The next global hotspot is not where you think
There’s a reason why we set our next novel in Central Asia
Welcome back to the Two Navy Guys Debrief, the (mostly) weekly forum where we take on real—and fictional—national security issues. We also read books together.
In real estate, the mantra is location, location, location. Turns out that axiom applies to novels as well.
After we completed the first four books of the Command and Control series, we wanted to pivot to a new storyline for Don Riley and his team of intrepid defenders of democracy.
So we went hunting for the next global hotspot…and landed in Central Asia.
Geography is Destiny
For the five Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan—geography is destiny. The map below tells the story:
To the north and west is the fading Russian Federation. Although these Central Asian countries are former Soviet vassal states and have historically strong ties with Mother Russia, not so much anymore. These days, Russia’s attention is on their western flank where the meat grinder that is Mr. Putin’s Unnecessary War is approaching its third birthday.
To the south is Iran and Afghanistan. Iran is wrapped up in their own proxy war in the Middle East that could explode at any moment and Afghanistan is under Taliban rule. Not exactly stable neighbors.
In the east is China. A rising Great Power and an economic and military powerhouse, China is just hungry. Hungry for influence, hungry for more resources, hungry for greater security for their own volatile Western provinces.
In Covert Action, we laid out the stakes.
Via the Belt and Road Initiative, China pours billions into infrastructure projects across the Central Asian region. The goal: a 1000-mile road-rail-internet New Silk Road linking Western China with Tehran.
But not everyone is happy about the growing Chinese influence. A series of terrorist attacks spring up along the New Silk Road, and things get ugly. Naturally, the Chinese move to protect their investment. Things escalate to a fever pitch and the People’s Liberation Army launches a blitz into the region.
Harrison Kohl, Don’s man on the scene in Central Asia, is caught in the crossfire…
As usual, our fiction is not far from reality. Although reported sparsely, China is already developing military bases inside of Central Asia. This Telegraph news piece has a good summary of the shifting alliances in the region as well as some great shots of the type of terrain that we described in these last two books.
And that brings us to Proxy War
Book 6 of the Command and Control series, releases on January 21, 2025.
Harrison Kohl, embedded with the resistance forces as a CIA liaison, is in it to win it. He‘s dedicated body and soul to Akhmet Orazov, leader of the resistance, and his fight for freedom from the Chinese invaders. Honestly, maybe a little too dedicated. Harrison makes some choices over the course of this book that blur the line between his job and his loyalties.
Having suffered a humiliating defeat in Taiwan, the Chinese are not fooling around. They’ve deployed a new battlefield weapon: Foresight, a predictive battlefield AI. Foresight analyzes the data and tells the PLA where the resistance forces will attack before it happens. Think of Foresight as the Wayne Gretzky of battlefield tactics. It puts the PLA forces where the rebels will be.
“Torn from tomorrow’s headlines, loaded with intrigue and mystery”
Proxy War is everything you’re come to expect from a Bruns-Olson thriller. The high-wire balancing act of international politics, the flash-bang of military engagements, and the intrigue of covert operations all wrapped up in one big beautiful book.
We can’t wait to share this story with you. Are you ready?
Be happy. Stay healthy. Read (or listen to) a book.
As always, thanks for being a supporter –
David & JR, AKA the Two Navy Guys
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