The Cruiser

September 15, 2014
Set in 2003, Poyer’s exciting 14th Dan Lenson novel (after 2011’s The Towers) shows that he and his series hero have more than kept pace with the technological challenges and changes in the modern U.S. Navy. Capt. Daniel V. Lenson takes command of the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Savo Island after the ship’s previous captain ran it aground on a sandbar off Naples. Aboard the Savo, which carries the Navy’s most advanced weapon systems, Lenson intuits almost immediately that secrets among the crew members threaten the ship’s mission. After the Savo arrives on station in the Persian Gulf, things begin to go seriously wrong, making the battles that follow even more dangerous as the ship and crew both distinguish and disgrace themselves while Lenson, despite crippling self-doubts, does his heroic best. The action is so detailed that readers paying close attention could take over the captain’s chair and drive the boat themselves.

November 1, 2014
This 14th entry in the author's Dan Lenson series (The Towers, 2011, etc.) is a naval thriller featuring heroism and high-tech warfare.Capt. Daniel Lenson takes command of the cruiser USS Savo Island and its demoralized crew as they ready themselves for combat in the Mediterranean Sea against Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces. Lenson's Medal of Honor won't count for much if he doesn't succeed in this assignment, and a mysterious onboard death bodes ill for the mission. So do the personality clashes and the porn game some of the crewmen are playing on the ship's computer network. Even the ship's missile tracking capability is questionable. According to Lenson's orders, Savo Island will position itself so it can launch missiles at targets in Iraq and Syria. He doesn't much like those orders, "Not that liking [them] had much to do with it. That was why they were called 'orders, ' after all." Then Almarshadi, his unstable second-in-command, becomes a serious detriment. Does Lenson hate the XO because he's Arab? The captain navigates personnel issues and rough seas as the crew monitors ocean traffic that includes hostile ships. Those rolling decks and rolling seas make even the experienced Lenson nauseated at times and turn one female crew member's face "Wicked Witch green." For all his toughness and success, Lenson knows he's imperfect, always one screw-up away from ending his career. Not every issue gets resolved, and some will likely carry over into the next Lenson book.Poyer is a master of the modern sea adventure, pitting both men and women against unseen enemies and turbulent waves.

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November 1, 2014
In the fourteenth Dan Lenson military thriller, the newly promoted captain isn't exactly delighted that his first command is a ship that has run aground. His orders: relieve the current captain, get the vessel underway again, and set sail for the Middle East, there to carry out a top-secret (and potentially globally important) mission involving the testing of a never-before-used missile system. As usual, the book has a real sense of authenticity to it (not surprising, as the author served in the U.S. Navy for three decades), and Lenson, despite the ever-increasing pressures heaped upon him as the series has progressed, remains an easygoing and morally centered fellow. Most fans of military thrillers and naval adventures have probably already discovered Poyer's long-running Lenson series (not to mention his other, non-Lenson books), but those who have not should be steered in this book's direction. They'll be glad they gave it a look.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)