Tom Clancy's EndWar (novel)
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| Author | David Michaels |
|---|---|
| Original title | Firehawk |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | EndWar |
| Genre | Technological War |
| Published | February 4, 2008 Berkley |
| Media type | Print Paperback |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | 978-0-425-22214-0 |
| OCLC | 172979218 |
| LC Class | CPB Box no. 2738 vol. 10 |
| Followed by | Tom Clancy's EndWar: The Hunted |
Tom Clancy's EndWar is the first novel in the Tom Clancy's EndWar series. It was written under the pseudonym David Michaels and released on February 4, 2008 by Berkley Books. It is based on the video game series of the same name that was published by Ubisoft and released for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PSP, PC and Xbox 360 later that year. The book provides a fictional account of World War III and switches focus between a United States Joint Strike Force team, and other military groups from the US and the Russian Federation. The majority of the story is set in Canada, specifically the Northwest Territories and Alberta.
Plot
It is the year 2020. After capturing a Russian GRU Colonel named Gru Doletskaya in Moscow, Team Victor of the Joint Strike Force (JSF) retreats from Russia, with Sergeant Nathan Vatz as the sole survivor. Colonel Doletskaya is interrogated by Major Alice Dennison back in the U.S. The colonel refuses to answer any questions, even under torture. The interrogation is then turned over to Charles Shakura, the JSF's top interrogator. Yet the Colonel still holds out and he is then sent to Cuba. Meanwhile, Outlaw Team, composed of Marine Force Recon, is dispatched to rescue the Colonel when his plane is shot down in the Cuban jungle. The team finds only one survivor, Shakura. Outlaw Team's leader, Sergeant McAllen, is told that this was only a decoy, and that Colonel Doletskaya was ferried to Cuba on a submarine.
Prior to this time, all U.S. Special Operations Forces are merged into one combined task force termed the "Joint Strike Force" (JSF). In 2016, there is a nuclear war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, annihilating both countries. This war leads Russia into being the world's leading oil producer. In 2016, Europe becomes one country called the European Federation (EF). The United Nations is then disbanded. The US and EF are no longer allies. After launching the Freedom Star space station from the JFK Space Center in 2020, the space station is attacked by the Green Brigade, a powerful and infamous left-wing ecoterrorist group. All Marines aboard are killed and the Russians are blamed for this. The purpose of the space station is to allow the United States to be able to deploy 3 brigades of U.S. Marines anywhere in the world within 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, Major Stephanie 'Siren' Halverson and her wingman, Captain Jake 'Ghost Hawk' Boyd, observe multiple Russian Ka-29 helos flying over Canadian land. While trying to scare the Russian helicopters back to the border, Captain Boyd's F35 is shot down by rocket fire. Major Halverson manages to shoot down 7 Russian helicopters and damage an eighth before trying to land her plane to rescue Jake. He refuses because Major Halverson would then run the risk of being captured or killed by the Spetsnaz forces. After giving her sidearm to Boyd, she returns and takes off in her F35. Soon after, Spetsnaz troops arrive via a Ka-29, and Boyd is killed. Halverson receives a call from the President, and the U.S. fully realizes that Russia is invading Canada. At that time, Canada is the world's second leading oil producer. After refueling and rearming at Igloo Base, which is destroyed seconds after both pilots take off, Major Halverson with her new wingman Captain Lisa 'Sapphire' Johansson and two other F35s attack and destroy a large staging ground with AN-130 super carrier jets. During that engagement, a flight of Russian SU-98 fighter jets shoot down all of the F35s, with Major Halverson being the only survivor. Back in the U.S., Major Dennison figures out the answers to the questions. Operation 2659 is the invasion of Canada, and Snegurockha is Colonel Viktoria Antsyforov. Colonel Doletskaya falls in love with her until she dies.
During that time, Outlaw Team is sent to Canada to find Major Halverson and rescue her, their orders from the President himself. Sergeant Vatz's Team also arrives in Canada to combat Spetsnaz troops in the town of High Level, Alberta. Half of Vatz's team dies when the C-130 is shot down. Khaki, an ex-Canadian Special Forces soldier, is a helicopter pilot responsible for transporting Outlaw team to Major Halverson, lands in the town held by Sgt Vatz in order to refuel. At that point, the Russians stage an assault on the airfield, successfully destroying Khaki's helicopter. Outlaw Team begins to form a plan to take a Russian KA-29 helo, and in doing so, are able to enlist the help of one Captain Pravota. Outlaw team then tells Pravota to fly to the location where they will find Halverson. He agrees but warns that the helo has mechanical problems. Pravota tells them that he wants to go with the US soldiers on the return trip to the United States, and McAllen quickly agrees. After thinking they are Spetsnaz troops, Major Halverson begins to open fire at the helicopter, almost injuring the Outlaw Team. After realizing that is the Outlaw Team, she is rescued. Sergeant Vatz's Team, the Bravo Team, goes into combat with a handful of Spetsnaz, and some of his troops are killed.
Back in Moscow, the president of the Russian Federation, is called. It is Snegurockha and Green Vox. Green Vox is the leader of infamous terrorist group, the Green Brigade Transnational. They tell the president that they have put two nuclear bombs in Calgary and Edmonton and will detonate them in 48 hours. The only catch is that they will wait for most of the citizens to evacuate, and more of the Spetsnaz to move in. The president demands help from the US to defuse it after all attempts of negotiations with the two terrorists fail. The terrorists put the nuclear bombs in the two cities in order to effectively turn the world guns on Russia, and bring any neutral country into the war, because the two cities also have large oil refineries. The President charges Sergeant Marc Rakken to send two Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) teams to defuse it. Marc Rakken leads them to the nuclear bombs and defuses it before it detonates. However, Marc Rakken sacrifices himself to save the entire NEST team when a lone Spetsnaz troop throws a grenade at them. In the end, Snegurockha kills Green Vox because they fail to detonate the nuclear bombs. Spetsnaz troops begin to evacuate from Canada. The Outlaw Team leader gets his legs shot, but Major Halverson survives. Nathan Vatz is relieved that the war is over, but also finds out that Rakken died to save the entire NEST Team. Major Alice Dennison approached Colonel Doletskaya and tells him that Colonel Viktoria Antsyforov is still alive and currently hiding out in Canada. Colonel Pavel Doletskaya tells her that he will help Dennison to capture Viktoria, and she frees him. Major Dennison later calls President Becerra and tells him that she hasn't told all of the information to Doletskaya, but he's in on their plan.
Storyline conflicts with video game
In the video game, the U.S. and the European Federation are enemies who go to war with each other over the European Federation's unintentional destruction of the Freedom 4 space craft. In the book, they are able to figure out who is behind the attack and are allies.
In the video game, the terrorist organization is called the "Forgotten Army," who are funded by Russia. The book features the "Green Brigade," whose goal is to "save the environment from the super-powers." This discontinuity is explained in the sequel, Tom Clancy's EndWar: The Hunted, with the former group described as a splinter group of the latter.