Customer Reviews

Revenge of the Seventh Carrier

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This review will serve to cover all the books in the Seventh Carrier/Supercarrier series, because they're all written along basically the same pattern. The basic alternate-history scenario is intriguing; in late 1983, the PRC (People's Republic of China) launches an antimissile-laser satellite system which malfunctions and targets all jet engines worldwide, making it impossible for modern aircraft to operate until the satellites' orbits decay and they fall back down to earth (a matter of several decades). At about the same time, the Japanese Yamato-class aircraft carrier Yonaga, the fourth ship of the class (entirely plausible; the Japanese carrier Shinano, which was sunk in 1944 by a US sub while on trials, was a Yamato-class), which has been trapped in its secret port by a glacier for over forty years, finally manages to break free, and with its crew of mostly sixtyish sailors and aviators led by the centenarian Admiral Fujita, sallies forth to carry out its originally assigned mission...the attack on Pearl Harbor. Chaos ensues, and when the Chinese satellites do their work, the Yonaga suddenly becomes the most powerful warship in the world - and the last, best hope of an Israel beset by its resurgent and enheartened Arab enemies.

So far, so good. The books definitely have their good points. The three lead characters, Admiral Fujita, Commander Yoshi Matsuhara (the Japanese air-group commander), and Ensign Brent Ross (a young US Naval Intelligence officer assigned as part of the US liaison team with the Japanese) are all interesting and mostly sympathetic people. The descriptions of naval and air combat are exciting and reasonably realistic, and Albano keeps the action going and going and going over the course of some dozen entries in the series.

There is one big problem, however; the series becomes formulaic and repetitive as it goes on, and the secondary and background characters are dismally one-dimensional. The basic plot goes something like this: there is a bloody air battle to start the book, then a description of the Zeroes and other aircraft being recovered aboard Yonaga, often with an accident to liven up the proceedings. Then there is a staff meeting with much "banzai'ing" and testosterone matches between the Japanese, the Americans, and the Israelis, concluded by a quotation from the Hagakure and a martial Buddhist prayer. Yonaga and her escorts return to Tokyo Bay, and Ross and Matsuhara go on shore leave. Ross either or both - usually both - (1) gets in a fight with Arab terrorists and lets his violent temper get the better of him, with appallingly sanginuary results, and/or (2) encounters a beautiful, mature and stylish woman and has hot sex with her. The woman usually turns out to be either a journalist or a CIA (or Mossad) agent with business aboard Yonaga, and has a verbal clash with the Admiral, who is very much a creature of the 19th century in his attitudes toward women. The Admiral chides Ross for his temper and then praises him for his samurai-like qualities. Ross and Matsuhara have a drink in their cabin and philosophize at each other. A new Japanese officer from a high-born samurai family and with a big chip on his shoulder comes aboard and strikes sparks with Ross, who ends up fighting the Japanese officer and gets called (mildly) on the carpet by the Admiral again. Yonaga gets the alert to stand out to sea to foil a fiendish Arab plot against Israel, Japan or both. More battle ensues. The woman ends up getting killed, turns out to be a traitor, or breaks up with Ross because she just can't deal with his lifestyle. More battle ensues. Another staff meeting. A big, knock-down, drag-out confrontration between the good guys and the bad guys which ends with Yonaga victorious but most of her aircraft having been shot down. The stuck-up Japanese officer I mentioned earlier dies in true samurai fashion. Ross and Matsuhara have another drink and do some more philosophizing. The end. Rinse and repeat.

And as for the secondary characters; the Japanese sailors are all heroic samurai. The American government officials are blundering deskbound CIA bureaucrats. Ensign Ross' love interests are all stylish, mature, and prone to get into debates with him. The Israelis are noble, the Arabs psychotic fanatics, the WWII Nazi survivors uniformly loathsome. Albano may as well have used cookie cutters for every book, because it comes out to about the same thing.

Peter Albano's 7th novel in the Seventh Carrier series is a compelling and fast read. Set in a present day world where moden weapons have been rendered useless by a Chineese satelite system run amok, the WWII Japaneese carrier and her feasome band of Samuri are the free worlds best hope from tyranny.

Largley centered on the character Brent Ross - The American Samuri, and the Japanese officers of the aging aircraft carrier Yonaga, this novel has enough air battles, blood, love, honor and duty to keep one entertained throughout the book, and leave you wanting more. It's an intersting look at WWII fighter and carrier technology, and a fascinating glimpse into Samurai culture.

You'll be shouting Banzai!! by the end of the book.

Clunky, poorly crafted, poorly edited and inplausible. Not interesting or compelling, even if you yearn for a flashbook to a Cold War era novel. Was stuck deployed for the military and had the choice between some Carrier-series novels and 2-week old USA Today. After the first 2 chapters, I was looking for the old newspaper.