Maelstrom

Destroyermen, Book 3

By: Taylor Anderson

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, along with the men and women of the U.S.S. Walker, are once again at war. Having sided with the peaceful Lemurians against the savage, reptilian Grik, they now find themselves scrambling to prepare for the attack that is sure to come, searching for resources to support their forces - even as they look for allies to join their struggle.

Meanwhile, the Japanese juggernaut Amagi, also trapped in this strange world, is under Grik control---with her fanatical commander approaching madness. And soon they will have amassed a force that no amount of firepower and technology will be able to stop.As the raging conflict approaches, Reddy, his crew, his allies, and his loved ones face annihilation. But if there is one thing they have learned about their new world, it is that hope - and help - may be just over the horizon.

Battle stations! Listen to more in the Destroyermen series.

©2008 Taylor Anderson (P)2009 Tantor

amazing battle

this book series is the best one I ever read, taylor anderson outdid himself and the narrator is great as well

Fascinating story continues to expand and evolve

I was somewhat undecided whether to continue listening to the series because of a series of reviews stating that in Malestrom, the story of the destroyermen had become boring and uninteresting. I did not find this to be the case. I remained fully engaged by the story which continued to unfold in interesting ways. The characters in the story continued to develop which to added depth to the alternate world in which the story takes place. I enjoyed this book just as much as I enjoyed the first two and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first two books in this series.

Best Military science fiction in many years

This is book 4 of the series, if you got this far you already know this is an amazing series, epic in scope. I am an army officer, not navy, but i do appreciate his accuracy and attention to detail in military matters. Performer is top notch.

The war grinds on, series still great fun

I really enjoy the Destroyermen series, but man is Taylor Anderson milking this or what?

In book one, the USS Walker, an obsolete steam-powered destroyer dragged to an alternate Earth from 1942, along with her Japanese battlecruiser adversary, allied with a race of peaceful lemur-people against the reptilian Grik. In book two, the war against the Grik continued, with a few chapters told from the POV of the crazy Japanese captain and the evil Grik.

Book three, Maelstrom, is basically the next chapter, and it's literally just another chapter in the story, albeit a 400-page chapter. The Americans and their Lemurian allies continue to prepare for the massive Grik invasion, the captain of the Amagi continues to chew scenery as a megalomaniacal psychopath, and the Grik continue to chortle and salivate at the thought of eating all their enemies.

There was a little bit of extra characterization, as it's hinted that the Grik are actually capable of learning and evolving. And the Walker meets more wayward visitors from Earth, and descendants of even earlier ones. Which is cool except it seems likely to be a recurring shtick - whenever the author needs to add a twist, hey, let's discover another ship or lost civilization that got yanked to this world from the old one.

Despite my griping, I still really enjoyed this book. It's full of sea battles, dashing heroism, mustache-twirling villainy, and all the stuff a fan of military SF should enjoy. You could make this a typical space opera just by moving it to space and making the Grik and the Lemurians aliens instead of products of an alternate evolutionary history on Earth. The Destroyermen series is almost in the planetary romance genre, except for all the emphasis on military tactics and nautical terminology.

It's great fun, but I'm looking at the six or more books ahead of me in the series and wondering if we will plodding through this same war with the same adversaries for all of them.

Good story

Okay, I marked down the previous book in the series with the remark that I wanted to introduce the author to the word despite. In this book, I found that he does indeed know the word. He even used it once. The other 100 times, he reverted to the phrase, "in spite of." It was distracting. Other than that, I liked the story.

Maelstrom Redefines Science Fiction

Where does Maelstrom rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Ahead of the rest, but not number one

What was one of the most memorable moments of Maelstrom?

The last third of the book when the planning all comes together

Which scene was your favorite?

The coming together of Becky the strip lizard with the crew.....

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Book made me laugh in many different locations through out the book....it was fun.

Any additional comments?

I don't like the rehashing of the features of the past book....

Wow

Best series I have listened to on Audible. This series will keep you on the edge of your seat.

W.o.w

Another great must read adventure. Series is so addicting that there is little else that I do with my life anymore. Listener beware

Thrilling Story Line in a Tough Genre

Taylor Anderson's highly imaginative story/series is made even more exciting and entertaining by William Dufris's interruptive reading. This genre of alternate earth is a tough one to keep fresh. With thrilling action, despicable villains, humorous situations, lovable characters and plot twists keeps this book/series moving along. William Dufris's imaginative character/creature voices puts this reading experience on a higher plain. I often find myself taken into the action or chuckling to a situation. I look forward to each book.

A little slow to start but what a battle!

It was a bit slow to start as Mr. Anderson "catches up" new readers with the back story of the previous two books. I continue to enjoy the series because there are so many rich avenues to take it... which Mr. Anderson does. Also, lots of dialog, which I prefer in my stories. And, narrator William Dufris continues a wonderful performance with great diversity in voices. All the "day in the life" dialog throughout the middle part builds to a climactic end with characters you'll come to know, bond with, and care about. Now, on to book 4!