This is the place where I issue my standard warning—Spoiler Alert!—please do not read this until you have finished the novel. I hope you found the story suspenseful and entertaining… and maybe thought provoking as well.
All of the military weapons depicted herein are real, with the following qualifier: The Chinese “ship killer” ballistic missile, known by U.S. military as the DF26 medium-range ballistic missile, is not known to be equipped with a hyper-velocity kinetic penetrator warhead. However, it does carry both high explosive and nuclear warheads that are guided to the target.
Defense against ballistic missiles is very challenging, not unlike what unfolds in Guarding Savage. Unless a ballistic missile is intercepted during the boost phase, when the rocket engine is still attached to the warhead and the missile is ascending, success is very low probability. Attempting to intercept a missile warhead that has passed apogee and is on a downward trajectory has been compared to hitting a rifle bullet, in flight, with another rifle bullet fired from considerable distance.
This is why ballistic missiles pose a significant threat—there simply is no good defense. Oh, and they do move very fast, making the window of opportunity to intercept extremely short.
Tensions between China and Japan are very real, as noted in the Author’s Notes. I’ve conversed with many educated Chinese who truly believe they have a solid legal claim to the Spratly Islands and Senkaku Islands based on historical journeys by Chinese mariners in the early fifteenth century. There are many original maps drawn by Chinese cartographers, plus other genuine historical records, to support the claim. As I am not in a position to judge the evidence, I choose to remain neutral. But I can say that the argument is, at the very least, credible.
There is a brief reference to the Panama Canal Treaties in a conversation between President Taylor and Secretary of State Paul Bryan. I recall well the signing over of the canal by then President Jimmy Carter. It infuriated my grandfather, a retired naval captain who served in WWII. He simply could not understand why the U.S. would give up control of such a vital passage.
Perhaps, as President Taylor suggests, the canal treaties are a good model for how to manage the seemingly conflicting issues of national security, freedom of navigation, and sovereignty.
On another note, I hope you’ve enjoyed following Diesel in this tale. He was very popular in Hunting Savage, so late in the drafting I decided to bring him back in Guarding Savage. You can expect to read more of Diesel’s exploits in future adventures—he’s turned out to be a loyal sidekick to Peter Savage.
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Cheers
DE