Most Immediate

Special Force Orca #7

by Anthony Molloy, Paul Scott (Illustrator)

With the epic raid on the French port of St Nazaire only months away, Captain Alexander Barr, commanding officer of the Tribal Class destroyer HMS Nishga and the inspired and innovative leader of the Special Operations Group codenamed ‘Orca’, is charged with the job of creating a diversion to the main operation. True to form his audacious plans both shock and intrigue his superior officers. In the September of 1940 Churchill met Roosevelt on board the ‘Prince of Wales’. What if another such meeting was arranged and what if German Intelligence got to know about it Because the death of these two charismatic leaders would demoralise Germany’s two most powerful enemies and pave the way for Hitler’s domination of the civilised world they would divert all their energies into finding out the where and the when. As if Barr hadn’t enough on his plate, the Submarine Tracking Room at the Admiralty has discovered that Admiral Doenitz is concentrating his U Boats on the east coast of America. Thanks to an Anglophobic American Chief of Naval Operations they are completely disregarding the British advice to bring in the same convoy system that has saved Britain from starvation for two long years. What can be done to save them from what could potentially be a naval disaster bigger even than Pearl Harbour? Barr’s superiors think they have the answer, Barr has his doubts.

332 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 2012

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book №7 in the Special Force Orca series. America has finally entered into WWII, and Captain Barr finds that part of his latest mission is totally different to his normal activities, which often seem to be aimed along the Norwegian coastline. There is a planned attack by the Allies on the port of St Nazaire, but Barr is charged with providing an operation which will attract the attention of their enemies. A bold and daring plan is hatched, as you will have read about in the precis of the book.
I have to admit to thoroughly enjoying this series, in places it does read a wee bit like a Boy's Own tale, but nothing is over glamourised. The characters are very well crafted, even if the dialogue might seem as though it is spoken in some form of code. The plots are well thought out, and often grains of actual events can be discerned. The slightly wayward editting is still present, but I must be getting used to it as i hardly ever notice now, and they certainly don't stop my enjoyment.