Ship of the Damned [Hardcover]

James F. David (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2000

On October 28, 1943, a US Navy ship was successfully teleported with disastrous effects on its crew. Some of its men died, others developed rare diseases. Most horrifying of all, some became fused to the metal, their arms and legs protruding from the bulkhead. Over fifty years later, Dr Wes Martin, a psychologist, and Elizabeth, a social worker, are working to help seven people who are having the same recurring dream. The dream involves a large Navy ship in a cast desert. There are soldiers trapped inside the bulkheads and slowly, by depriving them of REM sleep, the dream is killing the dreamers. What the dreamers do not realise is that another vessel - a modern fleet fit with nuclear warheads - has recently vanished in a green - grey mist over the North Atlantic. And only Elizabeth, by entering the dream, can prevent its firepower from stopping humanity forever.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

HX-Files strangeness and race-against-time action come together in this eccentric, gripping science adventure based on the Philadelphia Experiment, a real-life WWII attempt to render warships invisible. Fifty years after the war, neuropsychologist Dr. Wes Martin and co-worker Elizabeth Foxworth begin to investigate several people of various ages who are all dreaming the same dreamDthat they are wandering through an empty ship in the desert, a vessel whose passageways and rooms keep shifting like a living maze. When Martin links Elizabeth's mind with that dream world, Elizabeth discovers herself wandering a ship that seems much too real to be a fantasy. That's because it is realDit's called the Norfolk, and for more than 50 years it has been trapped in its own little pocket universe called Pot of Gold. The experiment that created Pot of Gold not only fused some of the Norfolk's crew with its metal superstructure, it gave the surviving sailors psychic powers. These so-called Specials are still ensnared on the ship, which is monitored by the Office of Special Projects. When the Nimitz, a modern-day aircraft carrier, disappears just like the Norfolk did, Special Projects leaders take action. They plan to insert a team of agents led by stone killer Nathan Jett into Pot of Gold to destroy the shipboard generators that have been keeping the Norfolk separate from the real world. Key to the plan is the one man who might be immune to the powers of the SpecialsDa retarded adult called Ralph, whom David fans will remember from his previous novel, Fragments. With just enough science to make the weirdness believable, and some well-rendered subplots, notably a surprisingly moving friendship between killer Jett and the supposedly expendable Ralph, David crafts a great summer read, a swift amusement park ride of shipboard battles, telekinetic showdowns and potential nuclear catastrophe. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Based on the legendary "Philadelphia Experiment," this journey into a supernatural realm is full of action, strange characters, and suspense. Apparently, the U.S. Navy was experimenting with electromagnetism in the 1940s when something went terribly wrong-the battleship USS Eldridge suddenly disappeared. It supposedly reappeared in Norfolk, VA, then returned to Philadelphia. Some sailors were severely burned, some had gone insane, and some had melted into the structure of the ship. Into this melee come David's protagonists from his novel Fragments (St. Martin's, 1997). Dr. Wes Martin and social worker Elizabeth Foxworth are again working with mind-melding techniques. Lack of replenishing REM sleep is causing some people to face certain death. When Elizabeth joins the experiment, she, too, suffers from the recurring dream of a ship stranded in a desert, with men fused to its sides until she is only days from her demise. The premise for this book is that the Eldridge inhabits a netherworld of space and time, and its survivors are ageless and immortal. Project Rainbow, as the original experiment was named, has become a top-secret government operation to prevent the "specials" from escaping into our reality and to destroy them. Many have been shown to be insane, with formidable powers, and have wreaked considerable damage on the "normal" world. Now a nuclear sub has disappeared into the green haze associated with the Eldridge, and Elizabeth, Wes, and a retarded adult find themselves within the psychotic world of the "specials." YAs will love this nail-biter.-Carol DeAngelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 383 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (August 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312872038
• ISBN-13: 978-0312872038
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,224,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the Summer's Top Action Titles, August 10, 2000

By 

George M. Sullivan (Dania Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ship of the Damned (Hardcover)

For those who crave crisp plotting, engaging characters (including the bad guys), and above all, originality, I commend all three of Mr. David's published novels to your attention. If he hasn't skyrocketed to well-deserved fame comparable to Cussler or Koontz, it may be because he's constantly challenging us with new ideas and fresh treatments of old themes in a way that requires some thought on the reader's part...an effort those willing to make will find amply rewarding.

I shorted David a star on this one because, for the first time, he's treading on more familiar ground...speculation concerning the Philadelphia Experiment. Using some of the cast from his previous novel "Fragments," he embroils them in a sinister government plot to murder the motley crew stranded in a pocket of space-time created when a Navy crusier was enveloped in a high-strength magnetic field in 1943. Why kill them? Because the exiled individuals have developed psychic powers of great destructive power...and are looking to break out into our defenseless world...

David's writing here is far more choppy and action-packed than his previous works, which for some will be a plus. For me this approach takes away from his proven ability to create characters we care about and gradually drive up the tension as a seemingly benign situation grows gradually more threatening.

But I quibble. The bottom line is I recommend this book highly. Even when not at the top of his game, David's unique mix of SF/horror/technothriller is as good as your likely to find until his next book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A chilling thriller, August 22, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ship of the Damned (Hardcover)

In 1943, the government considered the experiment a major success since they teleported the Navy's USS Norfolk. However, a cover-up was deemed necessary because of the impact on the crew. Several immediately died and many acquired a deadly disease. However, the nightmare part included the forging of humans with the ship's bulkhead as if their subatomic particles merged. Five decades later the cover-up remains airtight due to the actions of a top-secret agency not found in any of the authorization or appropriation bills.

Dr. Wes Martin and social worker Elizabeth Foxworth are working with seven people sharing the same nightmare involving a multidimensional ship. As the two researchers work together on this plane and in dreamland, the survivors of the Norfolk snatch a nuclear-armed carrier. The Feds send to the other side their deadliest agents to confront the crew of the Norfolk at any cost including the lives of Wes and Elizabeth who are on the same plane. If the Feds fail nuclear disaster is imminent.

SHIP OF THE DAMNED stars the Philadelphia Experiment with the expectation that Mulder and Scully will appear any moment. The story line is loaded with non-stop action as the numerous and complex subplots blend together into an awesome climax. The characters are secondary to the action, which leaves readers wanting more insight into those survivors living on the other side. Fans of total action thrillers with conspiracies, technology, and potential nuclear disaster in a science fiction climate will devour James F. David's latest tale.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Better Left Unread, January 30, 2003

By 

"tlcyrol" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ship of the Damned (Hardcover)

To be perfectly honest, I have no clue WHY I picked up a copy of this book considering I was not a huge fan of the prequel. I guess it was just curiousity in the end, and we all know what that did to the cat...

Taking up a little after the point where FRAGMENTS left off, SHIP OF THE DAMN follows the same group of characters in another bizarre, out-of-this world adventure. Once again, all of the characters are something less than one-dimensional and only the villians seem to have any real depth (and that ain't saying a whole lot either). The plot, which tries to pass off as a possible alternative to the Philadelphia Experiment, runs pretty bland with random spurts of action that always seem to finish just as they get interesting. And, yet again, the author's writing style is like the Hardy Boys meets Oliver Stone's NATURAL BORN KILLERS: a mix of junior high school dialgue mixed (unsuccessfully) with gritty violence. In fact, it was so amateurish that I stopped mid-way through the book, leaving to collect dust until I find someone to purchase my slightly used copy.