Customer Reviews

Echo Class

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

 

 

Full disclosure: I'm a retired USN officer, with several years at sea in different ship types, and I served during the period in which this book is set (the 1960's). I've read much of what Meadows has written, and the books have become progressively worse. He is a USN Captain, according to his web site, but he writes like he's never seen a ship, much less been aboard one. The plot of this book is thinner than the paper it's written on. The descriptions of equipment and operating procedures are purely imaginative, and the very basic terminology of ASW (like calling out depths in meters, feet and fathoms interchangeably in the same paragraph, and getting two of the three wrong) indicates a total lack of both research and editing. This could have been a mediocre book, but it failed to reach even that low standard. If you absolutely MUST read it, get it from the library...don't spend a dime on it.

Captain Meadows has written yet another very enjoyable and exciting naval adventure book. Having read all of his books to date, it's hard to pick a favorite since they are all so well done. I thought the characters here were well developed; we intimately see the thought processes of the Soviet submarine captain and the commanding officer of the US destroyer as they play the ASW cat-and-mouse game. The "inaccuracies" cited in other reviews of this book are pretty much down in the noise, and have little to do with plot of the story. After all, this is a novel, not the Bluejacket's Manual. I have a 40 year association with the Navy, both on active duty and as a technology contractor, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm looking forward to reading his next offering.

Echo Class is a Cold War suspense thriller that begins with an American destroyer, the USS Dale, chasing a Soviet nuclear submarine, K-122, across the Pacific. Eventually, losing the Soviet boat in deep water, the story then moves into Subic Bay in the Philippines, where the crew of the destroyer takes a well-earned liberty. Their joyful respite is cut short, however, when a sonarman on duty aboard the Dale discovers that the K-122 is actually hiding in Subic Bay. Then the action really begins to heat up.

You see, unbeknownst to the U.S. Navy, several members of the Soviet boat have sneaked ashore on a top-secret-mission. Exactly, what are they up to? I can't tell you that, you'll have to read the book. But, I can tell you that Subic Bay becomes a hot bed of real time war games between the two most powerful navies in the world. Their opposing captains, who can only be described as grand masters of their trade, engage each other in a ticklish fight to the bitter end where one tiny mistake on either side could blast the entire world into nuclear Armageddon.

Like a delicious desert, this book will leave you hungry for more. I highly recommend Echo Class.

The novel had its moments but character development was not a strength. I would call it a READ but not a strong experience at that. The drinking characteristics of the Navy of that era rang true to my experience. Technical errors might prove a bother.

Written by someone familiar with the horrors of war. Very realistic story.

My complain is with Amazons choice of shipping companies. USPS is the cheapest for a reason, it's because their service sucks. If everyone who has a bad experience with USPS complains perhaps Amazon will listen.