessly educates the reader on the basics of Directed Energy warfare and slips in some geo-political concerns about the complex Korean environment. Read it - you will enjoy it and learn a lot."
George B. Harrison, Maj. Gen., USAF (Ret), Director, Strategic Initiatives, Georgia Tech Research Institute
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
quaker approved Nov 02, 2007
As a Quaker and a pacifst I thought this book was extremely timely. I was moved by the difficult questions posed by Damien even as I was transported to a different world. Never preachy, always entertaining, he managed to balance serious speculation about world destruction and the moral repercussions of preventing it via war, with fascinating characters on mad-cap adventures. My favorite character was Abbey the crazed Japanese journalist, but I felt drawn to the heroine as well. Great portraits of two (entirely different) strong women. I also marveled at the author's spectacular knowledge of Korea and I understood the politics of that region like never before. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and highly recommend this novel. It would be a great beach read!
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Hold on to your light saber! Aug 18, 2007
Great action/adventure story with a good dose of reality! Think of a strong dose of Tom Clancy, mixed with Cussler and maybe some James Rollins thrown in. Lots of twists, turns, heros, heroines, betrayal, friendship, love and stunning techology. Damien has infused the story with a host of political, geographical and social details that makes North Korea come alive. He has clearly done his research in this area. The story also details the development of an advance weapon and the people that make it happen. The interaction of the various groups and personalities within the US military is right on. For those that would like a peek into this crazy complicated aspect of the modern warfare, this is great way to get it - while being entertained all the way!. Damien has woven a great subject into a page turner that will keep you up reading all night - this is a good one.
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