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Publisher's Weekly
McCutchan's 10 years at sea have resulted in nearly 90 naval adventure tales, including the Commander Shaw, Lieutenant Halfhyde and Commodore Kemp series, as well as the Donald Cameron books, of which this is the 14th. In February 1942, Cameron, Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve, faces a treacherous North Atlantic crossing, Hitler's Luftwaffe and a Royal Navy captain who may be losing his marbles. When the cranky old skipper heeds a hunch to change course for the dangerous Denmark Strait, truly ferocious weather causes structural damage to his aircraft carrier. With the broached ship foundering and unable to navigate, the Captain unconscious and the senior officers lost, Cameron takes control--just in time to face the Luftwaffe. With Charon's boat pulling alongside, officers and enlisted men alike confront their private fears: one worries about who'll support his old sick parents if he dies, another wonders if his wife will forgive his hanky-panky with her sister. As usual, the stolid, intrepid Cameron soldiers along very ably, while McCutchan's spare prose smartly re-creates the lore and real lives of the British navy.
Library Journal
McCutchan, the author of almost 90 sea fiction novels in five different series, uses the Battle of the Atlantic (1940-44) as the setting for his latest Donald Cameron adventure. Along with a small crew of enlisted men, Commander Cameron takes passage on the escort carrier HMS Charger , which is sailing from Belfast to Norfolk, Virginia, for an overhaul. During its passage across the Atlantic, HMS Charger is beset by a severe North Atlantic storm that not only damages her beyond recovery but reveals the inadequacy of the commanding officer, Captain Mason-Goodson. Cameron takes command in an effort to save both ship and crew from a watery grave. Despite his efforts, the storm and German air attacks spell the doom of HMS Charger . While providing good technical detail and adequate character development, the novel ends too abruptly, leaving the reader feeling as stranded as Cameron's crew in the waters of the North Atlantic. Libraries nonetheless should purchase to maintain this series.-- Harold N. Boyer, Marple P . L . , Broomall, Pa.
BookList - Denise Perry Donavin
Cameron's mission in McCutchan's latest World War II novel involves transporting an aircraft carrier to the U.S. to be overhauled. This simple-seeming task is made onerous by a demented captain and the expert bombing skills of German aircraft. The usual character studies and military clashes fill the tale. One interesting note is the novel's reference to the old movie "Beneath the Waves", which has served the author so well as a model in the past 13 Cameron novels (not to mention his 50-plus other works).
Genre: Historical
McCutchan's 10 years at sea have resulted in nearly 90 naval adventure tales, including the Commander Shaw, Lieutenant Halfhyde and Commodore Kemp series, as well as the Donald Cameron books, of which this is the 14th. In February 1942, Cameron, Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve, faces a treacherous North Atlantic crossing, Hitler's Luftwaffe and a Royal Navy captain who may be losing his marbles. When the cranky old skipper heeds a hunch to change course for the dangerous Denmark Strait, truly ferocious weather causes structural damage to his aircraft carrier. With the broached ship foundering and unable to navigate, the Captain unconscious and the senior officers lost, Cameron takes control--just in time to face the Luftwaffe. With Charon's boat pulling alongside, officers and enlisted men alike confront their private fears: one worries about who'll support his old sick parents if he dies, another wonders if his wife will forgive his hanky-panky with her sister. As usual, the stolid, intrepid Cameron soldiers along very ably, while McCutchan's spare prose smartly re-creates the lore and real lives of the British navy.
Library Journal
McCutchan, the author of almost 90 sea fiction novels in five different series, uses the Battle of the Atlantic (1940-44) as the setting for his latest Donald Cameron adventure. Along with a small crew of enlisted men, Commander Cameron takes passage on the escort carrier HMS Charger , which is sailing from Belfast to Norfolk, Virginia, for an overhaul. During its passage across the Atlantic, HMS Charger is beset by a severe North Atlantic storm that not only damages her beyond recovery but reveals the inadequacy of the commanding officer, Captain Mason-Goodson. Cameron takes command in an effort to save both ship and crew from a watery grave. Despite his efforts, the storm and German air attacks spell the doom of HMS Charger . While providing good technical detail and adequate character development, the novel ends too abruptly, leaving the reader feeling as stranded as Cameron's crew in the waters of the North Atlantic. Libraries nonetheless should purchase to maintain this series.-- Harold N. Boyer, Marple P . L . , Broomall, Pa.
BookList - Denise Perry Donavin
Cameron's mission in McCutchan's latest World War II novel involves transporting an aircraft carrier to the U.S. to be overhauled. This simple-seeming task is made onerous by a demented captain and the expert bombing skills of German aircraft. The usual character studies and military clashes fill the tale. One interesting note is the novel's reference to the old movie "Beneath the Waves", which has served the author so well as a model in the past 13 Cameron novels (not to mention his 50-plus other works).
Genre: Historical
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