As the battle carrier U.S.S. Truman patrols in the waters off the coast of Korea, watching over the nation, a crazed Asian dictator orders the release of nerve gas and renders the six-thousand-man crew virtually helpless.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
John T. Campbell earned a degree in electrical engeneering from the University of Pennsylvania. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he worked as a satellite communications engineer in the aerospace industry.
Die Hard on a Naval carrier pretty well sums up this action thriller. I enjoyed it. Plenty of heroes. A varied cast of characters that we get a glimpse of. Some noble and some not.
In the Tom Clancy/Larry Bond family of books. Think less geo-political thriller and more Die Hard on an aircraft carrier. I mean, what’s more fun than that?! Lots of standard tropes don’t really spoil any of the ride. If you like military techno-thrillers you’ll enjoy this.
An interesting novel, most notable for it's setting on a fictionalized (when the book was written) US Navy super-carrier and group.
I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I will refrain from discussing them. Overall the plot was believable, if a little far fetched. In hindsight it seems more problematic, but it still makes for a good story.
The characters were for the most part, interesting. I found the most interesting aspect to simply be the duties of the characters, and their reactions to the events of the novel as they unfolded. There is heroism and sacrifice present, usual tropes of a military novel, but to not include them would be unrewarding for the reader.
Overall I found the book to be entertaining or engaging in most parts that matter, interesting in others, and overall more enjoyable, if a bit less polished than some of the author's more famous contemporaries. With a little work, it could have been better.
In a charitable mood at the start of a new year, I'll give this three rather than the two stars it deserves. It's both an exciting and a tiring read. Lt Simmons wasn't the only one deserving of the Medal of Honor.