The Last Lieutenant

Todd Ingram, Book 1

By: John J. Gobbell

Narrated by: Michael Wolfe

Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

“Powerful and engaging. Truly an inspiring and emotional story of bravery and sacrifice.... a must read.” (Nelson DeMille, number one New York Times best-selling author)

The year is 1942.

Bataan has fallen to the Japanese. The Philippines seem sure to follow. When a general surrenders the last American outpost in the West Pacific, Navy Lieutenant Todd Ingram refuses to give up the fight.

Taking to sea under cover of darkness, he leads his ten man crew to accomplish the impossible: Slip through Japanese naval blockades, travel 1900 miles to Australia, and singlehandedly stop a ruthless Nazi spy.

There are no reinforcements. There will be no rescue.

And if Todd fails, he won’t just lose his crew.... He’ll lose the woman he loves, too.

In the heart-pounding tradition of Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle comes a thriller brimming with raw courage, non-stop action, and an unforgettable villain.

Praise for John J. Gobbell and The Last Lieutenant:

“There are no greater tales of epic combat than the fight for Corregidor and the Battle of Midway. John J. Gobbell masterfully combines them into a gripping war story that will be considered a classic in the decades to come.” (Clive Cussler)

"Gobbell has, for me, personally resurrected the novel of World War II in the Pacific, combining thriller with war novel. [The Last Lieutenant] calls up memories of The Naked and the Dead and James Jones. A first-rate accomplishment." (Thomas Gifford)

©1999 John J. Gobbell (P)2020 Severn River Publishing

Good Navy story. Terrible narrator.

This is a great story, well researched, about a Navy officer who escapes from Corregidor in the opening days of WW2. The book would benefit from more editing as there are a number of long passages that make the story drag and add little to the plot.

My primary objection is that the narrator has horrible problems with Navy terms and cannot even pronounce non-military words like conflagration and telegrapher.

If this is a series, I'll give the author a chance to tighten up his style and to please find a better narrator.

Worth it!

A bit confusing with so many characters. I actually rented the book from the library, where it listed characters by country, rank, assignments. That helped for reference. The narrator mispronounced a few words, which was annoying. Especially his pronunciation of "Tagalog". But, his voice was easy to listen to, and his reading great. The story itself was excellent!

Enjoyed 😉

Since I read listened to book 2 first by accident this one cleared things up. Both books are stand alone but I recommend reading in order. Both very good and historically accurate.

just so so

Not worth the time. Too wordy and reader is fair at best. Sorry I wasted CREDIT.

narration

Wolfe doesn't read very well and mispronounced a lot of words and phrases a lot

A great Navy story!

This is a great story that captures the plight of the struggle of those who fought on Corregidor and the Philippines. I really enjoyed the detail that the author goes into about the battle, about the Navy and everything regarding the Philippines. It really made me appreciate those men and women who suffered there. I spend a lot of time on the road so will look forward to listening to the rest of the Todd Ingram series. Please keep them coming.

Bodily functions and Mispronunciations abound

Maybe the most grating on my nerves was the narrator's misreading and mispronouncing even common words. I can't even remember an example because there were so many, I just gave up. I seriously never met an adult who apparently has the vocabulary of 3rd grader, and yet here is one that reads for a living. BUT, other than butchering the English language, his voice, speed, clarity were actually very good, so there is that.
The second most annoying (and distracting at some point) were the persistent descriptions and inclusions of bodily functions. While I understand in war, privacy, illness, and all manner of life functions are made more difficult and imperiled, this author seems to focus on it with something approaching a bathroom fetish. Animal or Human, I would guess that there is barely a chapter where bathroom needs are not mentioned, described, hashed over, and described again.
All of that aside, I enjoyed the story and certainly would have no issue trying another book in the series to see if they improve with time and experience.

Pretty Good War Story

Good engaging story. Terrible narration - there were so many mispronunciations of simple words I kept wondering if English was the second language for this guy. Maybe he just didn’t care to do his homework. I will be reading the rest of the series on Kindle.

ten out of ten would recommendations

this book is action packed and full of suspense. looking for more from the series from audible.

I just couldn't do it

A hard to follow story becomes impossible to follow when the narration is poor. So many bad pronunciations, bad casting, odd character voicing.