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Josh Thurlow #3
The Far Reaches
The year is 1943 and World War II in the Pacific rages on, with Americans engaged in desperate battles against a cunning enemy. Coast Guard Captain Josh Thurlow is on hand at the invasion of Tarawa, as the U.S. Navy begins the grand strategy of throwing her marines at island after bloody island across the Pacific. But nothing goes as planned as young Americans go up against fanatical defenders, who revel in snipers, big guns, and human wave attacks from which there is no escape save death.
As blood colors the waters around Tarawa, Josh flounders ashore through a floating graveyard of dead men and joins the survivors, determined to somehow wrest victory from disaster. Critically wounded, ,Josh expects to die. Instead, he is spun off on one of his greatest adventures when Sister Mary Kathleen, a young Irish nun, nurses him back to health, then shanghais Josh, sidekick Bosun Ready O'Neal, and three American marines to a group of beautiful tropical islands invaded by a brutal Japanese warlord. Josh and his little band must decide whether to help the Sister fight the battle she demands, return to Tarawa and the "real" war, or settle down in the romantic splendor of the South Seas.
Hickam expertly weaves the adventures of these hot-blooded characters tighter and tighter until the Sister's secrets and sins are finally revealed during a horrific battle in the lair of the warlord. With an incredible eye for historical detail and the talent of a master storyteller, Homer Hickam delivers another tour de force.
As blood colors the waters around Tarawa, Josh flounders ashore through a floating graveyard of dead men and joins the survivors, determined to somehow wrest victory from disaster. Critically wounded, ,Josh expects to die. Instead, he is spun off on one of his greatest adventures when Sister Mary Kathleen, a young Irish nun, nurses him back to health, then shanghais Josh, sidekick Bosun Ready O'Neal, and three American marines to a group of beautiful tropical islands invaded by a brutal Japanese warlord. Josh and his little band must decide whether to help the Sister fight the battle she demands, return to Tarawa and the "real" war, or settle down in the romantic splendor of the South Seas.
Hickam expertly weaves the adventures of these hot-blooded characters tighter and tighter until the Sister's secrets and sins are finally revealed during a horrific battle in the lair of the warlord. With an incredible eye for historical detail and the talent of a master storyteller, Homer Hickam delivers another tour de force.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 12, 2007
13 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Homer Hickam
29 books673 followersHomer Hickam (also known as Homer H. Hickam, Jr.) is the author of many best-sellers including his latest, Don't Blow Yourself Up. An eclectic writer, he wrote the "Coalwood Series," which includes the # 1 New York Times best-selling memoir Rocket Boys, (made into the ever-popular movie October Sky) the World War II-era "Josh Thurlow" series, the juvenile sci-fi "Crater" series, the adult thriller The Dinosaur Hunter, the romantic Red Helmet, and many others. Among his many writing awards are the University of Alabama's Clarence Cason Award and the Appalachian Heritage Writer's Award plus an honorary Doctorate of Literature from Marshall University. For more information on Mr. Hickam and his books and cats and everything else, please go to http://www.homerhickam.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
August 21, 2009
This book was a good story but lacked critical elements. I listened to it on Audio CD and the audio narrator was excellent. He had very good cadence and flow and he did a really good job of individualizing each character's 'voice'. I think he is a really great narrator and will readily pick up any other book for which he is the reader!
As for the book overall, however, I feel it only earned 3 stars because it lacked really significant component - any kind of emotional current. The book begins at dawn off the coast of an atoll in the south Pacific where the US Marines are about to engage the Japanese. It unfolded into very real brutality and horror which was incredibly gripping and, no doubt, extremely absolutely believable. I was riveted to the chaos, turbulence and ghastly realism of it. But the book's grip on me dissapated as the subsequent tales unfolded. I believe the main reason for this was the complete lack of any emotional components to the characters. Here Josh, Ready O'Neill, Kathleen and many of the others had been through absolute hell and have had horrendous life experiences.... but I just read about them, I NEVER felt them. It was as if the characters were cardboard paper dolls moving through the saga. Too bad as the novel's setting and historical material, was terrific .... and for that this book would have deserved more stars as it really was a great narrative with otherwise very real and complex characters.
As for the book overall, however, I feel it only earned 3 stars because it lacked really significant component - any kind of emotional current. The book begins at dawn off the coast of an atoll in the south Pacific where the US Marines are about to engage the Japanese. It unfolded into very real brutality and horror which was incredibly gripping and, no doubt, extremely absolutely believable. I was riveted to the chaos, turbulence and ghastly realism of it. But the book's grip on me dissapated as the subsequent tales unfolded. I believe the main reason for this was the complete lack of any emotional components to the characters. Here Josh, Ready O'Neill, Kathleen and many of the others had been through absolute hell and have had horrendous life experiences.... but I just read about them, I NEVER felt them. It was as if the characters were cardboard paper dolls moving through the saga. Too bad as the novel's setting and historical material, was terrific .... and for that this book would have deserved more stars as it really was a great narrative with otherwise very real and complex characters.
May 31, 2017
Hard to rate, after first 2 books of the Trilogy Hickman was contracted to write, that were top notch, to find the 3rd a let down. Capt. Josh and his Coast Guard crew from the Outer Banks ends up fighting on Tarawa with only his Bosun left. So we don't know unless Hickam will write a 4th and unite his crew at the end of WW2. Special interest was Josh teaching So. Pacific natives to make charcoal, That reminded me when my sister went to Africa to be a missionary, she had to read The Ugly American to learn the better way to help the natives.
Some Coast Guard SeaVets have read, others started the trilogy and if Hickam won't write Vol #4 we are ready to reunite the crew with a rebuilt 83, Josh and Dosie married, and a big luau at Ocracoke Lighthouse.
Some Coast Guard SeaVets have read, others started the trilogy and if Hickam won't write Vol #4 we are ready to reunite the crew with a rebuilt 83, Josh and Dosie married, and a big luau at Ocracoke Lighthouse.
February 4, 2021
Book Three of the series finds Coast Guard CaptainJosh Thurlow once again in the thick of battle in the Pacific in WWII. His Bosun, Ready O’Neal accompanies him on most of the adventures this time as both of them meet Sister Kathleen, an Irish Nun with a big secret and a personal mission that will put all their lives in jeopardy. The story of Josh is hardly brought to an end as his fate is far from determined in the final paragraphs. In the epilogue, the author suggests that there are more stories to tell; we will see.
July 22, 2019
Judy, North River staff, July 2019, 5 stars:
Hickam is an excellent author. Subject is war but there is also a wonderful story line associated with it. He also wrote Rocket Boys and has written several historical novels.
Hickam is an excellent author. Subject is war but there is also a wonderful story line associated with it. He also wrote Rocket Boys and has written several historical novels.
April 21, 2025
This is not a book I would normally pick up. I read it for a challenge. I initially had trouble getting into the book. I got the audio book to help with that. I liked the characters, but the end was confusing at parts. If you like world war 2 story’s then this book might be for you but it wasn’t for me.
November 11, 2020
Josh Thurlow is in the Pacific islands as Hickam tells the story of the battle of Tarawa and the fate of Japanese soldiers who were bypassed by the American forces. Island life is easy and gentle but the war is very real with violence right around the corner. Engaging!
July 26, 2018
Not good
January 29, 2020
i really like Homer Hickam but I had trouble getting in to this one. the last half was very good.
April 24, 2025
Series I did not want to end! Wonderful.
May 13, 2025
I LOVE this author! What a storyteller! READ this book!
August 26, 2025
The last of the trilogy featuring Coast Guard Captain Josh Thurlow. Quirky and exciting in its WWII setting.
November 7, 2023
Hmm. I’m not sure how to review this book. On one hand, it was an engaging and surprisingly original WWII novel with a main character from a branch that rarely gets explored: the US Coast Guard. That was in fact the reason I picked it up to begin with, and I was disappointed that we never really got to see the Coast Guard in action. Yes, there was the battle at the beginning, but that was primarily focused on the Marines, with a side dose of the Navy, and not much of the CG besides our protagonist Josh Thurlow.
The main thing that kept me from giving this a higher rating was the rather old-fashioned ideas and language in here. I had assumed the book was written sometime in the 1960s or 1970s. Maybe the author was trying to make it more period-accurate, but it didn’t come off quite right (at least for me). I didn’t entirely love the treatment of female characters in this book. It’s an old complaint, but a valid one for a book written in the 21st century. The major female characters, Kathleen and Rose, both have very motherly and feminine personalities. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it does raise eyebrows when those are the primary characteristics displayed by all the women. Rose does nothing more than , while it turns out that Kathleen
My other main complaint is that the book dragged on in certain places; the characters went off on side adventures that didn’t really connect back to the main plot. Meanwhile, the ending was incredibly rushed. Despite this, Hickam has entertaining prose that kept me engaged throughout the whole book.
The main thing that kept me from giving this a higher rating was the rather old-fashioned ideas and language in here. I had assumed the book was written sometime in the 1960s or 1970s. Maybe the author was trying to make it more period-accurate, but it didn’t come off quite right (at least for me). I didn’t entirely love the treatment of female characters in this book. It’s an old complaint, but a valid one for a book written in the 21st century. The major female characters, Kathleen and Rose, both have very motherly and feminine personalities. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it does raise eyebrows when those are the primary characteristics displayed by all the women. Rose does nothing more than , while it turns out that Kathleen
My other main complaint is that the book dragged on in certain places; the characters went off on side adventures that didn’t really connect back to the main plot. Meanwhile, the ending was incredibly rushed. Despite this, Hickam has entertaining prose that kept me engaged throughout the whole book.
October 16, 2014
Here's a cast of characters right out of the cliche locker:beautiful Irish nun, posted to a remote Pacific island during WW II and her retinue of fella boys on the run from a sadistic Japanese officer meet a heroic Coast Guard captain during the bloody battle of Tarawa. The captain, his faithful bosun, three frightened marines, the nun, and the fella boys escape from Tarawa on their seagoing canoes and, using dead reckoning navigation , arrive at a fictional island group, the Far Reaches. There,, a wise but overweight chief, his three wives and an assortment of supple, willing native women ("fella gals?") join the newly defrocked nun in waging war against the sadistic Japanese. Chief among the characters introduced at this point is the native widow woman who becomes the captain's wife; she's unique among her fellow islanders in that she has been educated for eight years in New Zealand. And so on and so forth.
The zany cast of characters saved this book from a two star rating. It lost a possible four star rating because it's so goddamn bloody. And because the characters keep having quasi-religious visions at key points in the narrative.
The discerning reader will check out Tales of the South Pacific instead. Less discerning readers, like me, will probably enjoy this book despite its many flaws.
The zany cast of characters saved this book from a two star rating. It lost a possible four star rating because it's so goddamn bloody. And because the characters keep having quasi-religious visions at key points in the narrative.
The discerning reader will check out Tales of the South Pacific instead. Less discerning readers, like me, will probably enjoy this book despite its many flaws.
August 23, 2010
It's funny...i picked this book up when my mother was reading it, I read this one and then found it was the last of the series!! I was dissapointed I read it out of order, but, when i went and read the first one then the second one, then read all three in order, i personally preferred reading them out of order! It adds more thrill to them all, because if you read this first, when you read the others it seems that much more interesting to find there past and who they're referring to. Overall, amazing book!I know this belongs on the first one but yeah haha! As for this book, my favorite character was Soichi who helped Sister at the beginning. He was sort of a symbol to me because I know alot of people from the United States ( My parents included ) have a slight distaste for Japanese because of WWII but he shows the good that many of the people had. Great book!
June 8, 2015
Third Josh Thurlow book focuses more on Ready O'Neal, Thurlows Outer Banks friend and Coast Guard companion, as they get mixed up in the Marine invasion of Tarawa in the Pacific.
Both men get mixed up in the tail of Sister Mary Kathleen, an Irish nun who escaped from Japanese capture on another island and came to Tarawa to encourage the Americans to come back with her to free her captive island from Japanese rule. But the sister has a secret that drives the story.
Hickam writes in straightforward prose that usually flows well, with just the ocassional turn of phrase or wording in the direction of the maudlin or over-dramatic.
The book ends with a resolution of the this story, but leaves the key participants scattered and Thurlow alone on an unknown island, begging the beginning of a fourth novel.
Both men get mixed up in the tail of Sister Mary Kathleen, an Irish nun who escaped from Japanese capture on another island and came to Tarawa to encourage the Americans to come back with her to free her captive island from Japanese rule. But the sister has a secret that drives the story.
Hickam writes in straightforward prose that usually flows well, with just the ocassional turn of phrase or wording in the direction of the maudlin or over-dramatic.
The book ends with a resolution of the this story, but leaves the key participants scattered and Thurlow alone on an unknown island, begging the beginning of a fourth novel.
September 6, 2009
This my least favorite of Homer Hickam's books. The invasion of Tarawa is described in bloody, explicit detail. Almost 1000 Americans lost their lives in this battle in 1943. I forget how many more Japanese died. While it was an American victory there was a huge price paid. The second part of the book delves into the fictional account of a Catholic nun who had escaped from her Japanese captors after being raped and beaten. The ending is incomprehensible to me but I read about similar things in the newspapers today. I just do not understand the psychology of it all. It is depressing. Josh is left swimming in the open sea after his boat is destroyed in a storm. He hears waves beating on a shore so I guess we will find out what happens to him in the next installment in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2010
A really great war novel that captures the mixture of religion, morals, values with war and death. It is a powerful read that brings strong characters to life. I really enjoyed the description of battles and scenes. It tells an amazing tale about the Pacific theater during WWII. Its one of the most emotionally charged books I have read but it in many ways is predictable which makes the book lose some of its appeal. I still enjoyed the book a lot and thought it was appealing to guys and people intrigued with war and the costs it has on the mind and soul
December 28, 2014
Hickam’s memoir was made into the movie October Sky, but his own fiction is greatly disappointing. Staring characters from one of his previous books, this begins at the Battle of Tarawa, where the protagonist goes around taking part in the battle’s most famous actions, despite getting riddled by flesh injuries, before he, and several other Marines, are kidnapped/rescued by a nun and several natives, who take them to a fictional island chain in order to combat the commander of a small Japanese garrison who’s gone Kurtz. Nothing in this book made sense.
June 7, 2008
Violent but fascinating continuation in the Josh Thurlow series. A great farce in the South Pacific about the intrepid Josh Thurlow and his eclectic gang of Coast Guardsmen, a nun caught in the onslaught of an island-hopping war against the Japanese. Though unlikely, it's difficult to put this one down with the fascinating characterizations, action and never-ending plot twists. I saw the ending coming on this one, but not the very ending.
March 11, 2011
The weakest of the series. I did not care for the book that much or the ending.
It seems that the author feels the need for the main character to cheat on his girlfriend in every book in the series.
It seems that the author feels the need for the main character to cheat on his girlfriend in every book in the series.
November 26, 2010
Adventurous, fun characters, villains, heroes, some romance. Historical fiction. Good writing. I'll definitely be reading more by Hickam. Since it's a war book there is some language- but it's fairly minimal for a war book.
November 30, 2012
This book falls somewhere between "South Pacific" and "Winds of War." It treats its material gently and with some humor, given the horrific nature of war. And just when you've about decided it is purely light entertainment, it gets very tragic.
November 24, 2015
Another home run from Homer Hickam. The Josh Thurlow series is captivating, tense, and full of rich characters that make it hard to put down. Hickam makes it easy to get lost in his tales of the South Pacific.
June 16, 2015
Very well written book about WWII in the South Pacific. 3rd in the series. We listened to it on CD on a long car ride. Both Hubby and I enjoyed it. Not a 'feel good' book, though, definitely a 'war' book so be warned.
July 16, 2015
1943. Polynesia. An interesting (if graphic) point of view of WWII in the Pacific. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that this is the third in a trilogy. I wasn't invested enough to go back and read the first two books.
April 23, 2016
I rated it only 3 stars because I got tired of reading about all the nympho native women whose lives were dedicated to waiting on men -- especially the foreigners -- hand and foot and loving every minute of it. Quite the male fantasy.
September 15, 2007
I love all of Homer Hickams books, both the autobiogrphical and the fiction. This one is no exception. He tells a great story!
April 16, 2008
Although the battle scenes were difficult for me because they were so vivid, I could not put the book down. I look forward to reading other Hickam books.
August 4, 2008
cool and funny war book, a little sad at the end.
September 3, 2010
Thoroughly enjoyed the Josh Thurlow series, even out of order...
Great story and WWII historical. Fun for those long road trips.
Great story and WWII historical. Fun for those long road trips.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews