If you’d like to know more about war dogs and their handlers, I highly recommend two books by the author Maria Goodavage: Soldier Dogs: The Untold Story of America’s Canine Heroes and Top Dog: The Story of Marine Hero Lucca.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Another topic raised in this novel is a new understanding of one aspect of PTSD. It goes by the name of moral injury and is explored in this book through the character of Tucker. It relates to a shattering of moral and ethical expectations, and according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, it can manifest as shame, guilt, anxiety, and anger, along with behavioral changes, such as alienation, withdrawal, and self-harming (including suicide). We see shades of this in Tucker in this book, and as with most veterans, there is no quick fix. For those afflicted, it’s an ongoing process to find their center again.
Alan Turing and His Oracle
Sadly, the history of the mathematical genius Alan Turing depicted here is mostly accurate. During World War II, he broke the Nazis’ Enigma code, which was integral to the Allies winning the war, but he was later convicted of gross indecency for being homosexual and had his security clearance revoked. Given the choice of prison or chemical castration, he chose the latter and eventually killed himself.
Turing is also considered to be the father of the modern computer, from the crude electromechanical machines he used to break the German code to his theoretical “oracle,” the first artificially intelligent computer. He did indeed at one point suggest to his bosses at the U.K. National Physical Laboratory that they should throw radioactive radium into one of his computing devices to see if the randomness of atomic decay could trigger the “unpredictability” that he believed (as do others today) may be the key to creating his “oracle.”
Most historians believe Turing didn’t go beyond theorizing the creation of an artificially intelligent computer, but there are others who wonder, which became the basis for this novel.
Drones, Drones, and More Drones
One only has to read the newspaper to understand and appreciate how prevalent the use of drones has become in modern warfare. There is currently an arms race under way to develop new and improved robotic warriors. This raises a fundamental question: will the use of drones save lives or will the ease of their use—killing from afar—make us more likely to go to war? Will we begin to shoot first and ask questions later? For a full exploration of these moral questions, along with a peek at what is coming next in drone development, please check out the frightening book Wired For War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century, by P. W. Singer.
This all brings us to the next topic concerning who will control these drones.
When Corporations Go to War
As with the advancements in drone warfare, the battlefield is changing in a unique and disturbing way. We are seeing the lines blurring between military forces and those armies employed by corporations—not just private defense contractors, but also full fighting forces—which raises the concern about profitability, accountability, and who truly is in charge. To save money and balance budgets, governments, including our own, are handing over military powers once overseen by command structures to corporate boardrooms. To read about this threat in more depth, I recommend Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry, by P. W. Singer.
This brings us to the final glimpse at what’s to come, an example of which is found in the pages of this story.
The Age of Information Wars
This novel explores a new battlefield that is already being waged by ISIS in the Middle East, by Russia in Ukraine, and by China on U.S. shores. It is a digital battleground with real-world consequences. This story casts a light on three critical components of this information theater of war: electronic warfare, cyber attacks, and the most insidious of all, psychological operations. To learn about where war is headed next, read this article by Professor David Stupples (which can be found on various websites, including Gizmodo.com): “The Next Big War Will Be Digital—and We’re Not Ready for It.”
So that’s where I’ll end this book—but not the story of Tucker and his stalwart companion, Kane. Their adventures are just beginning.
ALSO BY JAMES ROLLINS
The Eye of God
Bloodline
The Devil Colony
Altar of Eden
The Doomsday Key
The Last Oracle
The Judas Strain
Black Order
Map of Bones
Sandstorm
Ice Hunt
Amazonia
Deep Fathom
Excavation
Subterranean
ALSO BY GRANT BLACKWOOD
The End of Enemies
The Wall of Night
An Echo of War
ALSO BY JAMES ROLLINS AND GRANT BLACKWOOD
The Kill Switch
COPYRIGHT
WAR HAWK. Copyright © 2016 by James Czajkowski and Grant Blackwood. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
Maps provided and drawn by Steve Prey. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Steve Prey.
ISBN 978-0-06-213527-8
EPub Edition APRIL 2016 ISBN 9780062135308
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