Maelstrom

December 15, 2008
Bringing all guns to bear, Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Reddy (now Supreme Commander by acclamation after the events of 2008's Crusade
), trapped in an alternate dimension with the crew of the WWII destroyer USS Walker
, must unite and lead a coalition of displaced American sailors and native, pacifist Lemurians against the raptorlike Grik and their Japanese allies, who possess a more modern battle cruiser. To defeat the Invincible Swarm, the Walker
braves the perils of the deep seas, where “mountain fish” threaten to swallow the ship whole. Anderson adds friendly Grik and the descendants of previously displaced humans to the mix of tense battles against impossible odds and close observations of how warriors and weapons perform under stress. Experienced military SF readers will enjoy the attention to technical and historical detail while likely forgiving the occasional bout of melodrama.

February 15, 2009
Andersons trilogy of cross-time naval action, Destroyermen, maintains its high quality to the end of this thundering concluding volume. Matt Ready, the crews of Walker and Mahan, and their Lemurian allies are facing what the lizardlike Grik certainly intend to be an overwhelming offensive. The reptilian horde has, however, underestimated the allies ability to find countervailing weaponry and tactics against the Griks wild card, the Japanese battle cruiser Amagi, which seems to them the crushing answer to the allies mere destroyers. The climactic battle is long, bloody, and suspenseful almost to the last; indeed, it takes up nearly half this book. Yet the epic hurly-burly doesnt undermine character realization, especially regarding Readys and nurse Tuckers mutual affection and Dennis Silva waltzing through shot, shell, and discipline and discovering a new ally in a manner that leaves him as the arguably most distinctive character in the trilogy. The ending here doesnt quash hopes that we may see Andersons displaced World War II destroyermen again. Fans of actionalt-historical, naval, or just plain nonstoptake heart.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)