Having started the Fuldapocalypse Review Blog and being a natural reader, I’ve consumed a lot of books this year. Many have been technothrillers published in the period following the USSR’s fall and Gulf War. With the strongest foe lost, there was a big flailing around for opponents. Besides the traditional and still most credible Russians and Chinese, the foes also included, and were certainly not limited to:
- Real-life regional opponents like Iraq and North Korea
- Japan
- Western Europe
- Drug dealers
- American militias
- “Middle Eastern Coalition” amalgams
This was not always a bad thing, and the quality of the book depended on a lot more than just how weird the opponent was. And I like weird, unconventional opponents. One of the joys of Command’s scenario editor is how a fight against such a foe can be made just as easily as a great power megaclash.