Customer Reviews

Sink the Shigure (Jack Tremain Submarine Thrille)

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

 

 

A true fast action thriller. Couldn't put the book down and now that I am finished I am looking for more! Follows our friend Jack Tremain from Naval studies/teaching back into the heat of the action. Jack is manipulated by his friend, or is it nemesis, Admiral Ireland into chasing down the hated, and feared, Japanese stealth destroyer Shigure. Great action and flow. Added bonuses of being in the mist of a surface ship battle and also land commando action and seeing/feeling those perspectives. I especially enjoyed learning about equipment on a submarine of that era and their capabilities. There were numerous occasions where that equipment was mentioned, I found myself wondering/wanting more info on that equipment, and behold, Cooke would provide additional details and even some excitig examples of use. Also, the prologue was great and some interesting tactics there leave you wondering "How did they do that?", which, of course, is revisited later in the book in action! Almost forgot, Cooke has added a section describing the true and fictional parts of the book....great addition. I also enjoyed Cooke's website noted in the book (www.rcameroncooke.com). A sort of blog there with Cooke answering many questions...good stuff.

If you can get through the initial techno-submarine-talk early on, this is an interesting, enjoyable book. As others have said, it's tough to put down once you get into it; I finished this one in about four days. I haven't read a good WW2-era story in quite a while, and as a military history & historical fiction fan, I found this 'sub story' was just what the doctor ordered.

While some elements of the story are rather predictable (the eventual sinking of the Shigure for instance), the author goes about getting to them in an attention-grabbing way, while throwing in a few unexpected bits along the way. Of these, the land combat scenario that plays out near the end of the novel is the one that surprised me the most.

I won't go any further into the story than to say it is involving, and makes for a worthwhile read for anyone who enjoys the genre. While I do not consider 'Sink the Shigure' to be the best military novel I have read (that honor is jointly held by 'Tramp In Armour' and 'The Last Ship'), it is quite good, and certainly eclipses the techno-term ridden, repetitiveness that is Tom Clancy's 'SSN', the only other histo-fiction sub novel I have read.

If you get the chance, check this one out. Who knows, maybe they'll make a movie out of it someday too; the storyline would certainly lend itself to that purpose.

P.S. As an intersting aside, the warship shown on the cover is a Japanese heavy cruiser, not a destroyer. I'm not sure if this is a typical cover-art error or not - there is a heavy cruiser in the story.

This second novel in the series picks up where Pride Runs Deep leaves off. I enjoyed it as much as the first one.

This is the second novel by R. Cameron Cooke that I have read, and I must say that I enjoy his writing. Mr. Cooke clearly knows submarines, and more importantly he understands the motivations and personalities that comprise the officers and men of a submarine crew.

This novel is the story of a submarine captain, Jack Tremain, who is assigned to carry out the submarine portion of a special operation against the Japanese in the Pacific War. The storyline is plausible, the characterizations are true-to-life, and this all makes for an absorbing story of men, submarines, and war. There is a lot of action and the author is clearly aware that in combat no plans come off perfectly, that is, if they come off at all. There is some pretty explicit blood and gore here, and this novel is not for the squeamish. But this does all have a purpose, and this novel holds the reader's interest at all times.

I enjoyed this novel immensely, and recommend it without reservation.

As a Navy veteran myself, I enjoyed this novel greatly. The characters are well thought out, the plot is realistic and there is just the right amount of action. I would rank this book right up there with any one of the Dan Lenson novels by David Poyer. This is one of the best submarine/Navy novels I have read in the last several years.

Itook a flyer on this author'i've not read him before. I really enjoyed the experience & will read him again. AFOCoop

I guess this guy got passed over for promotion, so decided to try to make a career as a writer. The problem is he should stick to writing about the era he knows, or if he's writing about a different time frame, do a little better research. Sheesh. How dumb do you think we are?