Death Before Dawn: SEAL STRIKE! Book One, Martin L. Strong, Writer's Showcase, 2001
Matthew Barrett is the son of a highly decorated soldier, now deceased. His father's method of parenting was heavy on the pushing and very light on the praise and encouragement. Nothing Matt did was good enough for his father.
Matt joins the Navy SEALs, partly to prove to his father, and himself, that he is good enough. Since SEAL stands for Sea, Air and Land, Matt practices all kinds of scenarios with the other members of his squad, of which he is the leader. Each member of the squad has their own area of expertise, but the intention is that they also function as one unit. Matt passes SEAL training, but not exactly with flying colors.
Meantime, the government of Egypt is on the brink of collapse. An Islamic fundamentalist leader named Banadar has been gaining popularity among parts of the military. The transformation of Egypt into a fundamentalist government would be a disaster for America and the West, so the decision is made to invade Egypt to keep that from happening. Matt's squad has the task of discovering the size and strength of Egyptian forces at one section of the international airport in Alexandria. They must then relay that information to a group of Army Rangers who are just behind them and will do the actual taking over of the airport. Unfortunately, the Rangers get shot out of the sky by the Egyptian military, so Matt and his squad must now wait several hours for assistance. The military units stationed at the airport know that something is wrong, and it's only a matter of time before they pinpoint the squad's location and open fire.
This one is quite good. The squad members are real people, and not just tall, square-jawed military stereotypes. It's short and easy to read and it feels very plausible (it had better be plausible; the author is a former real Navy SEAL). This novel is well worth the reader's time.</p>
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