Larry Bond (born 1952) is an American author and video game designer. He is the designer of the Harpoon and Command at Sea gaming systems, and several supplements for the games. Examples of his numerous novels include Dangerous Ground, Day of Wrath, The Enemy Within, Cauldron, Vortex and Red Phoenix. He also co-authored Red Storm Rising with Tom Clancy.
Biography
Bond graduated in 1973 from St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a degree in Quantitative Methods, and then worked first as a computer programmer for two years before being selected for Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. He was sworn into the United States Navy in 1975 and graduated from NAVOCS the following year.
Bond served in the United States Navy for six years, serving four years on a destroyer and two years on shore duty in the Washington, D.C. area. He then served in the reserves for two years with the Naval Reserve Intelligence Program. After leaving the Navy he worked as a naval analyst for defense consulting firms in the Washington, D.C. area.
Early writing career
Bond's began his writing career by collaborating with Tom Clancy on Red Storm Rising (1986), a New York Times bestseller that was one of the best-selling books of the 1980s. It depicted a hypothetical conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, drawing heavily on current analysis of what such a conflict would be like. It has been used as a text at the Naval War College and similar institutions.
Since then, Bond's books have depicted military and political crises, emphasizing accuracy and fast-paced action. Red Phoenix, Vortex, and Cauldron were all New York Times bestsellers. Red Phoenix is set in South Korea and depicts an invasion of the south instigated by the North Korean government. Vortex tells the story of a reactionary Afrikaner government trying to roll back the clock in South Africa. Cauldron shows a financial crisis in Europe that grew out of control, leading to a military confrontation between France, Germany and countries of the Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary) supported by the United States.
Harpoon gaming system
Bond's Harpoon gaming system was first published in 1980. Designed as a general-purpose air, surface, and submarine naval simulation, it combines playability with a wealth of information on modern naval weapons systems. Designed for the entry-level player, it has found acceptance in both the commercial market and the professional naval community. It is used at the Naval Academy, several ROTC installations, and on several surface ships as a training aid.
Now in its fourth edition, Harpoon won the H.G. Wells Award, a trade association honor, in both 1981 and 1987 as the best miniatures game of the year. It is the only game to win the award twice. The computer version of the game first appeared in 1989 and won the 1990 Wargame of the Year award from Computer Gaming World, an industry journal.
Books
With Tom Clancy
- Red Storm Rising, 1986
With Patrick Larkin
- Red Phoenix, 1990
- Vortex, 1991
- Cauldron, 1993
- The Enemy Within, 1996
- Day of Wrath, 1998
With Chris Carlson
- Lash-Up, 2015
- Red Phoenix Burning (sequel to Red Phoenix), upcoming 2016
Jerry Mitchell Series
- Dangerous Ground, 2005
- Cold Choices, 2009
- Exit Plan, 2012
- Shattered Trident, 2013
- Burial at Sea, 2013
- Fatal Thunder, 2016
With Jim DeFelice
First Team Series
- Larry Bond's First Team, 2004
- Larry Bond's First Team: Angels of Wrath, 2006
- Larry Bond's First Team: Fires of War, 2006
- Larry Bond's First Team: Soul of the Assassin, 2008
Red Dragon Rising Series
- Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Shadows of War, 2009
- Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Edge of War, 2010
- Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Shock of War, 2012
- Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Blood of War, 2013
Edited by Larry Bond
- Crash Dive: True Stories of Submarine Combat, 2010
Personal life
He makes his home in Springfield, Virginia.
[ Source: Wikipedia ]