Customer Reviews

The Circle

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

They say the less you know about how laws and sausages are made, the better you'll sleep at night. After reading many of Poyer's books, I think I know too much about life in the Navy. Since I have no personal experience with the military, I can't comment on his accuracy with details. However, I can say that David Poyer is a powerful writer. His characters are very real, so much so that I'd like to slap a few of them upside the head. His descriptions of actions and environments are so vivid, I could feel the ship rocking in the storm, or the heat of the boilers.

I appreciate the way that he often incorporates explanations for jargon and practices, without insulting my intelligence. My only suggestion for future novels is to include a glossary, and perhaps diagrams of the ships' interiors

In "The Circle", a young Junior navy officer finally goes to sea. Unfortunately for everybody aboard, the officer is Dan Lenson, the hero of a series of books by Dave Poyer. I've only read a few of the Lenson books, but I've enjoyed them (though I'm pretty sure I wouldn't last a day trying to live through one). Befitting his rank, Lenson's first assignment is the Ryan - an aging destroyer that can barely pull out of port without losing power. Once underway, Lenson begins to learn the art and toil of running a USN ship - its complex mechanics and the labyrinthine passages of its crew. Instead of the Russians (the novel is set in the late 1960's) Lenson must fiercely contend with hustlers among his crew - who deal drugs or otherwise act in manner unbecoming of USN personnel; there are also some officers who prefer sailing with a criminal element, and never stop dreaming of ways to exploit it. Ryan's commander is a sage and noble captain, but Poyer makes it clear that even he may not have a full grasp on what his ship is up against. Soon, with all of its inner pressures kept under control, the Ryan heads for the stormy arctic waters of "The Circle". Lenson must now face the horrors of the polar seas, a possibly rogue Soviet submariner, the shift ones on his own ship and his own inexperience.

"The Circle" was a great read. Poyer inundates you with naval jargon yet manages to sustain a narrative of rare emotional force (for technothrillers anyway). Even if you don't know what's going on, you can at least taste the salt spray. The story is actually composed of two halves, and I agree with the reader who found the first half the better one. Still, Poyer's prose and characters keep you from going into skim mode, and keep "The Circle" from becoming one of those novels whose story seems lifted from an issue of "Jane's all the world's ships". If you loved "The Bedford Incident" or "HMS Ulysses", you've got to get "The Circle".

For those of you who crave highly detailed and very technical military action-adventure, David Poyer is the one of the very best writers in this genre. Poyer not only gives the reader an exciting naval story, but he packs the novel with tons of technical details about naval destroyers, weapons systems, sonar, propulsion systems, engine rooms, descriptions of bridge operations, etc.
He also gives the reader a very interesting main character, Dan Larsen, who although vulnerable, always triumphs over his adversaries. All in all, a great book to snuggle up to the fireplace with on a cold, wintry night.

I have read many naval adventure books - this is one of the best. The characters are richly developed, and the contrast in background and philosophies among the officers creates very interesting, realistic, and compelling tension. The challenges that a newly minted ensign faces in dealing with crusty enlisted men, both good and bad, as well as the challenges of a difficult assignment in an old ship, are well portrayed. The book stimulates a lot of thought without being itself heavy-handed. I think Poyer is an excellent author, and this is one of his best books.

I started with The Circle and plowed through all of the David Poyer books I could find. I enjoy his writing. Some times it gets a little technical for me, but I have actually picked up some information along the way because of his writing and I have been able to enjoy other authors of military books.

Picked up this book as a paperback in an airport bookstore to read during the endless waiting one has to endure when flying. Reading it hooked me as I became fasinated with Dan Lenson. I have since read all of Poyer's books about Lenson and like them all (I am currently reading his latest about pirates in the South China Sea.

Lenson is not a typical hero - which is what I really like about his character. He does remain bound by honor and trying "to do the right thing". He is a character anyone can identify with; not a superhero like the James Bond's of the fictional world.

I read with interest the comments by former Navy types; I am glad Poyer got the details right.

I've read all of Mr. Poyer's novels about the Navy, and thought this one was the most realistic - except for the Tom Clancy-ish business with the sub. Still, Poyer has the ability to write about ships, sailors, and the post-war US Navy better than any other writer I've encountered. The book was especially good at capturing the Vietnam-era Navy's problems with drug abuse, alcoholism, and poor discipline. Reminded me of my first ship!