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Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
Task Force Thunderbolt by Galen D. Peterson is one of those rare war novels that reads like an actual factual account of a conflict, including the battles involved and the soldiers who participated. When the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, NATO, led by U.S. forces, moved in to assist the Ukrainians to fight back against the interlopers. Captain Logan Trandfjell and his Lightning Troop have been there right from the beginning of the action and have performed great feats of heroism on the battlefield. When Captain Trandfjell is recalled from the front line to Squadron Staff, he must leave his beloved Lightning Warriors behind and participate from behind the scenes. In the depths of winter, a daring attempted rescue mission by U.S. Rangers of prisoners-of-war held in a secret Russian POW camp will see Captain Trandfjell thrown right back into the thick of the battle, fighting for their very survival.
Task Force Thunderbolt is as realistic a novel of combat as I have ever read. Author Galen D. Peterson is a combat veteran and a former tank commander, which is evident in his meticulous attention to detail in describing the equipment, battlefield situations, and character reactions throughout the novel. One can’t help but wonder how the war in Ukraine today may have panned out if indeed the Western allies, through NATO, had confronted Russia on the battlefield when it first invaded. What I particularly appreciated was the author’s unwillingness to paint the enemy combatants as anything other than what they truly were - just young men following the same orders as the Allied soldiers. The inter-personal relationships within the troop, especially once they received an embedded journalist in their midst, were fascinating and also went a long way to reinforce the humanity and frailty of these great warriors. There is plenty of fascinating military strategy and battlefield action for the true aficionado of war novels, but there is equally a softer, gentler, human side to the characters, and that is what makes this story so well-rounded and ultimately enjoyable to a wider reading audience. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
