Submariner

by Alexander Fullerton

Lieutenant Mike Nicholson is operating out of Malta. Captaining the submarine Ursa , he is part of the fleet deputed to disrupt the flow of war supplies from Italian ports to Rommel’s Afrika Korps. Although Ursa is small, under armed, and frustratingly slow, she succeeds in sinking a German tank transporter on her 17th Mediterranean cruise. That triumph puts Mike at the top of the league—he has now sunk more tonnage than any of his contemporaries. Promotion to Lieutenant-Commander, at the age of 28, is now on the cards. All he has to do is adhere to two rules—stay alive, and keep your nose clean.

Genres: Historical Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Alexander Fullerton (1924–2008) was a British author of naval and other fiction. Born in 1924 in Suffolk and brought up in France, he was a cadet during the years 1938-1941 at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth from the age of thirteen. He went to sea serving first in the battleship Queen Elizabeth in the Mediterranean, and spent the rest of the war at sea - mostly under it, in submarines.

Fullerton's first novel SURFACE! sold over 500,000 copies. Then he worked on the 9-volume Nicholas Everard series that made his reputation.

Series:
* Nicholas Everard Saga
* Rosie Ewing

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[john holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow ahead initially then groups up.

Took a bit of time to get going but built up to a nice climax. Read it straight after a non-fiction sub story uss seawolf, and found some of the Reemanesque romance stuff silly and not convincing. (Reemanesque = like the potboiling naval novels of Douglas Reeman) Worth a read

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed

I usually enjoy this author's novels and haven't been reading them to cure insomnia, but this one could sure be the antidote. Whew! Hard to stay awake thru this one. Not much excitement or adventure in the first third, just a steady diet of routine submarine operations and a CO's musing about an adulterous relationship- certainly conduct unbecoming.
Please excuse me while I go take a snooze.

[Anthony King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Submarine supreme!

Alexander Fullerton at his best & on top line as usual. Excellent storytelling by a master of his craft, fascinating details of sub sea action and depictions of depth charging.

[Mike Whitehouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant story

Brilliant story about Submariners and the hazards they face whilst on operational patrols , it includes the Captain's love affairs and the close knit community they must have been.

[Rosalin Morales · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bored

The story was more than likely very good, but, because it was not a U.S. naval story, I quickly got bored.

[7$MartyQ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Free 1939 until Dec.1941 Britain was alone in her fight with Germany. Until the spring of 1942 the war was going the way of the Axis forces. This book was probably referring to the time in which the British forces were driving the Axis out of Africa. It's a good story,

[Donna Herrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much better example of "stream-of-consciousness" style can be found than this gripping story about commanding a WW II submarine. The story has great details, an interesting storyline, and good characters.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed the books by Alexander Fullerton, and on the whole I enjoyed this one. However, it is not one of his best and at times curiously fails to engage. The romance between Mike and Abby is more successful than the action scenes which are usually the author's strong point. I was disappointed with the ending as the potential flash point between either Mike and Melhuish and/or Mike and Anne never materialised. A bit of a cop-out. Summing up: this book suffers from the three star curse - mostly enjoyable but forgetable!