Customer Reviews

Sea Siege

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

 

 

Sea Siege (1957) is a standalone SF novel. Twenty-five years after the end of World War II, the threat of war is coming to a peak. East and West have been fighting a covert war for decades, with occasional flare ups into hot war. Now the red plague is killing fish throughout the globe and something strange is happening in the ocean depths.

In this novel, Griff Gunston is very upset with his father's lack of attention and casual distrust. Since his mother died, Griff has lived with his aunt while his father worked on projects in the East Indies. Recently, his father returned and took Griff to live with him on San Isadore in the West Indies.

Dr. Gunston is investigating the changes in the seas under in a joint American-British project. Griff would rather be studying at the Air Force Academy, but his father lacks time to listen to his dreams. Griff is frustrated, but diverts himself by working with the islanders.

Angus Murdock is the captain of the Island Queen, an interisland sloop that carries equipment and supplies between San Isadore and Santa Maria on a regular basis. Chris Waite is mate of the sloop and Rob Fletcher is the crewman. These three islanders have adopted Griff as an unofficial crewmate.

Griff is discussing the war news with Chris and Rob when Captain Murdock rows to the ship. He brings the latest information about the St. John -- another small interisland ship -- which had been found drifting without crew. Then Mosely Peeks, a conch fisherman, brings word of a dupee grounded on the island.

Captain Murdock and Griff discover the dupee buried under sea birds and surrounded by crabs. They are amazed at the sight, for the large sea creature looks like a storybook dragon. Dr. Gunston, and his assistant Frank Hughes, recover the remains and take them back to their lab.

In this story, the US Navy starts constructing a secret facility on the northern part of the island. Their territory is off-limits to all outsiders, which leads to a confrontation between the Navy and the Gunston project. Command Breck Murray works out a way to show his security officer that Project 914-5 is no threat to their work on Base Hush-Hush.

Their demonstration of the innocuous activities of the project is interrupted by an urgent call from the base. One of their divers has disappeared in island waters. Dr. Gunston and Lieutenant (JG) Casey go into the waters of a small cove. As they are looking for the Navy diver, an ocean swell sweeps Dr. Gunston into a cave, then fouls and breaks his lifeline.

Frank Hughes goes after his boss, but Griff remembers something shown to him by Dobrey Le Marr, the local Papa-loi. The island surface is strewn with deep wells connected to the sea. The Navy men know of one such to the west of the cove that could be connected to the sea cave. Griff dives into the well and recovers his father, but something has lashed his father with poison.

This story was written at a time of great tension between East and West. Both sides had nuclear weapons -- fission and fusion bombs -- and the risk of war was ever present. These fears are fulfilled in this tale, with nuclear war engulfing the world.

Of course, this didn't happen in the real world. So this is a form of alternate history as compared to the actual circumstances. Yet such war could have happened.

In this respect, this story doesn't differ much from mainstream fiction. Still, something is happening in the ocean that is surreal. Humanity has bombed itself into the apocalypse, but something in the sea has helped the destruction to occur. The worse is yet to come.

This tale is not one of the author's best works. It is too close to the modern world and takes too long to develop the science fiction aspects. It also presents a very pessimistic scenario, but that was a pessimistic time. Nonetheless, this is an interesting tale and well worth reading.

Recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of apocalyptic survivors, marine creatures, and high adventure.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Sea Siege
(1957)


Sea Siege (1957) is a standalone Science Fiction novel.Sea Siege has been reprinted in a two book omnibus by Baen called From the Sea to the Stars along with [[ASIN:0345311930 Star Gate] ]by Andre Norton if you want a two for one.l. Twenty-five years after the end of World War II, the threat of war is coming to a peak. East and West have been fighting a cold war for decades. Now the red plague is killing fish throughout the globe and something strange is happening in the ocean depths.

In this novel, Griff Gunston is very upset with his Father. Recently, his father returned and took Griff to live with him on San Isadore in the West Indies.

Dr. Gunston is investigating the changes in the seas under in a joint American-British project. Griff would rather be studying at the Air Force Academy, but his father lacks time to listen to his dreams. Griff is frustrated, but diverts himself by working with the islanders.

Captain Murdock and Griff discover the dupee buried under sea birds and surrounded by crabs. They are amazed at the sight, for the large sea creature looks like a storybook dragon. Dr. Gunston, and his assistant Frank Hughes, recover the remains and take them back to their lab.

In this story, the US Navy starts constructing a secret facility on the northern part of the island. Their territory is off-limits to all outsiders, which leads to a confrontation between the Navy and the Gunston project. Command Breck Murray works out a way to show his security officer that Project 914-5 is no threat to their work on Base Hush-Hush.

Their demonstration of the innocuous activities of the project is interrupted by an urgent call from the base. One of their divers has disappeared in island waters. Dr. Gunston and Lieutenant (JG) Casey go into the waters of a small cove. As they are looking for the Navy diver, an ocean swell sweeps Dr. Gunston into a cave, then fouls and breaks his lifeline.

Frank Hughes goes after his boss, but Griff remembers something shown to him by Dobrey Le Marr, the local Papa-loi. The island surface is strewn with deep wells connected to the sea. The Navy men know of one such to the west of the cove that could be connected to the sea cave. Griff dives into the well and recovers his father, but something has lashed his father with poison.

This story was written at a time of great tension between East and West. Both sides had nuclear weapons -- fission and fusion bombs -- and the risk of war was ever present. These fears are fulfilled in this tale, with nuclear war engulfing the world.

Something is happening in the ocean that is not normal. Humanity has bombed itself into the apocalypse, but something in the sea has helped the destruction to occur. The worse is yet to come.



Recommended for Andre Norton fans and for anyone who enjoys tales of apocalyptic survivors, and high adventure.

Gunner October, 2009

ea Siege (1957 as an Ace Double, 1980 by Fawcett) is a half-baked post-apocalyptic tale by prolific science-fiction legend Andre Norton. The book is an uncomfortable mix of Cold War paranoia, Lovecraftian tentacle-beasts, voodoo and racism.

If, for some reason, that strikes you as appealing, let me assure you - it isn't.

The book takes place in the not-so-idyllic Pacific island of San Isodore - populated by a mysterious gov'mint research station, some scientists and a 'mongrel population' of superstitious natives. The protagonist, such as he is, bears the unfortunate name of Griff Gunston. Griff works with the scientists - his father, in fact, is the head muck-a-muck on the team. Griff really wants to go back to the US, where he fly jets and help save America from the Communist menace. His father, however, demands that Griff stay on San Isodore, to help research radioactive red algae.

This father/son tension is undeveloped, which is fortunate, as, like all the other character relationships in Sea Siege, it is phenomenally boring. After a few introductory pages on Griff's woes, Sea Siege treats the reader to a half-dozen chapters of no importance whatsoever. Griff meanders around the island, meeting other characters who never appear again and staring suspiciously at octopi. Eventually, things liven up when the Russians nuke the US and a legion of sentient tentacle-monsters and their sea serpent masters invade the island. (The two events aren't connected.)

Besides the octopus invasion and the nuclear fallout, San Isodore also has to deal with hurricanes, Russian submarines and voodoo cultists. In fact, the one thing that doesn't actually menace San Isodore is the oft-referenced and utterly-pointless red algae.

Sea Siege is actually so awful that the author gives up on it herself. After gently shepherding the remnants of humanity to this octopus-infested, rain-lashed, radioactive island, Andre Norton abruptly ends the book.

Still, Sea Siege has some redeeming qualities. Just not many. In fact, here they are:

- sentient octopi
- "the pig bomb" (literally, a pig stuffed with grenades)

Enjoy.

If you like Norton, you will like this stand alone novel. If you have never read Andre Norton, try this one; it will give you a good glimpse of her writing. I really like her work!

This book has isolated islands, atomic war, mutant octopus, and voodoo. It is really good!

Mankinds ultimate nightmare has become a reality. The wonderful simple life on the island of San Isadore -until the american seabees arrive,and with the secret project they construct.boats start to disappear and a strange creature appears on the shore. now there is concern to everyone a impending threat of nuclear war.! there is nowhere man can hide and what is doom headed our way

This is an absolutely wonderful book. Exciting at all times. I have reread this book many times. And will read it again.