Product Description

The “gripping and riveting”( S.M. Stirling, author of The Scourge of God) Destroyermen saga continues.

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, along with the men and women of the USS Walker, have chosen sides in a war not of their making. Swept from the World War II Pacific into an alternate world, they have allied with the Lemurians—a mammalian race threatened by the warlike reptilian Grik.

The Lemurians are vastly outnumbered and ignorant of warfare, and even the guns and technology of Walker cannot turn the tide of battle. Luckily they are not alone—Reddy finally finds Mahan, the other destroyer that passed through the rift. Together, the two American ships will teach the Lemurians to make a stand. Or so they think.

For the massive Japanese battleship Amagi, the very ship that Walker was fleeing from when the rift took them, has followed them through. And now the Amagi is in the hands of the Grik.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62681 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-07
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Anderson raises the stakes for Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Reddy and the crew of the USS Walker in this dramatic sequel to 2008's Into the Storm. The sailors and marines become further enmeshed in the politics of the parallel Earth into which their WW2 destroyer has mysteriously been transported. As they deal out rough justice to miscreants in the ranks and prepare their pacifist Lemurian allies to fight the Grand Swarm of the reptilian Grik, they in turn must face their own worst nightmare: the appearance of a Japanese battle cruiser. Anderson throws in tense land battles against overwhelming odds, a massive typhoon and a phenomenal aerial duel, but despite the pyrotechnics, at heart this novel is about how honor and ideals can bend or break under the stressful, life-and-death conditions of total war. (Oct.)
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* The second adventure of Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy and the good crew of Asiatic Fleet destroyer Walker—swept from World War II into an alternate world as violent as the one they left—is even better than the excellent Into the Storm (2008). They and their catlike Lemurian allies sail to rescue a nearby kingdom threatened by the lizardlike Grik. The people there are in the middle of a succession crisis, which keeps them from doing much to help themselves. The only good news comes from finding the other U.S. destroyer that crossed over, the Mahan, and the support of a Lemurian warrior queen, who, with her magnificent coat of black fur, is a notable addition to sf’s gallery of her profession. Not so good is the Grik’s ace in the hole: the Japanese battle cruiser Amagi, which also crossed over, and whose captain is bent on vengeance. Damaged though she is, the Amagi is the most powerful weapon now in this strange alternate world, so when the Grik move, the action becomes bloodier and more intense. What will happen in the forthcoming Maelstrom is anybody’s guess, though there will surely be more of the best felinoids since Andre Norton at her best, more intelligent action, more skillful handling of a very large cast, and an obstinately maintained refusal to slow the pace. --Roland Green

Review
“Taylor Anderson has brought a fresh new perspective to the tale of cross-time shipwreck.”
—S.M. Stirling, author of The Scourge of God

Customer Reviews

Unique and Highly Entertaining
Not being particularly interested in the science fiction genre, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Mr. Anderson's first book in this series, Into the Storm.

It was with anticipation, therefore, that I sought out this the second volume in the Destroyermen series. And I was not disappointed in any respect.

It is a fast paced story, with an extraordinarily unique plot, and characters, good and bad (make that cold-bloodedly evil for most), that keep you both interested and thinking about aspects of their "history" or back-story that Anderson suggests or that logically might apply. Any book that fully entertains on its own, and yet which also has the reader expanding the "story" because one has become interested enough to puzzle out even more story lines, is a credit to the author.

Anderson raises serious questions about honor, heroism, venal motivation, and raw terror, and uniquely, not only from the perspective of the humans alone, but also the "evolved" lemurs, and the cold-blooded Grik raptors --- a terrified Grik, in the hands of Anderson, is a sight to behold and relish.

The combat, realistic in every respect, is riveting. And when the equipment (antiquated, in the main, World War I destroyers, and small arms) are not sufficient in quantity, the characters manufacture historically correct alternatives that are familiar to any amateur historian, and perfectly capable of being reproduced in the setting of this story. The alternative dimensional aspects of Anderson's tale, the characters in it and their reactions to the stresses they face, "play well" and make for a superior read.

I want more, and to that end, have pre-ordered the third volume due out next February, Maelstrom. Perhaps Anderson will neatly wrap up this story, but I suspect that there is much more that can be written about these characters, and hope that he will continue or expand the "destroyermen" universe with more stories in the future.

You won't be disappointed!
In this sequel to Into The Storm, we return to the parallel Earth, where the World War 2-era American destroyers Mahon and Walker were pulled. The captain of the USS Walker is trying to organize the Lemurians so that they can survive the coming onslaught of the ferocious Grik, and he has lots of ideas. What he doesn't have, unfortunately, is time. The Grik Grand Swarm is gathering, and the Lemurians will have to unify if they are to have a chance of survival. To make matters worse, it appears that one other ship was pulled through The Squall to this other Earth, the fearsome Japanese battle cruiser Amagi. The Destroyermen and Lemurians are going to need a lot of luck and courage if they are to survive the coming ordeal...a LOT of luck and courage!

Overall, I must say that I really enjoyed this book. The author did a really good job of keeping the suspense and the tension ratcheted up, as the good guys go from triumph to tragedy and back again. I really enjoyed this alternate Earth that the author created, and I think that he did a great job of making it very different and yet totally believable.

I enjoyed this book, and I really do think that you will too. So, if you read Into The Storm, hurry up and get Crusade. You won't be disappointed!

Worthy Series
I normally shy away from series, because few hold my attention long enough to reach the third or fourth volume. I picked up "Into the Storm" at the library when I couldn't find anything else that caught my interest, and now I'm hooked. Just pre-ordered the third volume from Amazon.

Anderson shines by keeping his characters realistic and representative of the Greatest Generation types who would have crewed such vessels at the start of WWII. He hasn't turned them all into sophisticated, culturally-sensitive college grads, nor has he provided them with unlikely skills in martial arts or advanced technology--though I must say the Australian engineer who just happens to have the maps to all the Indonesian oil fields on his person is a bit too convenient.

At times I was reminded of a different Anderson, Poul, not in the writing style, but in the cultural extrapolation of the Lemurian and Grik species. There are also occasional reminders of "Sand Pebbles", another novel about US Asiatic Fleet sailors by Richard McKenna, who was one and who also wrote some SF. If Destroyermen isn't quite classic science fiction or great literature, it's extremely entertaining. I eagerly await the next installment.