Customer Reviews

Destroyermen: Crusade

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In this sequel to Into The Storm, we return to the parallel Earth, where the World War 2-era American destroyers Mahon and Walker were pulled. The captain of the USS Walker is trying to organize the Lemurians so that they can survive the coming onslaught of the ferocious Grik, and he has lots of ideas. What he doesn't have, unfortunately, is time. The Grik Grand Swarm is gathering, and the Lemurians will have to unify if they are to have a chance of survival. To make matters worse, it appears that one other ship was pulled through The Squall to this other Earth, the fearsome Japanese battle cruiser Amagi. The Destroyermen and Lemurians are going to need a lot of luck and courage if they are to survive the coming ordeal...a LOT of luck and courage!

Overall, I must say that I really enjoyed this book. The author did a really good job of keeping the suspense and the tension ratcheted up, as the good guys go from triumph to tragedy and back again. I really enjoyed this alternate Earth that the author created, and I think that he did a great job of making it very different and yet totally believable.

I enjoyed this book, and I really do think that you will too. So, if you read Into The Storm, hurry up and get Crusade. You won't be disappointed!

I normally shy away from series, because few hold my attention long enough to reach the third or fourth volume. I picked up "Into the Storm" at the library when I couldn't find anything else that caught my interest, and now I'm hooked. Just pre-ordered the third volume from Amazon.

Anderson shines by keeping his characters realistic and representative of the Greatest Generation types who would have crewed such vessels at the start of WWII. He hasn't turned them all into sophisticated, culturally-sensitive college grads, nor has he provided them with unlikely skills in martial arts or advanced technology--though I must say the Australian engineer who just happens to have the maps to all the Indonesian oil fields on his person is a bit too convenient.

At times I was reminded of a different Anderson, Poul, not in the writing style, but in the cultural extrapolation of the Lemurian and Grik species. There are also occasional reminders of "Sand Pebbles", another novel about US Asiatic Fleet sailors by Richard McKenna, who was one and who also wrote some SF. If Destroyermen isn't quite classic science fiction or great literature, it's extremely entertaining. I eagerly await the next installment.

Not being particularly interested in the science fiction genre, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Mr. Anderson's first book in this series, Into the Storm.

It was with anticipation, therefore, that I sought out this the second volume in the Destroyermen series. And I was not disappointed in any respect.

It is a fast paced story, with an extraordinarily unique plot, and characters, good and bad (make that cold-bloodedly evil for most), that keep you both interested and thinking about aspects of their "history" or back-story that Anderson suggests or that logically might apply. Any book that fully entertains on its own, and yet which also has the reader expanding the "story" because one has become interested enough to puzzle out even more story lines, is a credit to the author.

Anderson raises serious questions about honor, heroism, venal motivation, and raw terror, and uniquely, not only from the perspective of the humans alone, but also the "evolved" lemurs, and the cold-blooded Grik raptors --- a terrified Grik, in the hands of Anderson, is a sight to behold and relish.

The combat, realistic in every respect, is riveting. And when the equipment (antiquated, in the main, World War I destroyers, and small arms) are not sufficient in quantity, the characters manufacture historically correct alternatives that are familiar to any amateur historian, and perfectly capable of being reproduced in the setting of this story. The alternative dimensional aspects of Anderson's tale, the characters in it and their reactions to the stresses they face, "play well" and make for a superior read.

I want more, and to that end, have pre-ordered the third volume due out next February, Maelstrom. Perhaps Anderson will neatly wrap up this story, but I suspect that there is much more that can be written about these characters, and hope that he will continue or expand the "destroyermen" universe with more stories in the future.

This is another great book Taylor Anderson. You need to rear the first book in the series before this one or you will be lost. Well worth your money. Can't wait for the next one to come out.

A good tale well told.

Good characters, interesting setting, intriguing plot, well handled story telling.

Not great, but quite good. Good enough to be very readable and definitely good enough to make it worth picking up the next in the series.

I was fascinated to see how much of a shambles the intrepid Walker could be made into yet still, somehow, be made to keep going. Anderson knows his ships and he knows the sort of men it takes to run them. By concentrating on that he wrings a compelling tale from the human scale drama.

This is a tale of voracious and implacable enemies, spirited humans being human, and plucky allies all coming together in the most exciting manner possible.

Well worth the read.

This is the second in the series; read the first book first. See my review of the third book for more details. You have some good ideas mixed in with a strange conflict between reptilian creatures (very nasty) and monkey like critters who are quite human like in some ways. The author has fun with the story, mixing occasional facts about naval ships of WWII and the situation in the book. I enjoyed the light, nonserious (unless you were a monkey like creature fighting for your race's survival in the book) nature of the book. Lots of drama, political and other, that add to the flavor. A good read for the escapist.

If you enjoy fantastic creatures, nation building, and a truely evil enemy, then this series of books is for you. The characters are well defined and the plot is very believable, but not too predictable. Put simply, it's a great read!

I feel almost guilty rating this 4 stars since that is the lowest rating anyone at Amazon has given it yet. I really am enjoying the series, but I just can't give it 5. The author's knowledge of the geography, history, and weaponry of the early war in the Pacific make this book shine even though it takes place in an alternate-reality world. The first in the series was a little heavy-handed, almost cartoonish, with the characterizations. You knew instantly who was going to be the good guys and who the bad guys, who was going to fall in love with whom, and so on. Still the action and descriptions of shipboard life, the lands, the battles, and much else were engrossing. This book is better, with the plot not so easily foreseen, the survival tactics and strategy surprising at times. Not all the good guys live nor do all the bad guys die... at least not yet. I'll get Maelstrom for sure to find out. Action-packed and (covertly) educational, this book is reminiscent of Harry Harrison's West of Eden series. Still, don't mistake it for great literature. I'd probably give it a 4.5 if I could.

I love this series and the author. Good SciFi is hard to find so I recommend this series without hesitation.

I read the first book and got curious; the story took turns I wasn't expecting, but this book was great! Very exciting and hard to put down, I can't wait until the next one comes out!