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  • Into the Storm (Destroyermen)
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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
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Into the Storm (Destroyermen)

Into the Storm (Destroyermen)

byTaylor Anderson
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Top positive review

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Wilford Tibbetts
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat read!
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on September 26, 2009
I was hesitant to buy this at first, and had been looking at this novel on and off for the better part of two years, wondering if I should take the chance and just buy it. Unfortunately(or Fortunately, I suppose), novels from my favorite authors were released and I bought those instead. As I was already following those series, and wanted to read the new novels badly.

I finally bought this novel - the first of a series - about a month ago. I started reading it the very day it arrived, and I couldn't put it down. I read it in less than 24hrs. It was an amazing read. A mixture of World War 2 naval history, alternate universe/timeline, and fiction.

It takes place aboard an old "four-stacker" destroyer - a left-over from World War One. The name is derived from the four smoke stacks(and the engines) they carry. They were light, fast, and rolled like a dead whale in rough seas, but the brave men who served aboard them fought them well when it counted.

This story takes place near the beginning of America's involvement in World War Two. The United States is woefully unprepared for the war, having to use older mothballed ships - like the four-stacker destroyers of World War One. The United States even sent quite a few to Great Britain during the Lend-Lease Program under orders from President Roosevelt. They weren't much, but that was all that could be done at the time.

Anyway, this story takes place in the Java Sea. The Allied Forces in the area are almost all older warships, the Pacific being the dumbing ground for many of the older ships and 'bad eggs'. The actions of many of the battles mentioned at the beginning of the book are almost all factually correct, however, the author took a creative license to write his story - as many fiction authors do.

The ships our main characters are aboard are the USS WALKER and USS MAHAN - both being the four-stackers I mentioned in the previous paragraphs. However, the USS WALKER and USS MAHAN(both ships were indeed real) never served in World War Two. The USS WALKER was scuttled(sunk) seventeen days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the USS MAHAN was scrapped in 1931.

Another ship that was mentioned as being in the battle in and around the Java Sea was the Imperial Japanese Ship AMAGI. She also, never saw action in World War Two. She was scrapped by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1922 after an earthquake badly damaged her during construction. If she had been completed, as some of her sister ships were, then she would have been about the same size as the IOWA-class battleship - very powerful ship. The AMAGI's sister ships were converted to carriers before the war, just incase you were wondering.

Now, in this story, all three ships are in use by their respective governments. The American four-stackers are escorting the British cruiser HMS EXETER - along with several other destroyers - to Australia(eventually), however, they are being followed by a Japanese force(including the AMAGI) that is hell-bent on stopping them. A series of attacks by the force behind(a combined attack from the air and sea) are able to slow the EXETER down enough for the force behind them to get closer.

With that, the Japanese ships are able to use more of their guns to attack the beliegered fleet. The destroyers turn to make a smoke screen between the EXETER and the Japanese force. Now the Japanese are firing blind at the Allied Fleet. Eventually, the enemy closes and wounds the EXETER badly. The commander of the EXETER orders the rest of the destroyers to make a run for it while the EXETER fights it out with the Japanese. But the gesture is futile. Eventually the four-stackers find a squall - a bad patch of weather that they hope to hide in and lose the Japanese. But the AMAGI and a Japanese destroyer stand in the way.

The American destroyers can think of only one thing to do. It's dangerous, and they most likely won't survive, but they do it anyway. They attack, firing everything they have, and then firing torpedoes at close range at the Japanese ships. The Japanese destroyer is hit by torpedoes meant for the AMAGI - the commander of the destroyer having ordered his ship to take the hits instead - and is destroyed. Both American destroyers are damaged now, the MAHAN severely - her bridge destroyed and much of her forward section useless junk and is now commanded by the ship's engineer(all other officers having been killed).

The WALKER orders another attack, the ships splitting up and moving along either side of the AMAGI, firing away. Soon after, they are into the squall, but it's unlike any squall they had ever been in. The wind and rain begin to act funny, and then there is a falling sensation. Then bam, they aren't in Kansas anymore Toto. =P

Takes them a bit to figure out they aren't in their world any longer, but they figure it out when they see dinosaurs on an island that once held humans.

This story was fantastic. I will be reading it again shortly, as I read it so fast the first time. I highly recommend it for those who like alternate history, alternate universe, fiction-type novels.
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One person found this helpful

Top critical review

All critical reviews›
David Wilkin
3.0 out of 5 starsThose who gave it five need to take a step back...
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on October 24, 2009
Much like the Birmingham books, more than the Stirling, there are some problems in the concept that the author addresses poorly which is why the book does not get as high marks as it might have. This might be due more to the author thinking that the story he had envisioned was great and well researched in parts, rather than thinking that when we suspend our disbelief, can we drive through the holes he has left wide open with a mack truck.

Remember the scene in Operation Petticoat, which this has tones of, where the women are shown the head? There is no discomfort for the lack of privacy that the nurses create or inflict on this crew of destroyermen.

The big holes though are the use of Latin. Perhaps the author has never spoke latin, studied it or read a translation of one of Cicero's speeches. I admit to only one quarter in college. Latin does not have as many words as English, or Lemurian I should think, since both languages seem to be full of many words that those translators of Cicero would probably agonize over for months trying to get latin to work well enough to give us our modern flow of speaking. But once Latin is exposed in this story as the intermediary language, then communication is easy and swift. Not to mention that overgrown monkeys can make our speech sounds in their physiology and we theirs.

The second is rationing, fresh water, it is discussed, but even when dinosaurs are discovered making it hard to fathom sending parties ashore to get water, and then fuel, the thoughts of rationing are pretty much forgotten. Our apes and snipes eat as well as if there wasn't a war on.

Of course there isn't a war on once they arrive in this new version of our world, but they arrive right as the war that has been ongoing for hundreds of years is getting so nasty that we are looking at genocide if our heroes don't intercede. Cliche, the senior women and senior man getting together, cliche. The supply officer getting together with another, he must look like Tony Curtis...Especially since he was a bit lost before he hooks up with her...

But the author does give us some action, and some characters, though a lot sound a like. Once the whole series is presented, it might even be worth a second read.
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3 people found this helpful

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From the United States

David Wilkin
3.0 out of 5 stars Those who gave it five need to take a step back...
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on October 24, 2009
Verified Purchase
Much like the Birmingham books, more than the Stirling, there are some problems in the concept that the author addresses poorly which is why the book does not get as high marks as it might have. This might be due more to the author thinking that the story he had envisioned was great and well researched in parts, rather than thinking that when we suspend our disbelief, can we drive through the holes he has left wide open with a mack truck.

Remember the scene in Operation Petticoat, which this has tones of, where the women are shown the head? There is no discomfort for the lack of privacy that the nurses create or inflict on this crew of destroyermen.

The big holes though are the use of Latin. Perhaps the author has never spoke latin, studied it or read a translation of one of Cicero's speeches. I admit to only one quarter in college. Latin does not have as many words as English, or Lemurian I should think, since both languages seem to be full of many words that those translators of Cicero would probably agonize over for months trying to get latin to work well enough to give us our modern flow of speaking. But once Latin is exposed in this story as the intermediary language, then communication is easy and swift. Not to mention that overgrown monkeys can make our speech sounds in their physiology and we theirs.

The second is rationing, fresh water, it is discussed, but even when dinosaurs are discovered making it hard to fathom sending parties ashore to get water, and then fuel, the thoughts of rationing are pretty much forgotten. Our apes and snipes eat as well as if there wasn't a war on.

Of course there isn't a war on once they arrive in this new version of our world, but they arrive right as the war that has been ongoing for hundreds of years is getting so nasty that we are looking at genocide if our heroes don't intercede. Cliche, the senior women and senior man getting together, cliche. The supply officer getting together with another, he must look like Tony Curtis...Especially since he was a bit lost before he hooks up with her...

But the author does give us some action, and some characters, though a lot sound a like. Once the whole series is presented, it might even be worth a second read.
3 people found this helpful
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Bos'n
3.0 out of 5 stars A Former Destroyerman's Review
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on August 12, 2010
Verified Purchase
When it comes to my own preferences for fictional Navy stories, I've a tendency to avoid those dealing with the supernatural. However, I will continue to read Anderson's "Destroyerman" series and glean what I can of them. There's no question that this book is well written and held my interest. My own experience is with Fletcher Class destroyers, not four-pipers. So, I cannot gauge the accuracy of their description. Anderson has a good grasp of the early events of WWII in the Pacific and folds them neatly into the plot. When younger, I was heavily involved with sci-fi, but dropped it, in favor of real history. I would have preferred a fictional account of a destroyer in the Battle off Samar, of destroyers at Omaha Beach or those in the Battle of the Atlantic. But, having my own way would have defeated the very purpose of the story. As it stands, the tale is a very worthy sci-fi destroyer adventure.
5 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Itโ€™s good enough WII sci-fi story to pass the time.
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on August 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
The premise is fine, the characters are fine, the love story bothered me the most. The choices some of the characters make are...... inconsistent. Still I have bought this good twice in 10 years, paper when it came out and digital. So itโ€™s good enough.
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Freda Kreiner
3.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on February 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
I liked this story a great deal. I wasnโ€™t sure at first because I donโ€™t care that much for ship thrillers. The characters were interesting and had a good relationship with each other. Many times I wonder how people get to be friends since they have little in common. Here the author actually made sense. An enjoyable read.
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William D. Ponder
3.0 out of 5 stars which makes it a hair better than many of these series out there
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on March 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
The story follow the serial format for this type of story. I've only read the first book and it's okay but nothing to write home about; which makes it a hair better than many of these series out there. The author didn't need to throw in a Japanese battleship that wasn't there, the heavy cruisers that were there historically would have been more than enough. If you like a naval story then you might like this one.
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Todd Gutschow
3.0 out of 5 stars a pleasant book and interesting read
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on May 29, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book is perfect for casual reading. It's interesting enough to keep your attention. There seems to be a lack of emotion in the story and the characters develop at a limited pace. But overall you care about them and that ties it together for now. I love the feel of the late thirties early forties era. It's obvious the author is well versed in the historical naval events of the time. I'm looking forward to the next book. The concept is intriguing and I'm curios to see where the author takes this.
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Levin
3.0 out of 5 stars Cool, but little suspense
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on September 6, 2012
Verified Purchase
The book was cool, I liked the idea. But to be honest I found the naval battle in the beginning to be the most exciting part of the book. The rest was interesting to be sure, but felt more like a prosaic diary of the ship on a new world.
The book never really captured my attention so to say.
But nevertheless, an entertaining read.
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D. Beymer
3.0 out of 5 stars Into the Storm Destroyermen Book 1
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on October 9, 2013
Verified Purchase
Book was in good shape and arrived in time.

Did Not like extra bar code and smart code box stickers placed on cover of book and it's spine. I assume this was done by seller for inventory management needs.. Wrong move.

I Prefer original condition books as put out by Publisher!
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Jayson
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on June 20, 2018
Verified Purchase
Seemed like a great premise, but I couldn't get into it. Sorry.
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Michael B. Healy
3.0 out of 5 stars Not the Best, Not the Worst
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on January 24, 2009
Verified Purchase
Fun story, though it seemed a little short on depth to me. I didn't like it enough to go for the 2nd & 3rd installments. I just didn't get into the characters enough to be truly drawn into the alternate world that the author was trying to create.
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