Maelstrom: Destroyermen, Book 3

Captain Matthew Reddy and the crew of the USS Walker have been living in their alternate world for a little over a year. However, they are not alone, for the Japanese battlecruiser Amagi has followed them through the mysterious storm. Plus, the Amagi is under the control of the Griks; the lizard-like creatures Reddy and his crew have been fighting.Realizing the need for reinforcements, Reddy steams for Manila in hopes of recruiting more members to the cause. But, that leaves the Lemurians and remaining humans open to attack from the Japanese and Grik. Although Amagi had been damaged earlier, she has been repaired sufficiently to rejoin the attack. But Reddy may have an ace up his sleeve. There have been rumors of an "iron fish"; a submarine that was transported through the same storm as Walker was. To add this ship to Walker would give the Americans and Lemurians a distinct advantage over the Grik, but is it true? Further, are there other people in this world besides the Americans and Japanese? As Walker steams to the Philippines, the Grik have made plans for a massive assault on the Lemurians at Baalkpan. Will the Grik succeed, or will Reddy and USS Walker return in time?I've grown to really enjoy the "Destroyermen" series, and with each book, the story gets better. Taylor Anderson has created an exciting alternate world full of unique creatures and thrilling battles. The character development has been especially good, and it's easy to root for Reddy and his crew against the evil Grik.I recommend "Maelstrom" and the other books in this series very highly. Science fiction fans will really enjoy "Destroyermen".

It is indeed a very good series of books about a World War II destroyer going to an alternate earth where humans basically never became dominate. Fans of alternate earths are bound to enjoy the series. I'd give the series overall a five star rating. The only reason I gave the last book four stars is that I felt like the author had to struggle to reach the desired word count. It seemed like there was a lot of rehash of ground covered in the previous two books and it became distracting after all while. After the big climax the book rapidly (within just a few pages) comes to a close. Clearly there's plenty of material for another book or maybe another series. I was a little disappointed by not learning what happens to all the characters I've come to love and respect from three books. I'll be here anxiously awaiting more from Mr. Anderson. The series is highly recommended. I read the Kindle version and will confess a bit of confusion about how expensive the last couple of books were. Hopefully, it's not a conspiracy to just charge us more!

Let's be real here: Books like this are unlikely to be a focus in many college literature classes... but people like me will be voraciously reading them as long as they are produced. The Destroyermen series embodies all that's enjoyable in alternate universe science fiction. I prefer having a connection to my own world and this book has them... in this case, WWII U.S. and Japanese Navy sailors and their ships. Also, being a student of naval history and ships, I can attest that Taylor does a good job in portraying the equipment and the men. The rest is pure imagination and I love it. The bad guys are really bad and the good guys are resourceful and hard working. I'm a techy kinda guy and there's enough of that to keep me happy and, I think, not too much for those less interested in vintage marine tech and naval gunnery. The characters are fun, if a little predictable, and the plot is simple, but one of the classics. This book, and the rest of the series, holds up against any in it's genre. After digesting it, you won't regret the purchase price. You may even be a little reluctant to haul it off to the paperback trader.

Was in Borders (yeah a while ago) buying books to read and talking with a cute clerk. She recommended the book, wasn't my style, but hey she was pretty nice looking so...Sat on my shelf until one day when I ran out of books to read and needed something for my commute and grabbed it on the way out the door. I give books about 4 chapters before I stop and grab another. First chapter of this goofy book got me hooked. Tayler is a very good writer. This book is really good. I've read all in the series so far and am waiting anxiously for his next installment.It has a silly premis, silly characters, and the natives are like what??? But it really is a pretty darn good read. Good people die bad people live and sometimes the other way around too. I'm hooked.I've turned a couple other sci-fi guys onto it and they said the same thing so....

Taylor Anderson's third book in the Destroyermen trilogy, Maelstrom, was worth the wait. It helps to have read the other three books but this can still stand alone pretty well. As military sci-fi and fantasy goes, it is hard to find a more rollicking good time than this. Mr. Anderson (haven't I heard that somwhere else?!) uses his skill as a historian, gun collector and storyteller to craft a believable world in conflict. Truthfully, one does not often get such a world with three sentient species on it. Another reviewer has called this story transparent, in a good way, and I have to agree. There is not a lot of outright suspence in the story, just a question of how our heroes are going to get from point A to point B and how much it will cost them. I am an avowed Alternate History nut. While this is and isn't Alt Hist per se it is very good military fantasy. I highly recommend it and hope that Mr. Anderson continues this story. There's so much untold about this new version of our old World.

The book is great

Il tutto sta diventando sempre piu` ridicolo. Se la serie non termina al prossimo libro, la faccio terminare io.1. Il numero di Deus ex Machina che stanno comparendo sta aumentando a dismisura2. L'economia, questa sconosciuta: da 4 gatti che erano 2 anni prima, i gatti stanno producendo colonie feline a tutto spiano, industrie che neanche il III reich avrebbe immaginato cosi` produttive, ed acquisizione di know-how dal nulla (praticoni senza teoria). Come si venga pagati, poi, e` un mistero.Non e` storia alternativa, questa, e` fantasy sfrenata (quanti alberi servono per produrre tutto il legname per le flotte? Come viene trasportato il legname? Dei marinai che sono esperti metallurgici e si inventano gli altiforni Bessemer senza alcun testo? Plausibilita` 0 (2 anni! 2 anni per costruire intdustrie del '900 in un mondo nato senza acciaio!)

Here we are, back in that parallel Earth occupied by cute and intelligent Lemurs (who turn out to be quite efficient soldiers) and those murderous, mindless, marauding lizards, the Griks. Our US sailors are doing a grand job defending the right whilst those nasty Japs have, logically, allied themselves with the dark side. All sarcasm aside, this is a very good read... what was initial entertainment-tinged-with-a-little-disbelief has, over the series, turned into engrossing and exciting reading. I thoroughly enjoyed the tension and the build-up that Anderson created; the final battle was genuinely edge-of-seat stuff and left me wanting more.

I have really enjoyed the Destroyermen series - so far (nearly finished book 3). A great combination of real earth and science fiction with a fair amount of attention to detail and a believable universe. The seas are dangerous, the life on land deadly - and then there are the Grik... Characters are developed well and the story/ies move along at a fair pace. My only real gripe is that each subsequent book (2, 3 so far) spends SO long "reminding" you of who is who and what is what - and when you're reading them back to back that becomes a little tedious.

A great continuation of the series with lots of action, surprises and plot twists. A fast paced book worthy of an all night read.