Great thriller that kept me turning the pages. Great story, great writing and characters. Really enjoyable and would read this author again.

Yet another thrilling and riveting story from Mr..Poyer....I always anxiously await the next Dan Lenson story, and this one is sure to keep readers glued to the pages.
The aftermath of the war with China is portrayed thru several different character viewpoints, from a nuclear ravaged America to riot torn Beijing.

Violent Peace: The War with China: Aftermath of Armageddon is the twentieth military action thriller in the Captain Dan Lenson series. Having won the war against China, the United States is trying to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of a nuclear strike that left more than 10 million Americans ”missing and presumed dead.” Meanwhile, elsewhere, U.S. Navy officer Dan Lenson is now on leave from his victory in the South China Sea and, despite having just been promoted to Admiral, has returned to America to attempt to find his daughter, Nan, who had been working on a cure for a mysterious virus named the Chinese flu and was last seen in Seattle, Washington, where she had been distributing the vaccines to those most in need of them.

Unfortunately, Seattle was almost completely devastated by a megaton-range airburst and it is likely Nan fled to escape the effects of radiation; she could be anywhere but it doesn't take resourceful Dan long to uncover a lead on her possible whereabouts. The story then follows all the peripheral, or secondary, characters we've come to care about: Lenson’s wife Blair Titus is working alongside members of the U.S. peace committee currently stationed in Beijing with the aim of setting terms for Taiwan to become part of the Chinese peninsula, as well as also attempting to promote the idea of the installation of a democratic government in China.

We also follow the lives of Cheryl Staurulakis, captain of the USN ship Savo Island; machine gunner Hector Ramos; and Navy Master Chief Theodore Harlett Oberg. This is a terrifyingly close to the bone look at a possible near-future reality and the devastation that could be wreaked by WWIII. The plot is rich in intricate detail, full of palpable tension and thoroughly action-packed from start to finish. Despite this, Violent Peace is a cerebral story that hits close to home, and although you'd think by book twenty the series would perhaps be starting to flounder, it is actually, surprisingly, still going from strength to strength. Exciting, epic in scope and thought-provoking, this is moving and compulsive military action at its finest. Highly recommended.

I thought the story written before this one, Overthrow, was intense. But the author continued at that remarkable pace and kept most of the same players in place yet expanding on their story. Players that give their heart and soul for their country, without second thoughts.

This installment is after the armistice and walks us through negotiations between the countries as they try to find what’s fair yet trying to install a democratic type government in China.

We also see showdowns between navies with the cat and mouse game that can make or break the end of the war. Commanders who marriages and their world have been irrevocably changed.

There are principal players all throughout the world that have their lives changed in a blink of an eye. A Marine who is barely hanging on with PTSD and horrific lung issues.

A missing daughter trying to escape radiation from detonated bombs in the US while trying to save vaccines and distribute them to those who need it most. A dad, Lenson, searching the US for her.

And throughout all of this heavy look at a potential future, there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. A healing and acceptance that things can find normalcy again. Or is it all a balance hanging by a teetering thread?

Poyer tells a story that isn’t for the faint of heart. While it seems almost unrealistic in many ways, if you look at the political atmosphere today it’s scary to say that this could be a reality. And it’s up to us to ensure that something like this “fiction” doesn’t become nonfiction.

For readers of military action, espionage, and the intense realistic future of our world, you need to read this. Poyer tells a story like non-other.

The next book in David Poyer's series about a war between the United States and China with the drawing in of many other nations making it World War III. Millions have been killed and many others maimed for life. The war concluded on an armistice between the belligerents which left the same problem as had occurred in 1918 ending World War I. The German army later indicated that they had never surrendered and were not obligated by the treaty made by their leaders which opened the door to the next phase - World War II.
The action begins at a peace conference held by the former belligerents to fix terms and conditions and attempt to make sure that the combat does not begin again. Problems arise immediately when China attempts to fix the conditions for the armistice which could negate what the allies want to occur. In addition, the principal characters face the problems of a peace bringing conditions of war-torn nations devastated by the fighting having to reconstruct their countries first.
Dan Lenson, has been promoted to Admiral but instead of immediately assuming his position spends many weeks in attempts to find his daughter who has disappeared in the aftermath of the fighting. His wife Blair is working with the members of the U.S. peace committee sent to Bejing in order to try and set the terms of Taiwan reuniting with China as well as attempting to form a democratic government for the Chinese. Meanwhile Captain Cheryl Stauralakis on board the the USS Savo Island and in command of a small flotilla is ordered to sail against a Russian fleet attempting to grab a Manchuria rich in natural resources.
On another front Teddy Oberg, a US Seal has made himself the leader of an Islamic group and leading a revolt causes the allies to consider terminating him as a means of controlling the area he presides over.
Mr. Poyer continues to draw his readers in with books featuring continuous action and well delineated characters taking part in the action. This novel ends with the possibility of new combat against a Russia that has kept itself largely out of the fighting but demands to be allowed to take part in war reparations. The playing out on a world stage is deftly handled and cause and effect made logical. Would the situations evolve in a similar manner if really taking place? - probably. If not exactly. Certainly it does place the blame for the war on leadership consumed with pursuing their own ends rather than looking for the common good.

Free ARC from Net Galley

I am disappointed, only because I read this first and didn't start at the beginning of the series. Poyer writes with experience and doesn't make war, victory, or even defeat "fun". No overt political undercurrent but more a cautionary tale of what could happen if we continue in the current state of failing to realize what is.the real threat.

Great writing, I am a fan.

I am grateful to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a prepublication review copy of the latest book in David Poyer's harrowing series on a third world war with China entitled "Violent Peace" and subtitled "The War With China: Aftermath to Armageddon." The book is set in a world in which a devastating war between China and the United States has just reached a conclusion with an Allied Victory. This particular volume of the series focuses on the events surrounding the armistice which supposedly concludes the fighting and the long lasting devastation resulting from nuclear escalation which occurred near the end of the conflict. Poyer is at his best (and that is saying something) not only in his always outstanding depiction of war and modern combat but also in his riveting and heart rending description of the consequences of a nuclear world war for all of the participants, with the victors not much better off than the defeated Chinese. Among the many subjects covered, through the experiences of well drawn characters, are PTSD, the social and economic cost of "surviving" a nuclear strike and the very personal costs paid by all and those on the home front. It is deeply moving, but it is not a tale for the weak of heart. More than once I was on the verge of tears as the protagonists struggled to find their place in a world almost unrecognizable in the devastation wrought by modern weapons. From the mountains of Turkestan to the Tsushima straits and the nuclear wasteland of Seattle and much of the "heartland" of the United States, the author is unrelenting in forcing the reader to confront the consequences of modern war. Nor does he shy from relating the political implications of this kind of devastation, including civil war, both in China and in the United States. It is a cautionary tale well worth reading, for there are many lessons to be learned here, not just about this future hypothetical war but about our present military and political policies as well as we dance around the precipice of nuclear armageddon. I recommend it without reservation (I could scarcely put it down), and I eagerly await the next volume in the series.

An interesting read that continues the aftermath of the war. David Poyer has great character development and a fine sense of modern day social and political affairs. A great continuation of his series.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.