Book Review: Distant Thunders, by Taylor Anderson
The fourth book in the Destroyermen series.
Roc, 2010, 416 pages
After the battle in which the men of the destroyer Walker and their Lemurian allies repelled the savage Grik, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy is shocked by the arrival of a strange ship captained by one Commander Jenks of the New Britain Imperial Navy - an island-nation populated by the descendants of British East Indiamen swept through the rift centuries before.
With the Walker undergoing repairs, Reddy already has a great deal on his hands. For the Grik will return, and Reddy will need all hands on deck to fight them off when they next attack. But Jenks's uncertain loyalties make Reddy question whether he can trust the man. As tension between the Allies and the Imperials mount, Reddy will come to realize that his suspicions are not misplaced - and that a greater danger than the Grik is closer than he ever suspected.
I've enjoyed all the Destroyermen books. They're not deep, and they're not particularly well-written. They're just brain candy. Tasty, tasty candy. Nautical military adventures in a land of dinosaurs, reptile men, lemur-people, and a bunch of historical Earth cultures thrown together in a big pulp setting.
The series started with an old WWI destroyer, the Walker, outfitted to fight in World War II, being sucked into an alternate Earth, along with, it turns out, a Japanese battleship. The past three books had the crew of the Walker making friends with the Lemurians, who evolved from lemur-like creatures, and waging war against the Grik, a genocidal race evolved from dinosaurs. The Japanese (or at least, the mad commander of the Amagi) allied with the Grik.
These stark lines between good guys and bad guys do get blurred a bit. The humans and Lemurians learn that there are different races of Grik, and have made friends with one. Some of the Japanese changed sides after having second thoughts about the Grik (and their crazy commander). And of course the Lemurians have their own internal political divisions. We were also introduced to a neo-British empire in the last book, descended from Dutch East Indies ships that arrived in this world centuries ago, and in Distant Thunders, much of the conflict revolves around trying to form an alliance with the suspicious Imperials, who are themselves divided into factions. And there are hints of at least one other human empire, called the "Dominion," about which we'll undoubtedly learn more in future books.
The author, Taylor Anderson, does a decent job of portraying the Lemurians as relatable but non-human. The Grik, even the "friendly" Grik, are more single-note, and all the villains, human, Lemurian, and Grik, are pretty much 100% evil cackling monsters. Anderson is a historian and artillery expert, and as is common in military fiction, goes into abundant detail about the technical workings of the guns, ships, and planes that the humans build to try to recreate technology from Earth.
The writing is very workmanlike, and the characters are all pretty flat. I don't like the head-hopping third-person omniscient POV, and the main human and Lemurian characters don't even encounter the Grik in this book, so they are an entirely offstage threat who we see only with chapters devoted to their eeeeevil scheming on the other side of the world.
There is some adventuring and romancing, some exploring, some treachery, and some naval battles, and then a bunch of things to be continued in the next book.
I could just go ahead and devour the rest of the series. I'm sure it stays fun, if a bit repetitive. But it totals fifteen books. (Supposedly volume 15 is actually the last.) I'm not sure if the fun factor will last for eleven more books of humans and Lemurians waging war against the Grik, even with empires of Conquistadors or Aztecs or whoever else thrown in.
Also by Taylor Anderson: My reviews of Into the Storm, Crusade, and Maelstrom.
My complete list of book reviews.
Roc, 2010, 416 pages
After the battle in which the men of the destroyer Walker and their Lemurian allies repelled the savage Grik, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy is shocked by the arrival of a strange ship captained by one Commander Jenks of the New Britain Imperial Navy - an island-nation populated by the descendants of British East Indiamen swept through the rift centuries before.
With the Walker undergoing repairs, Reddy already has a great deal on his hands. For the Grik will return, and Reddy will need all hands on deck to fight them off when they next attack. But Jenks's uncertain loyalties make Reddy question whether he can trust the man. As tension between the Allies and the Imperials mount, Reddy will come to realize that his suspicions are not misplaced - and that a greater danger than the Grik is closer than he ever suspected.
I've enjoyed all the Destroyermen books. They're not deep, and they're not particularly well-written. They're just brain candy. Tasty, tasty candy. Nautical military adventures in a land of dinosaurs, reptile men, lemur-people, and a bunch of historical Earth cultures thrown together in a big pulp setting.
The series started with an old WWI destroyer, the Walker, outfitted to fight in World War II, being sucked into an alternate Earth, along with, it turns out, a Japanese battleship. The past three books had the crew of the Walker making friends with the Lemurians, who evolved from lemur-like creatures, and waging war against the Grik, a genocidal race evolved from dinosaurs. The Japanese (or at least, the mad commander of the Amagi) allied with the Grik.
These stark lines between good guys and bad guys do get blurred a bit. The humans and Lemurians learn that there are different races of Grik, and have made friends with one. Some of the Japanese changed sides after having second thoughts about the Grik (and their crazy commander). And of course the Lemurians have their own internal political divisions. We were also introduced to a neo-British empire in the last book, descended from Dutch East Indies ships that arrived in this world centuries ago, and in Distant Thunders, much of the conflict revolves around trying to form an alliance with the suspicious Imperials, who are themselves divided into factions. And there are hints of at least one other human empire, called the "Dominion," about which we'll undoubtedly learn more in future books.
The author, Taylor Anderson, does a decent job of portraying the Lemurians as relatable but non-human. The Grik, even the "friendly" Grik, are more single-note, and all the villains, human, Lemurian, and Grik, are pretty much 100% evil cackling monsters. Anderson is a historian and artillery expert, and as is common in military fiction, goes into abundant detail about the technical workings of the guns, ships, and planes that the humans build to try to recreate technology from Earth.
The writing is very workmanlike, and the characters are all pretty flat. I don't like the head-hopping third-person omniscient POV, and the main human and Lemurian characters don't even encounter the Grik in this book, so they are an entirely offstage threat who we see only with chapters devoted to their eeeeevil scheming on the other side of the world.
There is some adventuring and romancing, some exploring, some treachery, and some naval battles, and then a bunch of things to be continued in the next book.
I could just go ahead and devour the rest of the series. I'm sure it stays fun, if a bit repetitive. But it totals fifteen books. (Supposedly volume 15 is actually the last.) I'm not sure if the fun factor will last for eleven more books of humans and Lemurians waging war against the Grik, even with empires of Conquistadors or Aztecs or whoever else thrown in.
Also by Taylor Anderson: My reviews of Into the Storm, Crusade, and Maelstrom.
My complete list of book reviews.