The Fire Ship

Richard Mariner #2

by Peter Tonkin

The discovery of an abandoned freighter in the Indian Ocean corresponds with the hijacking of a supertanker owned by shipping magnates Richard and Robin Mariner, but when Robin's father is kidnapped, the response will be personal. Reprint.

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Peter Tonkin's first novel, KILLER, was published in 1978. His work has included the acclaimed "Mariner" series that have been critically compared with the best of Alistair MacLean, Desmond Bagley and Hammond Innes.

More recently he has been working on a series of detective thrillers with an Elizabethan background. This series, "The Master of Defense", has been characterised as 'James Bond meets Sherlock Holmes meets William Shakespeare'. Each story is a classic 'whodunit' with all the clues presented to the reader exactly as they are presented to the hero, Tom Musgrave. The Kirkus Review described them as having 'Elizabethan detail, rousing action sequences, sound detection...everything a fan of historical mysteries could hope for."

Reviews

[Randy Tramp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Mariner and his wife, Robin, are in the Indian Ocean on the trial voyage of a high-tech sailing boat designed, built, and owned by two Vietnam veterans, ‘Doc’ Weary and Sam Hood when they encounter a burning freighter. In the Persian Gulf, Prometheus II, the giant flagship of the Heritage Mariner tanker fleet, and its crew, are seized by terrorists. Sir William Heritage, Robin's father, and Richard's friend and partner, cannot contact his daughter and son-in-law and is unable to obtain any information about who has hijacked his ship, or why. He flies to Bahrain to investigate—and is immediately kidnapped himself. The three incidents are linked to one mysterious terrorist group - a group controlled by a madman.

This takes me back to my Navy days, thus the reason I picked up this book. I didn't like the swearing. The plot became hard to follow at times. Besides those points, because of the constant action - a good read.

[Chris Hacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of our time

While not true the basis of this story could easily have been. That people like these would do deeds like this are what dreams are made of, which is why it's a great story. Couldn't put it down, looking forward to the next one.

[J.D. Schechter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

The writing at times is a bit leaden, but the story is imaginative enough, with larger than life heroes, radical islamists and a Biblical plague

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Fire Ship by Peter Tonkin is the second book of the Richard Mariner action thriller series, set on the high seas in the late twentieth century. Richard Mariner and his wife Robin are enjoying a vacation together on the Katapult, a new and experimental sailboat, in the Indian Ocean. They encounter a burning ship in shark-infested waters. Ever curious and sympathetic, they board the ship in case anyone needs rescue. The ship is curiously without identification, certainly without survivors, and they narrowly escape its final explosion and shipwreck. From the “fire ship” they proceed into a horrific storm that damages their vessel, including the communication system. So they don’t learn until later that the flagship of their company, Prometheus II of the Heritage Mariner tanker fleet, has been hijacked by terrorists in the Gulf. Meanwhile in England, Bill Heritage learns his flagship has been taken and that his daughter Robin and her husband, his business partner, have lost all communication. He flies to Bahrain, where he is promptly kidnapped by terrorists.

The book’s fast-paced chapters alternate between exciting plot lines around the world. The Heritage Mariner company executives call in favors from government, diplomatic ties and political allies. Richard and Robin redirect the Katapult from a pleasure cruise to the Gulf, and hunt for the Prometheus in person. They craft a daring plot to save the hijacked ship’s crew. They team up with their new friends Sam Hood and Doc Weary, crew members/owners of the Katapult, plus old trusted friends from their previous adventure (The Coffin Ship). Nothing goes exactly as planned – every move reveals hidden danger. This is a gripping, compulsive page-turner that would make a thrilling movie, populated by fascinating characters with complex personalities. If I hadn’t been so caught up in the suspense, I might have pulled out maps to follow their journey. A reader with nautical knowledge and hands-on experience would likely get even more enjoyment from the detailed descriptions at sea.

[Rob & Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rob...................

It starts off looking like Terrorist saga involving Muslims and Anti-Terrorists groups but in reality is a business family in shipping getting their Oil Tanker hijacked by a English person who started a terror group for greed which is financed by A Gulf State Sheik.
Involves connections to the Gulf States by twin daughters, a Sheik Father
who went to England then returned to Middle East, friends who were War buddies and a extreme boat designer. Lots of action and plots and good information of the proximity of Iran to Oil countries and the Oil Tanker movements including how a tanker is designed.

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

You could make a big hole in the side of a tanker with an RPG...