Iron Gray Sea

Destroyermen, Book 7

By: Taylor Anderson

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

In Taylor Anderson's acclaimed Destroyermen series, a parallel universe adds an extraordinary layer to the drama of World War II. Now, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, the crew of the USS Walker, and their allies battle an ever-growing host of enemies across the globe in a desperate battle for freedom.

War has engulfed the other earth. With every hard-won victory and painful defeat, Matt Reddy and the Allies encounter more friends-and even more diabolical enemies. Even, at last, in the arms of the woman he loves, there is little peace for Reddy. The vast sea, and the scope of the conflict, have trapped him too far away to help on either front, but that doesn't mean he and Walker can rest. Cutting short his "honeymoon," Reddy sails off in pursuit of Hidoiame, a rogue Japanese destroyer that is wreaking havoc in Allied seas. Now that Walker is armed with the latest "new" technology, he hopes his battle-tested four-stacker has an even chance in a straight-up fight against the bigger ship - and he means to take her on.

Elsewhere, the long-awaited invasion of Grik "Indiaa" has begun, and the Human-Lemurian Alliance is pushing back against the twisted might of the Dominion. The diplomatic waters seethe with treachery and a final, terrible plot explodes in the Empire of New Britain Isles. Worse, the savage Grik have also mastered "new" technologies and strategies. Their fleet of monstrous ironclads - and an army two years in the making-are finally massing to strike.

©2012 Taylor Anderson (P)2012 Tantor

I want longer books!

Great book. It advanced the story and had some great action scenes. As always, William Dufris did a great job with all of the voices.

My only issue with the book is that the story has grown so much and there are so many different things going on that it felt a little abridged to me. By the time I was fully invested in one of the side stories, it would jump to another location. Hopefully he will bring some of the characters back together or start writing much longer books!

I will definitely keep following the series.

Bad.

I am amazed that all of the reviews for this audiobook are so positive. Personally, I found this latest installment of Destroyermen insufferable, and that’s an understatement.

The first few Destroyermen books had their flaws, for sure, but those flaws were far outweighed by a number of positive factors, like the discovery of an interesting new world: who were the Grik, and how about the other humans, from a different time period? Slowly discovering the answers to these questions, as the author gradually unravelled the mysteries, kept things interesting. Now, the sense of mystery is gone. Also, the character development in the earlier books, while not amazing, was sufficient enough that I cared about a number of the people in the story. Now that too is gone. The characters are more like caricatures. The Lemurians, whose heads we actually got inside before, have now been reduced to belittled half wits, always eager to please; I could not tell one from another. It comes off as kinda racist, actually, the way they are portrayed now. The exception is the elder Lemurians who, as before, speak as if they have been not only speaking English for many years, but also doing some seriously erudite studying of vocabulary, idioms and hard core literature, but it seems more extreme now.

Princess Rebecca’s little pet: profoundly irritating. I’m sure it’ll save her life soon. The exchanges between Matt and Sandra are rife with cringe-inducing, hackneyed lines and are painful to listen to. The Dom: why do so many of these books have an evil religious cult thrown into the mix? (the also-in-a-state-of-downward-spiral SM Stirling Emberverse series also suffers from this, as do a few other recent/comparatively recent fiction outings). And why, oh why, Grik Zeppelins? Zeppelins?

The originality of the earlier novels has been lost.

Iron Gray Sea was the last Destroyermen book that I will read or listen to. This is a situation where it may have been better for the author to wrap things up before they got stale - and then started something fresh. I am happy that the majority of the people who listened to the book loved it and are clamouring for more - at least those who have taken time to rate & review. I am not, alas, in that majority.

No ending

What did you love best about Iron Gray Sea?

Its the usual fun but there is no story structure within the individual book. Its just a piece of a bigger novel. It just stops. It doesn't end

To short for how in depth the plot

This book takes place across an entire alternate planet, two wars are being fought in several locations and new characters are being introduced. This cannot happen in a 16 hour book! After anxiously awaiting this book, it left you more on a precipice than the last, no breaks or conclusions to the story line. And so much of the little time is refreshing the reader on character traits, and situational background, very frustrating.
Write longer or wrap up some of the loose ends!
A nice 40 hour book like the King Killer Chronicles would get this book 5 stars.

A good (not great) addition to the series .

Unless I'm mistaken there were a couple of battles that were rehashed from other books in the series. (IMHO). That was why I gave the story 3stars instead of 4. Other than that it was a very entertaining book.
William Dufris continues to do excellent work.

Good but...

I am going to give this series one more shot. However I need some closure with some of the plot lines. Anderson keeps adding and adding without giving closure or even a measure of satisfaction to the reader.

I enjoy the characters and the world that the author has created. I'd like to feel that we're getting somewhere.

Excellent Story Continues

Where does Iron Gray Sea rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the most enjoyable of the hundreds I have listened to. The developement of the characters and emotion of the story line is great.

Any additional comments?

Cant wait for the next book in the series - hurry!

I am unhappy to say

What would have made Iron Gray Sea better?

Having a beginning and and ending. The middle was was well constructed and entertaining.

What was most disappointing about Taylor Anderson’s story?

Anderson is a enjoyable writer. I thoroughly the first four or five books. Even though they are part of a series each of those books was a complete story. The most recent books are no longer novels. They are chapters of some never ending story. I am worried that it will end like the Lost Regiment series that just stop many years ago with out a conclusion. The author of that series did always give his readers a stand alone book . If, like me, you probably can not quit this series. If you have not started it wait until Taylor Anderson had completed it.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

It was not intrusive.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Taylor Anderson writes well though recently he has been giving the readers to many information dumps that add nothing to the progress of the story.

Any additional comments?

I am disturbed that so much of the science fiction available on this site consists of series that appear to have no potential ending.

Yawn....

The battles continue in book 7 of 9. By now, the reader is accustomed to the technology inject and the static fighting between multiple entities as the war plods on for multiple volumes. There are still multiple story lines and one of them keeps popping up at the end of each book: "Gee, where did that come from?" Not much got resolved, the enemies are still the same and the USS Walker crew dwindles. I wonder what will happen next?

Not Really A Sci-Fi Fan But I Like This Series

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The characters are all well defined, sometimes predictable, but still providing a good storyline

Any additional comments?

As I said, I have never really been a sci-fi fan, but this series has gripped my imagination. About the only downside that I have had a issue with is that in Iron Grey Sea, the audio level was a lot lower. I drive a truck for a living, so I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and books 1 thru 6 were fine, but this one was so hard to hear over the truck noise.

Is it any good?

Absolutely. The world building is getting better and better. I'm all in. Shame book 15 is the end.