The Circle (Dan Lenson Novels) [Hardcover]

David Poyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1992 | Series: Dan Lenson Novels

Fresh from Annapolis, Dan Lenson boards an antiquated destroyer headed for the Arctic Circle, where he and the crew encounter a rogue sub, violent weather, and possible court martial. By the author of The Gulf. National ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Poyer's latest, impressive, techno-thriller, set in the early 1970s, features Dan Lenson (seen before in The Gulf ) as an ensign fresh from Annapolis who has just joined his first ship. The U.S.S. Reynolds Ryan is an obsolete destroyer with a captain whose marriage and career are on the rocks, an executive officer who despises Academy grads and a crew made up of the incompetent and the indifferent. Yet at an hour's notice the Ryan is sent to sea, and it winds up tracking a renegade Soviet missile sub in the teeth of an Arctic storm. After joining a task force on maneuvers, the Ryan is sunk when she turns into the path of an aircraft carrier, and the resulting court of inquiry compels Lenson to face home truths about the Navy--and himself. With echoes of The Caine Mutiny and The Bedford Incident , and Arctic scenes to match those in H.M.S. Ulysses , Poyer's novel is nonetheless an original contribution to the genre. If the Ryan sees an implausible amount of action in a single mission, the individual events convincingly present the gritty details of life aboard a pre-computer-age destroyer, and Poyer provides a compelling sense of the Cold War Navy's operational dynamics. The conclusion movingly depicts the unforgiving triad of command at sea: authority, responsibility and accountability. 100,000 first printing; author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Each of Poyer's books is a treat: timely, exciting, deeply affectionate and respectful of the naval men, women, and traditions he portrays. Here he describes the first tour of duty for Dan Lenson, series protagonist last seen in The Gulf ( LJ 8/90). Dan's ship, the destroyer Ryan , is a worn-out veteran; the men he must learn to supervise are a rag-tag group who test his every order. First Arctic storms, then catastrophe culminating in court martial test Dan's courage. Vivid scenes of shipboard life and duties--refueling, navigating under zero visibility, maneuvering the destroyer as part of a fleet of ships--serve as a backdrop to moving conflicts among the Ryan 's men. The author (who has a naval background) infuses his books with authentic detail, but his special gift is the creation of complex characters, among them the insolent Lassard and the mystical Evlin. Most highly recommended.
- Elsa Pendleton, Boeing Computer Support Svces., Ridgecrest, Cal.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (May 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312076711
• ISBN-13: 978-0312076719
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,077,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! A Destroyer Sailor's story of the "Tin Can" Navy., February 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Circle: He Pledged To Serve With Duty And Honor. Instead He Fought Betrayal On A Ship Bound For Danger. (Mass Market Paperback)

I was stationed on two FRAM-II Destroyers. I am a "Blue Nose", a "Shellback", and earned a Combat Action Ribbon while a crewmember on the USS Ozbourn (DD-846) off the coast of Vietnam. I am tired of all these glorified ("gun-decked")stories and movies about submarines and aircraft carriers, usually written by retired admirals or authors who were never even in the military never mind the navy. This story tells it like it is. I've often times wondered how young Ensigns dealt with the crap and stayed sane never mind got advanced and survive to make successful Navy careers. I truly enjoyed this book. I'm reading "The Med" now and I have also got "Passage" standing by. Only a "Tin Can Sailor" could have written this book. The terminolgy and slang terms are right on. I can understand how a person who never served in the Navy would have a hard time with this book. Perhaps Poyer should have a glossary in the back of his books to help decipher Navy jargon. I highly recommend this book, especially to former Navy anchor clankers. To Mr Poyer, from one ol' Tin Can Sailor to another, I bid you fair winds and follwing seas.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The closest thing to being there, October 23, 2001

By 

Bryce D. Butler (Edgewater, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Circle: He Pledged To Serve With Duty And Honor. Instead He Fought Betrayal On A Ship Bound For Danger. (Mass Market Paperback)

David Poyer's seminal naval work The Circle takes you directly in to the life of a young naval officer. Of all the books I have read about my profession, US Navy Surface Warfare Officer, it is the closest thing to actually being there. The long hours of watch and work, the mistakes you make being over-tired, and the lessons you learn from men who have spent their lives at sea are all contained within this book. In addition the, Poyer paints a vivid image of the environment of shipboard life and the perilous sea. Reading this book makes me cringe and want to return to sea duty as soon as possible.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Authentic, character driven, November 18, 2000

By 

Jon R. Schlueter (Grand Terrace, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Circle: He Pledged To Serve With Duty And Honor. Instead He Fought Betrayal On A Ship Bound For Danger. (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm not an ex-Navy man, so the constant Navy jargon left me sometimes only vaguely understanding what was going on. Nevertheless, I had the sense that this was what I would really experience if I were hidden, watching action from the back of the bridge of a Navy destroyer, and I valued that authenticity. But the setting was only a pallate for what was the deeper part of the book: men striving with tremendous stress and moral dilemmas. How do they cope, what do they think and do? Mr. Poyer is a keen explicator of human nature. After reading this novel, you'll feel as you had been there and struggled as the characters struggled.