Margins
Patrick McLanahan book cover 1
Patrick McLanahan book cover 2
Patrick McLanahan book cover 3
Patrick McLanahan
Series · 24
books · 1987-2020

Books in series

Flight of the Old Dog book cover
#1

Flight of the Old Dog

1987

Flight of the Old Dog is the runaway bestseller that launched the phenomenal career of Dale Brown. It is the riveting story of America's race for technology, overtaken by our greatest enemy's mastery of "Star Wars." The U.S. arsenal of nuclear missiles has been neutralized. America's only hope: The Old Dog Zero One, a battle-scarred bomber fully renovated with modern hardware - and equipped with the deadliest state-of-the-art armaments known to man... When the Soviet Union masters "Star Wars" technology, rendering the U.S.'s arsenal of nuclear missiles impotent, America's only hope lies in The Old Dog Zero One—a battle-scarred bomber fully renovated with enough weaponry and stealth hardware to earn it the nickname, "Megafortress."
Night Of The Hawk book cover
#2

Night Of The Hawk

1992

Five years ago, the Old Dog crossed the skies of the Soviet Union on a daring mission. One brave airman sacrificed his life to save his fellow crew members. His body was left in the Siberian wastes, while the Old Dog soared off to victory. Now, it has been discovered, David Luger never died. Captured and brainwashed by the KGB, Luger revealed U.S. military secrets of stealth technology. Secrets that could reunited the shattered factions of the former Soviet Union - and forge the most dangerous military alliance in the world...
Sky Masters book cover
#3

Sky Masters

1991

When Lieutenant Colonel Patrick McLanahan is offered the chance to test-fly a new B-2 bomber in strategic warfare training sorties, he jumps at the chance. This is McLanahan's chance to reconfirm his flying skills. By the author of "Flight of the Old Dog" and "Hammerheads".
Day of the Cheetah book cover
#4

Day of the Cheetah

1989

In this explosive New York Times bestseller, Dale Brown creates a shattering scenario of the ultimate race for technology... America’s most advanced fighter plane, DreamStar, has been hijacked. To retrieve it, Lt. Col. Patrick McLanahan takes on his most perilous assignment since The Flight of the Old Dog . The odds are against him. His aircraft, the Cheetah, hasn’t the speed, the power, or the technology of the DreamStar—his skills behind the stick are the only advantage he’s got. And so begins the greatest high-flying chase of all time...
Shadows of Steel book cover
#5

Shadows of Steel

1996

The new gulf war is erupting… And this one will be far bloodier than the first. A newly powerful Iran is flexing its military muscle in the Middle East. The Iranians have declared the Persian Gulf their territorial waters—and an American ship has just been sunk to prove the point. With a military racked by budget cuts and a public reluctant to fight, the president must end the crisis before it escalates. The solution: project Future Flight, a surgical stealth campaign to silence Iran’s modern weapons. The personnel: Colonel Patrick McLanahan and the surviving crew of the Old Dog. The stakes: success—or full-scale war…
Fatal Terrain book cover
#6

Fatal Terrain

1997

With the People's Republic of China and its allies launching their own territorial campaigns, conflicts are breaking out across the Asian continent, and it is up to aerial strike warfare expert Patrick McLanahan and his untried Umanned Aerial Attacker force to turn the tide before World War III erupts.
The Tin Man book cover
#7

The Tin Man

1998

Patrick McLanahan and his team embark on a high-tech battle against crime in the USA – in the spectacular new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Flight of the Old Dog and Fatal Terrain. The master of military adventure creates the ultimate one-man army… In another action-packed thriller of unrivalled authenticity, former pilot Dale Brown brings back his ever-popular hero Patrick McLanahan – this time at the centre of an undeclared war exploding on the streets of America. Now retired, McLanahan works for a company developing cutting-edge strategic devices for the armed forces. But when his rookie-cop brother is shot by terrorists, he transforms himself into a high-tech weapon of war. Protected by a new carbon-filament bodysuit that can instantly harden into stronger-than-steel armour and armed with almost-superhuman powers he can barely control, he embarks on a personal mission of revenge that will send his life spiralling towards disaster.
Battle Born book cover
#8

Battle Born

1999

Patrick McLanahan is back—and this time he faces his most difficult challenge. He must pull together a team of aggressive, maverick young pilots to face a world on the brink of massive nuclear conflict. It begins with a joint U.S.-Japanese-South Korean mock bombing raid. But the South Korean fighter pilots don't stick to the script. Instead, they race across the border into North Korea to support a massive people's revolt against the Communists. Virtually overnight, the fledgling United Korea is the world's newest nuclear power, igniting a fuse that threatens to blow Asia apart and trigger World War III. Only McLanahan has the top-secret aviation technology and the brash young heroes to stop the coming inferno—if he can get them to stop fighting each other and start fighting as a team before the world is reduced to cinders!
Warrior Class book cover
#9

Warrior Class

2001

Patrick McLanahan, the hero pilot from Dale Brown's blockbuster debut, Flight of the Old Dog, returns in his newest bestseller, Warrior Class. A Russian oil magnate seizes power using the army to back him up. Soon, Russia will dominate Europe-unless McLanahan turns a simple rescue operation into full-scale havoc.
Wings of Fire book cover
#10

Wings of Fire

2002

Dale Brown wings of fire
Air Battle Force book cover
#11

Air Battle Force

2003

Major General Patrick McLanahan creates an untried futuristic air combat unit that must be utilized against the Taliban and their plans to seize control of an oil-rich Asian state as the unstable peace established by American victories in Afghanistan threatens to dissolve in chaos. Reprint.
Plan of Attack book cover
#12

Plan of Attack

2004

U.S. Air Force aerial warfare expert Major General Patrick McLanahan has been demoted and moved back to a desk job. But while keeping a keen eye on what's going on with old enemies, he notices that Russia's heavy bomber and tactical bomber bases are busier than ever. McLanahan tries to get his superiors to pay attention and is ignored.Russian president General Anatoliy Gryzlov is determined to punish McLanahan and his fleet of robotic warplanes for a previous bombing of a Russian air base. To make his point, Gryzlov launches an all-out sneak attack on America—unlike anything ever believed possible—that devastates U.S. strategic air forces. McLanahan has collected information that not only foretold the Russians' daring plan, but also gives him the data he needs to plan a counterstrike that could stop the Russian war machine dead in its tracks. But McLanahan is no longer in charge of Air Battle Force, his combat unit of the future, and the Russian sneak attack has left the embattled U.S. president with few options: retaliate with every weapon in his arsenal, even if it triggers a global thermonuclear war, agree to a cease-fire on Russia's terms ... or listen to a disgraced and discredited young bomber commander's long-shot plan of attack. To prevent a destructive stalemate, McLanahan may have to take matters into his own hands.
Strike Force book cover
#13

Strike Force

2007

When a disgraced former Iranian military chief of staff engineers an insurgency that threatens to destroy the theocratic regime in Iran, a new era appears to be dawning in the Middle East. But one must be wary of old enemies . . . On the run from the Pasdaran, the theocrat's terror army, and unable to count on support from his friends in the regular army, Iranian rebel leader General Hesarak al-Kan Buzhazi desperately turns to his old nemesis, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, for help. Unwilling to commit American forces in an Iranian civil war, and with time running out, the U.S. president authorizes McLanahan to utilize a new, top-secret fleet of globe-crossing spaceplanes, the XR-A9 Black Stallions, led by test pilot and astronaut Captain Hunter Noble. Within hours, McLanahan's Air Battle Force turns the tide, possibly changing the course of history in the Middle East for generations.The advent of almost instantaneous global reach, along with the reactivation of America's first military space station, Silver Tower, has rekindled fears of a space arms race, and the growing insurgency in Iran is threatening to erupt into a worldwide jihad. But McLanahan finds himself embroiled in even more bitter battles at the White House, between those who support his space-based military initiative and those who are working secretly to undermine it. When McLanahan is forced to concentrate on his political and personal battles back at home, it's left to Hunter Noble and his team of young American space engineers to keep the fires of freedom in the Middle East from exploding completely out of control.
Shadow Command book cover
#14

Shadow Command

2008

America’s most advanced miltary unit rebels against the very government it’s trying to protect in this pulse-pounding military thriller chock-full of suspense, adventure, and high-tech weaponry. Following their success in crushing an Iranian threat, General Patrick McLanahan’s new “Aerospace Battle Force” has grown into a full-fledged task force, based on the Armstrong Space Station. But the program has its critics, including Russia, the United Nations, and the American press. Newly elected, President Joseph Gardner directs congress to cut off funding for this provocative force and dismisses McLanahan. What no one knows is that the Russians have blackmailed Gardner—the first step in a nefarious plan to control the world’s oil supplies . With the ABF decommissioned, Russia deploys troops and warships into Turkmenistan, Iran, and the Persian Gulf. But McLanahan and his forces refuse to allow the Russian aggression to stand. Defying the civilian chain of command he orders the ABF to strike their forces. The president orders McLanahan’s immediate arrest. But before authorities can throw him in jail, they have to find him. Located at one of the most secure bases, with an arsenal of the world’s most sophisticated air weapons, he has control of the Aerospace Battle Force and the Armstrong Space Station. Army, Marine Corps, and FBI units converge on the base, but they are easily held off—for now. In a race against time, McLanahan must outmaneuver his own countrymen, and defeat the Russians, and expose the truth . . .
Rogue Forces book cover
#15

Rogue Forces

2009

“Brown is excellent.” — San Francisco Chronicle Dale Brown, whose books live on the New York Times bestseller list—alongside the novels of Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, and other superstars of the military adventure genre—triumphs again with Rogue Forces. A riveting and relentlessly exciting thriller, Rogue Forces explores a timely and important question in this age of Blackwell and What would happen if the Army’s private security contractors became uncontrollably powerful? Brown’s popular character, Patrick McLanahan, is going Rogue in this chillingly plausible adventure that further solidifies Dale Brown’s reputation as “the best military writer in the country” (Clive Cussler).
Executive Intent book cover
#16

Executive Intent

2010

The United States has just launched the most powerful weapon in history—a missilelaunching satellite called "Thor's Hammer" that can strike anywhere on the planet in seconds. The world's other major superpowers, Russia and China, are rocked by America's development, and they scramble to respond by gaining control of the seas. But when terrorists hijack Pakistani missiles and fire them at Indian cities, U.S. President Joseph Gardner has only one option—to use the untested Thor's Hammer. But when something goes awry, Pakistan decides to give China naval strategic advantage by granting access to Middle Eastern ports. To make matters worse, Somali pirates board a Chinese freighter and slaughter the crew. China responds by brutally attacking and then occupying Somalia, quickly setting up missile pads that can target U.S. Naval ships. Now the U.S. high command is on red alert and the country's security is in total jeopardy. . . Another flash point quickly emerges—in Earth's orbit. When Chinese and Russian spacecraft surround an American space station, the threat is clear: negotiate and compromise, or China and Russia will cripple the U.S. Navy with ballistic missiles. Will the world's superpowers be plunged into a full-scale war? With Executive Intent, the New York Times bestselling master thriller-writer Dale Brown crafts an action-packed tale of intrigue and technological weaponry that pits the world's superpowers in a contest for Earth's oceans and ultimate high ground—space.
A Time for Patriots book cover
#17

A Time for Patriots

2011

Welcome to Battlefield America When murderous bands of militiamen begin roaming the western United States and attacking government agencies, it will take a dedicated group of the nation's finest and toughest civilian airmen to put an end to the homegrown insurgency. U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan vows to take to the skies to join the fight, but when his son, Bradley, also signs up, they find themselves caught in a deadly game against a shadowy opponent. When the stock markets crash and the U.S. economy falls into a crippling recession, everything changes for newly elected president Kenneth Phoenix. Politically exhausted from a bruising and divisive election, Phoenix must order a series of massive tax cuts and wipe out entire cabinet-level departments to reduce government spending. With reductions in education and transportation, an incapacitated National Guard, and the loss of public safety budgets, entire communities of armed citizens band together for survival and mutual protection. Against this dismal backdrop, a SWAT team is ambushed and radioactive materials are stolen by a group calling themselves the Knights of the True Republic. Is the battle against the government about to be taken to a new and deadlier level? In this time of crisis, a citizen organization rises to the task of protecting their fellow countrymen: the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the U.S. Air Force auxiliary. The Nevada Wing—led by retired Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, his son, Bradley, and other volunteers—uses their military skills in the sky and on the ground to hunt down violent terrorists. But how will Patrick respond when extremists launch a catastrophic dirty bomb attack in Reno, spreading radiological fallout for miles? And when Bradley is caught in a deadly double-cross that jeopardizes the CAP, Patrick will have to fight to find out where his friends' loyalties lie: Are they with him and the CAP or with the terrorists? With A Time for Patriots, the New York Times bestselling master of the modern thriller Dale Brown brings the battle home to explore a terrifying possibility—the collapse of the American Republic.
Tiger's Claw book cover
#18

Tiger's Claw

2012

Former Air Force captain and New York Times bestselling author Dale Brown is an acknowledged master when it comes to bringing military action to breathtaking life and he has received glowing accolades since his debut publication, Flight of the Old Dog. Tiger's Claw proves once again that every rave has been well deserved. Set in the near future, Tiger's Claw imagines a scenario in which tensions escalate between an economically powerful China and a United States weakened by a massive economic downfall, bringing the two superpowers to the brink of total destruction. Brown's popular protagonist, retired Air Force lieutenant-general Patrick McLanahan (of A Time for Patriots, Rogue Forces, and other Brown bestsellers), is back and preparing for the impending apocalyptic clash of men and military technology. The incomparable Dale Brown scores again with a frighteningly possible story of war and global politics that's ideal for fans of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor. When China launches the first successful test of its anti-ship ballistic missile, the future looks bleak for America. Fearing the U.S. will lose its naval supremacy in the Pacific, President Kenneth Phoenix finds himself in a compromised position. New technology requires money, but the country is recovering from a massive recession. Without the funds to compete with China's advancing technology, are the country's days of naval preeminence in the Pacific running out? Retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Patrick McLanahan refuses to accept this fate. McLanahan reasons that the United States can afford to refurbish old but potent long-range B-1B Lancer bombers to promote the AirSea Battle strategy that will push back against Chinese aggression. Soon America stands ready to deploy an AirSea Battle task force in the South China Sea. The People's Liberation Army aggressively deploys advanced fighters, land-based antimissiles, three aircraft carriers, and exotic, top secret directed energy weapons against their neighbors. But Patrick McLanahan is finally given the green light to lead his force westward to challenge the Chinese threat head-on.
Starfire book cover
#19

Starfire

2014

New York Times bestselling author Dale Brown—“the best military writer in the country” (Clive Cussler)—is back with Starfire, a masterful military thriller that explores a future all too possible and all too close: the weaponization of space. With the death of his heroic father, bomber and space warfare veteran Patrick McLanahan, Bradley McLanahan must now fly solo, leading a team of young engineers designing Starfire, the world’s first orbiting solar power plant.Starfire will not only deliver unlimited and inexpensive electricity anywhere on planet Earth, it can also transmit power to the moon, and even to spacecraft and asteroids. It’s a crucial first step in the exploration of the solar system, and Bradley and his team are on the cutting edge. But U.S. president Kenneth Phoenix’s plans to militarize and industrialize Earth’s orbit sparks an arms race in space that eclipses the darkest and most terrifying days of the Cold War. Before he can prevent it, Bradley and his team are caught at the center of a battle that threatens to become an all-out global conflict for control of space.
Iron Wolf book cover
#20

Iron Wolf

2015

New York Times bestselling author Dale Brown goes beyond the headlines in this high-tech, high-tension military thriller in which a resurgent Russia enflames sectarian unrest and violence in Ukraine and Poland, setting off a stealth robotic war and escalating an international crisis. In the spring of 2017, the U.S. economy is rebounding under President Stacy Anne Barbeau, the country's first female president. But her leadership is about to be severely tested: Russian president Gennadiy Gryzlov has sent special troops, disguised as pro-Russian activists, into Ukraine and Moldova. Though NATO is outraged, its response is tepid. Refusing to let Russian aggression go unpunished, former U.S. president Kevin Martindale approaches Polish president Peter Wilk with a radical solution: a counterattack using a covert force of Cybernetic Infantry Device (CID): manned robots.Underwritten by the wealthy Wilk, Operation Iron Wolf is launched—without the knowledge of the Americans or its NATO partners. The CID's initial strikes are successful, infuriating Gryzlov and propelling President Barbeau to pledge western help to investigate the attack. With international tensions at the boiling point, Martindale's secret alliance, supported by the best military technology, is determined to outmaneuver the Russians. In this battle that will determine the fate of Eastern Europe, just which side will win?
Price of Duty book cover
#21

Price of Duty

2017

The U.S. and its Western allies come under a diabolical Russian cyber warfare attack in this action-packed military techno-thriller from New York Times bestselling master Dale Brown. In a top-secret location deep in the Ural Mountains, Russian President Gennadiy Gryzlov has built his nation’s most dangerous weapon since the atomic bomb—a fearsome tool to gain superiority in Russia’s long-running battle with the West. From inside Perun Aerie—an intricate network of underground tunnels and chambers that is the heart of the Russian cyber warfare program—he is launching a carefully plotted series of attacks on an unsuspecting U.S. and its European allies. The first strike targets Warsaw, Poland, where Russian malware wipes out the records of nearly every Polish bank account, imploding the country’s financial system and panicking the rest of Europe. When Stacy Anne Barbeau, the besieged American president, fails to effectively combat the Russian threat, Brad McLanahan, on some well-earned R&R with his new Polish girlfriend, Major Nadia Rozek, is called back to duty. As the Russians’ deadly tactics escalate—including full-scale assaults on Europe’s power grid and the remote hijacking of a commercial airliner that kills hundreds of civilians—McLanahan and his Scion team kick into gear, arming themselves with the most advanced technological weaponry for the epic struggle ahead. A patriot in the mold of his father, the late general Patrick McLanahan, Brad knows firsthand the price of freedom. With the world’s fate hanging in the balance, will Scion succeed in turning back Gryzlov before he can realize his terrifying ambition to conquer the globe? And what will the toll of victory be?
The Moscow Offensive book cover
#22

The Moscow Offensive

2018

America’s first line of defense—Brad McLanahan and the heroes of the Iron Wolf Squadron—must counter a dangerous Russian strike from within the homeland in this cutting-edge tale from the New York Times master of the high-tech military thriller, Dale Brown. On a remote island estate, a billionaire investor sells his air freight company to a mysterious new owner. The purchaser is none other than the President of Russia, Gennadiy Gryzlov. The Russians will use these private planes to secretly transport dangerous cargo into the United States. The inept American President Stacy Anne Barbeau has failed to account for the Russian threat. But others have been vigilant and will not leave America defenseless. Brad McLanahan and the Iron Wolf Squadron have joined forces with the newly formed Alliance of Free Nations in Eastern Europe, to prepare for the attack they know is imminent. Working with the most cutting-edge technology, the team will deploy CIDs—Cybernetic Infantry Devices—twelve-foot-tall humanoid combat robots, each armed with more firepower than a conventional platoon. But their state-of-the-art weapons may not be enough to combat the threat. The Russians have managed to reverse engineer their own combat robots nearly decimated in a previous attack, and have slowly begun smuggling them across America’s borders. Dealing with an unprecedented danger and a feckless president and congress, McLanahan and the Iron Wolf Squadron will once again put their own lives on the line to check this new Russian peril and keep the home of the brave and the free world safe.
The Kremlin Strike book cover
#23

The Kremlin Strike

2019

The Kremlin Strike has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.
Eagle Station book cover
#24

Eagle Station

2020

“Dale Brown is a superb storyteller.”— W. E. B. Griffin In this thrilling geopolitical technological adventure from New York Times bestselling legend Dale Brown, Brad McLanahan and the Space Force must fight to preserve America’s freedom when a pair of ruthless enemies forge an unlikely alliance to control not only the earth, but the moon and beyond. Because its enemies never stop trying to undermine the United States’ security, the men and women who serve to protect America must always be vigilant. Few know this better than warriors Brad McLanahan and Nadia Rozek. Newly married, the two are just beginning to settle into their new life together when they are called back into action. Though the Russians were badly defeated by Brad and the Iron Wolf Squadron in their previous bid for world dominance, they are back and doubling down on their quest for control of outer space. In addition to their cutting-edge weaponry, they have a formidable new ally: China’s energetic and ruthless leader, President Li Jun. To protect America and the rest of the free world from the Russians and the Chinese, the Americans plan to mine the moon’s helium-3 resources, which will allow them to fully exploit the revolutionary fusion power technology Brad and his team captured from the Russians aboard the Mars One weapons platform. But Leonov and Li have devised a daring plan of their own. They are building a joint secret base on the moon’s far side fortified with a powerful Russian plasma rail gun that can destroy any spacecraft entering lunar orbit. If the heavily armed base becomes operational, it will give America’s enemies control over the world’s economic and military future. As this latest skirmish in the war for space accelerates, Brad, Nadia, and their compatriots in the Space Force must use their cunning and skill—and America’s own high-tech weaponry—to derail the Sino-Russian alliance and destroy their lunar site before it’s too late for the U.S... and the entire world.

Authors

Dale Brown
Dale Brown
Author · 50 books

Former U.S. Air Force captain Dale Brown is the superstar author of 25 consecutive New York Times best-selling military-action-aviation adventure novels: FLIGHT OF THE OLD DOG (1987), SILVER TOWER (1988), DAY OF THE CHEETAH (1989), HAMMERHEADS (1990), SKY MASTERS (1991), NIGHT OF THE HAWK (1992), CHAINS OF COMMAND (1993), STORMING HEAVEN (1994), SHADOWS OF STEEL (1996) and FATAL TERRAIN (1997), THE TIN MAN (1998), BATTLE BORN (1999), and WARRIOR CLASS (2001). His Fourteenth Novel AIRBATTLE FORCE will be published in late Spring 2003... Dale's novels are published in 11 languages and distributed to over 70 countries. Worldwide sales of his novels, audiobooks and computer games exceed 10 million copies. Dale was born in Buffalo, New York on November 2, 1956. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Western European History and received an Air Force commission in 1978. He was a navigator-bombardier in the B-52G Stratofortress heavy bomber and the FB-111A supersonic medium bomber, and is the recipient of several military decorations and awards including the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Combat Crew Award, and the Marksmanship ribbon. Dale was also one of the nation's first Air Force ROTC cadets to qualify for and complete the grueling three-week U.S. Army Airborne Infantry paratrooper training course. Dale is a director and volunteer pilot for AirLifeLine, a non-profit national charitable medical transportation organization who fly needy persons free of charge to receive treatment. He also supports a number of organizations to support and promote law enforcement and reading. Dale Brown is a member of The Writers Guild and a Life Member of the Air Force Association and U.S. Naval Institute. He is a multi-engine and instrument-rated private pilot and can often be found in the skies all across the United States, piloting his own plane. On the ground, Dale enjoys tennis, skiing, scuba diving, and hockey. Dale, his wife Diane, and son Hunter live near the shores of Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2025 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved
Patrick McLanahan