{"id":6504,"date":"2026-06-04T10:34:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6504"},"modified":"2026-06-04T10:34:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:34:29","slug":"red-horizons-by-james-bultema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6504","title":{"rendered":"Red Horizons by James Bultema"},"content":{"rendered":"

A propulsive thriller where North Korea takes America and its allies to the precipice of global destruction<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Author James Bultema pits his American military forces against North Korea and its maniacal new leader bent on unleashing nuclear mayhem in the fifth installment of the Sea of Red series, Red Horizons<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the Korean DMZ line, a high-ranking North Korean officer defects with a USB that details a program called the Silent Tide Initiative. After Kim Jong-Un\u2019s death, the new Supreme Leader is Choe Jin-Su, and Silent Tide is more than just a war plan\u2014it is \u201ca statement of national identity forged in fire.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>Seeking to put his stamp on his leadership, Silent Tide seeks to trigger a strategic reset via a controlled nuclear demonstration at sea. As South Korea and America begin to crack the code of the USB intel, Choe puts his plans into action faster than they can catch up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Recurring characters Jessie \u201cSwagger\u201d Hampton, a Navy F-35 pilot, and his wife, Sarah \u201cDanger\u201d Freeman, an E-2 Hawkeye pilot, are coming to an end of an extended posting in Oahu, Hawaii, after their last adventure in the Arctic a year previous. They are happy, yet a ripple of uncertainty surrounds their conflicting views of children: Jessie wants them, but Sarah does not. This interesting complication to their relationship takes a backseat, however, when the winds of war begin blowing. As they know all too well, \u201cpeace is the lie the enemy tells you while they reload.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

North Korea ramps up its belligerent stance with a splashdown missile launch aimed at Japan, and soon forces are in motion: Jessie gets orders to fly combat air patrol aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson<\/em>. Sarah continues to be the \u201ceyes in the sky\u201d with her E-2 assignment, but a host of other warriors reappear as assets pour into the Korean Peninsula region to assess what Choe is up to. Bultema wastes no time on the action, zipping from the White House to Pyongyang, to ships in the Sea of Japan, to hidden underground missile bunkers in North Korea\u2026and that\u2019s just to name a few.<\/p>\n

When a North Korean submarine makes a run at the Vinson<\/em>, the old norms of warfare are thrown out the window. An underwater nuclear detonation erases thousands of American lives in a heartbeat. Jessie, flying patrol, escapes the destruction on the sea below but loses dear friends in the process. Bultema holds nothing back in this real-world scenario that reads all-too plausible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In brief, electric chapters that zoom from one theater to another, Bultema threads Top Gun-<\/em>like aerial combat, Hunt for Red October <\/em>submarine chases, and thrilling boots-on-the-ground infiltration by CIA paramilitary agents and Navy SEALS into a page-turning vision of what a nuclear strike met with targeted restraint might look like.<\/p>\n

This is hardcore military thriller through and through, using precise jargon and commands that are for serious fans. His expertise in geopolitical\/military strategy, as well as the mindset of individual warriors, shines in those moments where characters reflect on how and why they do what they do. With Jessie, for instance, he reflects on why pilots train the way they do:<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery fighter pilot understood: training wasn\u2019t about perfect conditions. It was about learning to fight through confusion, noise, and uncertainty. War was never clean.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As North Korea begins its second act of missile launches against South Korea, Japan, and Guam, America and its allies rush to intercept and limit the damage. Cinematic in scope and nerve-shattering in its delivery, this story is a disturbing commentary on the current state of the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bultema explores the divided reaction of Americans to a devastating attack and how North Korea (or any enemy of the U.S.) might exploit it: \u201cAmerica was at war with itself before it even decided how to respond abroad.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> The story is a buffet of cutting-edge weaponry and military tactics neatly tied into the political realities of modern day nation states waging war in a nuclear age\u2014with one heck of a cliffhanger ending, to boot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Red Horizons <\/em>is a nonstop thriller that shreds nerves with its hyperrealism and authentic military combat sequences that promise more to come.<\/p>\n

The post Red Horizons by James Bultema<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A propulsive thriller where North Korea takes America and its allies to the precipice of global destruction Author James Bultema pits his American military forces against North Korea and its maniacal new leader bent on unleashing nuclear mayhem in the fifth installment of the Sea of Red series, Red Horizons.\u00a0 At the Korean DMZ line, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6504"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6504\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}