Reviews

Global war between China and the United States — unimaginable? Hardly. In Ghost Fleet, Peter Singer and August Cole lay out a plausible, frightening, and pitch-perfect vision of what such a war could look like in the near future. This page-turning marvel is the best source of high-tech geopolitical visioneering since Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising and Sir John Hackett’s The Third World War. A startling blueprint for the wars of the future and therefore needs to be read now!
– Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret)
Supreme Allied Commander, NATO, 2009-2013; Dean, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

Ghost Fleet is a thrilling trip through a terrifyingly plausible tomorrow. This is not just an excellent book, but an excellent book by those who know what they are talking about. Prepare to lose some sleep.
– D.B. Weiss
Writer and Executive Producer of HBO’s “Game of Thrones”

Do yourself a favor, if you haven’t read Ghost Fleet, go grab a copy.
– Marine Corps Association

Ghost Fleet is a page-turner filled with thrills and chills, but it is also more than that. Drawn from real world trends in cyber tech, intelligence, and defense, Ghost Fleet offers a haunting glimpse into our future that you’ll find hard to forget.
– Nina Jacobson
Producer of The Hunger Games

Some may compare this thriller to those of Tom Clancy, but in addition to packing a hefty punch of adrenaline it is much more accurate.
– Military Times

a wild book, a real page turner
– The Economist

I couldn’t put this one down. Ghost Fleet reads like the very best of classic Tom Clancy, updated for the 21^st century, persuasive in its detail, simultaneously thrilling and terrifying.
– Philipp Meyer
Author of The Son, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Finalist

Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War demonstrates that a rigorously researched story can actually prove sufficiently thought provoking such that it can help to prevent the war it describes. A powerful piece of modern deterrence.
– Admiral Sir Philip Jones
First Sea Lord, British Royal Navy

What makes GHOST FLEET so scary – and so compelling – is how real it feels. Want to see the future of national security? Get ready.
– Brad Meltzer
Author of The Fifth Assassin

Peter Singer and August Cole’s book is important, thought-provoking and gripping. It should be read by policymakers, military planners, the defence and technology industry, and it will be enjoyed by a far wider audience….This is the best vision of future war that we have, and it makes for enjoyable, intense, yet uncomfortable reading.
– Chief of the Air Staff
Royal Air Force official reading list

It’s a page turner…Thoughtful, strategic and relevant.
– Admiral Jonathan Greenert
30th Chief of Naval Operations, US Navy

Ghost Fleet brings back memories of Tom Clancy’s technical savvy with the human touch of Herman Wouk.
– Max Brooks
Author of World War Z

If you’ve been looking for a smart update to Tom Clancy, this is for you.
– Foreign Policy

Tom Clancy fans will relish Singer and Cole’s first novel, a chilling vision of what might happen in a world war…Singer, a military strategist, and Cole, a former defense-industry analyst for the Wall Street Journal, easily wed their knowledge to a fast-moving plot and characters who make an impression, even the minor characters….Detailed endnotes documenting the real-world technologies and trends behind the book make the fiction even more plausible.
– Publisher’s Weekly

Go order a copy of Ghost Fleet, a fictional novel about the next world war. It will take you weekend to read. It scared the heck out of me, and it might do the same to you.
– The Street
Jim Cramer, CNNC, Mad Money

What Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising did for envisioning a conflict in the twilight of the Cold War, Singer and Cole do for World War 3…Weaves together global trends that already keep leaders up at night with flavors of the next great conflict between the United States and China: low-tech insurgencies, cyberwar, space combat, Silicon Valley mavericks and more.
– Top 10 Summer Read
War on the Rocks

Explores what would happen if the brewing cold war between the US, China and Russia, ever turned hot. This book is in part based on interviews conducted with US Navy destroyer captains, F-22 pilots, Chinese generals, and Anonymous hackers, and contains over 500 endnote references to everything from Chinese drone prototypes to Aurora cyber attacks, to which real world pizza place the SEAL teams eat at.
– Colloquy

Ghost Fleet is a techno-thriller, but it plays out like an American horror story. First-time novelists P.W. Singer, a 21st century warfare expert, and August Cole, a former defense reporter for The Wall Street Journal, have teamed up to craft a modern-day successor to tomes such as The Hunt For Red October from the late Tom Clancy.
– USAToday

Named to the LA Times list of Summer “Page Turners” to “Be Obsessed By.”
– LA Times

a fun summer read
– Naval Drones

A ripped from the headlines novel about war that’s just around the corner…exciting.
– Buzzfeed

“…a page-turning imagining of a war set in the not-too-distant future.”
– Shepherds

Whether on a commute to the Pentagon or relaxing on a beach…readers will find Ghost Fleet a highly enjoyable, at times uncomfortable, and always thought-provoking read.
– US Naval Institute

Ghost Fleet is a great book.
– Kevin Mauer
Co-Author of the New York Times Bestseller: No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden

When it comes to military affairs and fiction the military techno-thriller has long been a reliable staple of the genre. For many years it is was the preserve of a handful of writers such as General Sir John Winthrop Hackett, Dale Brown, and, best known, Tom Clancy. But Hackett and Clancy are dead and Brown is not getting any younger, so who else is picking up the torch? Happily, a forthcoming book seems to be up to the challenge. Ghost Fleet by Peter W. Singer and August Cole will be published this month and for those who enjoy the military-techno fiction that is linked to geopolitical trends, and, even more importantly, is able to extrapolate ongoing technological development into the not so far distant future it is definitely worth the read…..Both highly entertaining and sobering. If you have ever wondered how today’s tech trends might affect future conflicts there is no doubt about it; you will want to read this book
– Small Wars Journal

Ghost Fleet is not only a riveting novel, it is science fiction at its best. It helps us ask the right questions about our future – questions the answers to which might help us take advantage of technology while minimizing risk to humanity.
– H. R. McMaster
Author, Dereliction of Duty; Lt General, US Army; Director, Army Capabilities Integration Center and Futures, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

The Next Great Military Techno Thriller Has Finally Arrived. (see review)
– Task & Purpose

The Twelve Best Fiction Books to Read This Summer. (see list)
– Business Insider

Every Army officer should read it — and it’s fun….an important work of fiction for Army leaders for several reasons. First, it helps us gain an appreciation for the importance of power projection in future wars. Second, we get a glimpse of how nascent technologies might be used to gain dominance on future battlefields. Finally, we see why the study of the Masters of War are still relevant and will be critical to winning tomorrow’swars….As you set out on your summer leave and take a break from the day-to-day stresses of military life, I recommend you grab a copy of Ghost Fleet. It’s one of those books that is the perfect companion to a cold beer in a beach chair. It will also help you imagine a future of war that is very different from our experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq.
– Best Defense

Ghost Fleet: Your Must Read Summer Book…If you are an avid reader of fiction, suspense, love Ian Fleming and his famous Agent Bond, or you are an academic interested in science, technology, military affairs, strategy, war, or moral philosophy, this is a great book. It tugs at us in different directions, and it prompts us to question what we will value in the future and what we should value. So, when you are perusing the stacks looking for a good summer read, pick up Ghost Fleet, you wont’ be disappointed. (read more)
– Huffington Post

In addition to being a page-turning read, this is a clarion call to get our act together before fiction becomes fact.
– Vint Cerf
Co-Inventor of the Internet

You will learn a lot about the future.
– Admiral Michelle J. Howard
U.S. Navy, Vice Chief of Naval Operations

Named to “Amazon Books of the Year”
– Summer Reading List

an engaging, ‘near-futuristic’ war-thriller packed with cutting edge technologies…[Yet] also pays homage to the works of master military strategists Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz and Alfred Thayer Mahan.
– Real Clear Defense

Throughout the story, as venues change, the reader gasps for breath and delves back in as the action continues. This is a Tom Clancy-esque thriller with most of the pieces one would expect: people unexpectedly thrust into difficult situations; well-researched, accurate portrayals of current capabilities; imaginative exploration of new, emerging, or desired technology; as well as good old fashioned palace intrigue and political gamesmanship….Thriller readers will find this a welcome addition to their collections. Thinkers, advocates, policy wonks, geeks and nerds will all find something to chew on that will confirm or challenge their own biases. Scheduled for a June release, this highly recommended story is a daring look at the fusion of traditional and modern warfare, delivered at “machine speed.
– Black Five

Ghost Fleet is an ambitious blend of fact and fiction, Herman Wouk-meets-William Gibson, with a dash of Brave New World and “In Harm’s Way” for good measure.
– American Conservative

…An absolute pleasure to read. It contains much of the same storytelling as a work by someone like Tom Clancy, but with an intensity, depth of knowledge, and vision infrequently found in those books. It is an expansive work in its scope, and one that will undoubtedly retain its relevance for years to come….Ghost Fleet is an enjoyable book. It is a fun book. What’s more, it is an insightful and prescient book, without forcing the reader to ever acknowledge that fact.
– Adin Dobkin
Medium.com

A fine example of future-war fiction … Entertaining.
– The Economist

Ghost Fleet Nails The Perfect Vision of World War III…a futuristic techno-thriller that’s as plausible as it is entertaining. Make no mistake, however, this is no technical slog — it’s a highly readable and engaging thriller that sets a new standard for techno-thrillers.
– iO-9

A terrific book.
– Defense News

Really cool reading (more)
– Vice-Motherboard

It’s Tom Clancy for the twenty-first century, a rip-roaring, “near-futuristic” thriller…The book is peppered with real-life military facts and figures, but it moves so briskly you may hardly notice that you’re learning as you go. (more)
– Defense in Depth
Business Insider

Ghost Fleet is great. I liked the book because it articulated how technology is dual use, and can be operationalized in ways not envisioned, for better or for worse. In addition, it showed the importance of innovation, competitive mindset, and grit.
– Lieutenant General Edward Cardon
Commander, US Army Cyber Command

With their new techno-thriller, Ghost Fleet, Peter Singer and August Cole take an unexpected twist on the classic Clancy formula, producing a book that is equal parts science fiction and science fact. But, unlike Clancy, there is no (spoiler alert!) happy ending. Heroes fight and die, machines rise and fail, and America finds herself at her most vulnerable in centuries. The book is a ‘must read’, the kind of book you read in a day and relentlessly turn page after page.
– The Pendulum
medium.com

Terrifying, futuristic, and also entertaining and plausible … a novel that reads like science fiction but bristles with rich detail about how the next World War could be fought.
– Vice.com

Having read the book, it’s one of the more plausible depictions of a major 21st century war — and one of the more realistic portrayals of cyberwar — I’ve seen… [But] I realized after reading it that this is the only cyberpunk war novel I’ve read … reminded me of the opening episodes of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. Except that the scenario plays out in the Pacific and within our lifetimes.
– War is Boring
medium.com

Ultimately, Ghost Fleet is Tom Clancy for a new generation, written by authors who know what they’re talking about. It doesn’t glorify the war it describes, but it does wonders in its illustration. The result is a vibrant vision of conflict in the information age—and hopefully the closest we’ll get to the real thing.
– Defense in Depth”
Council on Foreign Relations

Above all, Ghost Fleet is a riveting novel, on par with anything Tom Clancy or Michael Crichton might have put together during their careers.
– i09

…should be required reading for the entire Pentagon and would be equally at home in anyone’s beach bag this summer….The authors’ rigorous research lends an air of credibility to the genuinely entertaining story. Even the most unexpected developments and plot twists are based on real-world trends and technologies, as are the bases, ships, jets, and organizations at the story’s heart. The final 22 pages provide more than 370 source citations, ranging from Defense Department fact sheets to an online Klingon pocket dictionary to a mention of the first time Brad Pitt appeared on the cover of People magazine. Casual readers can easily ignore these endnotes, but for professional military readers, these may be the most important pages in the book.
– Lt Col Dan Ward (USAF, ret)
War on the Rocks

Important on the substance but also highly entertaining and a great summer read….It is also scary. It’s scary because the whole thing is not implausible.
– The Buzz
National Interest

Its like the Battlestar Galactica reboot meets Band of Brothers meets Hunt for Red October meets Call of Duty.
– Yahoo News Feature

an exciting, action-driven read, informed by the latest knowledge of which new weapons and strategies.
– Strategic News Service

Fascinating…Though it is fiction, the authors have taken great pains to keep their storytelling realistic….Ghost Fleet has a certain weight. Cole and Singer are so steeped in future wars that they depict the fighting — on the ground, in space and on the Internet –with an air of indisputable authority….Ghost Fleet is full of wonderful moments. It’s got space pirates, drug-addled hackers out of a William Gibson novel and American insurgents fighting occupation in Hawaii. Cole and Singer make these fantastical elements work, and weave them into the story.
– Reuters

The First “Post Snowden” Technothriller
– The Intercept

The thoroughness and authority the two authors bring to the Ghost Fleet is what places the book in a category of its own, and apart from mainstream science fiction, making it worthy of serious reflection.
– The Diplomat

a highly realistic portrayal…a tremendous book
– Defense News

A Vision of White-Knuckle Warfare in the Information Age…[/testimonials_item]
– Business Insider

A clear and troubling vision of where man, machine, and geopolitics can take us, making Ghost Fleet well worth the read.
– Honolulu Star Advertiser

A perfect summer read. If what you like is edge-of-the-seat action, you’ll have trouble putting it down. And even if thrillers aren’t your thing, the book will well repay a read, if only for the disturbing questions it raises.
– Bloomberg

Very Smart.
– Forbes

Ghost Fleet is a strangely satisfying blend of storytelling and strategy, of fiction and non-fiction. In an era where most people prefer not to think about all the horrible things that could go wrong in the world, it’s good to know that there are writers like Singer and Cole who not only think about them, but also do so in a readable and enjoyable style.

Full of insightful messages regarding the state of current US defense procurement policy, the nature of warfare, and the role of technology in shaping the future of war. As a fictional projection of current technologies and geopolitical realities, Ghost Fleet’s great value lies in its ability to generate interest and inspire debate about the future of warfare.

An unforgettable techno-thriller that turns the classic Clancy formula upside-down. As I turned the pages of my review copy of Ghost Fleet, I found myself in all-too-familiar territory: unable to set the book aside, devouring it with a voracious appetite for more. I read when I should have been working, I read when I should have been sleeping…This is the one work of fiction you have to read this summer. This book is everything you look for in a techno-thriller, and more.

Required summer reading

The author’s flare for action and adventure, combining the human experience of war with a respect for groundbreaking science and an appreciation for history makes the story all the more ambitious. (see review)

Go out and get Ghost Fleet. Enjoy the read. Recommend it to your friends. Argue about it over beers. The novel’s power lies in its ability to spur conversations about the future of conflict with people who might not otherwise be engaged.

Ghost Fleet is a very creditable Red Storm Rising for the 21st century.

A great book

a riveting thriller in the Tom Clancy tradition

Neuromancer meets Red Storm Rising…A rattling good read.

Too realistic for comfort…Tom Clancy-esque

A great book

A harrowing, realistic future of world war…Ghost Fleet also comes with hundreds of footnotes explaining how every single military technology, ‘sci-fi’ weapon and geopolitical trend mentioned in the book is grounded in reality. That’s why, rather than simply a good read, Ghost Fleet can come across as a 400-page warning.

Ghost Fleet is what Call of Duty would be like if it put on a tie and went to Capitol Hill…

An engaging technothriller… this novel is both a cautionary tale about underinvestment and an optimistic romp into what’s possible — robotic quadcopter drones, skin-like body armor, and computerized glasses that project a data stream onto retinas, allowing the characters to process a world of information in hyper-speed…But the book demonstrates the vulnerability of technology as well as its power, and warns that people are an indispensible part of the equation.

One of the biggest books of the summer. A sizzler.

This is future war reportage with an edge – it entertains but it also has a serious argument to make….Great stuff, worthy of the hype – read it on your next long-haul flight like I did and you won’t regret it.

An immensely fun page-turner in the vein of Tom Clancy.

Ghost Fleet’s great value lies in its ability to generate interest and inspire debate about the future of warfare.

Scary, Accessible, Entertaining and Plausible

a highly-recommendable read

Important, thought-provoking and gripping. It should be read by policymakers, military planners, the defence and technology industry, and it will be enjoyed by a far wider audience. Both fictional thriller and deeply researched assessment, in the vein of Hackett’s 1978 The Third World War, this is the best vision of future war that we have, and it makes for enjoyable, intense, yet uncomfortable reading.