Into the Storm

Destroyermen, Book 1

By: Taylor Anderson

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the USS Walker---a Great-War vintage "four-stacker" destroyer---finds itself in full retreat from pursuit by Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, knows that he and his crew are in dire straits. In desperation, he heads Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover---and emerges somewhere else.

Familiar landmarks appear, but the water teems with monstrous, vicious fish. And there appear to be dinosaurs grazing on the plains of Bali. Gradually Matt and his crew must accept the fact that they are in an alternate world---and they are not alone. Humans have not evolved, but two other species have. And they are at war.

With its steam power and weaponry, the Walker's very existence could alter the balance of power. And for Matt and his crew, who have the means to turn a primitive war into a genocidal Armageddon, one thing becomes clear: They must decide whose side they're on. Because whoever they choose to side with is the winner.

Battle stations! Listen to more in the Destroyermen series.

©2008 Taylor Anderson (P)2008 Tantor

Fantasy Escape

I am a sucker for alternate reality. That said, this book was interesting. The initial battle sequence is excellent as are later battle sequences. The world they discover is interesting. Characters are shallow and I feel the author missed lots of opportunities to work the character differences and to make the plot more interesting. This is pure good guys/bad guys but as an escape, it rates a listen. I will probably try the next book. The love interest crept in at the end. Kind of clumsy and clunky. Stick with the action, monsters and technology.

Great Listen!!! Great Fun!!! Great Narration

I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this book (can I give it 6 stars?). Anderson and Dufris have a winning combination. This book is SciFi meets Fantasy meets History meets Alternate Reality. The language was a little ruff (they are Navy men after all) though not crude. A few slight sexual references (IE, "boobies" no sexual acts), though not that bad (I've seen a lot worse on TV). It was refreshing to listen to a book that is not filled with unnecessary sex, extremely crude language, vampires, and such. Funny, exciting, sad. Great adult book, would be a great listen for older teens as well.

Just Plain Fun

This book was a very entertaining read, with excellent narration and good pacing. Im usually not a fan of alternate history but this series is a blast. If you like naval fiction, or military fiction in general you will have a lot of fun with the destroyermen series.

Surprisingly good

The story seemed kinda cool like the movie "Final Countdown", but I was worried it was a bit corny with the cat monkeys and such. But it worked, the narration was great and this series is very long so I can keep following this adventure for a long time.

A couple of cool parts of this story is that there is a a second ship that came through the storm too, the USS Mahan and even a plane! Also the civilizations of this world have been previously shaped by an earlier human ship from perhaps the 17th-18th centuries. The lemurs sail around in ships bigger than aircraft carriers. So there are many elements involved that Anderson weaves convincingly together to make this a very interesting tale.

I really like the historical and evolutionary perspective of how this world and its civilization has developed and how it has been (being) influenced by high tech human aliens from another time and place.

I am secretly thinking that there might be humans in this world, just not advanced and living in caves or something.

I don't know if this is a plot hole but the lizard men are seemingly simple minded and blood thirsty but I don't think this makes sense from their technology. I don't like how they were portrayed earlier as suicidal killers because this doesn't seem to pan out with the screams later. Because of this I could probably make this review a 4 star rating instead but perhaps things will reveal themselves in later books

So, yeah, its kinda like if Spielbergs movies (think E.T) weren't done by him they would probably have been silly flops. But Anderson and Dufris make this work. So if you find the story intriguing, you won't be disappointed if you got this.

Great Book

Consistent with its themes i really enjoyed this book on how a stranded crew might act if suddenly transported out of their time and place.

Cant wait for the forth book

Love this series. Great story line and well read.

A grand and well written adventure

This has quickly become one of my favorite series due to the talented writing and a very enjoyable story that spans from the power and responsibility derived of far superior technology to a war of epic proportions. Integral to the war-effort is a review of some historical battle tactics and formations that bring the span of the story from primitive combat up to modern warfare. The main character as well as the auxiliary characters are all quite likeable and well-imagined even if the narration of the voices is a bit too gravelly. I have already listened through part of the second book and it is shaping up to be a compelling series that I would recommend to any consumers of sci-fi or historical warfare.

A good yarn

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

Not the best audiobook but not the worst, I good solid book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Into the Storm?

The unfolding of the characters personalities especial the Captain

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

I like William Dufris's voice and his very good impersonations of the characters though I did giggle at his women's voices. But a very good performance I will listen to him again.

Destroyermen is a don't miss series

Taylor Anderson has done a superb job with this story line, each book in the series expertly moves various individual aspects along while at the same time keeping things fresh and exciting. The character development and dynamic stories emerges you into this wonderfully exciting world and the complexity that has been put into each part of these books set the stage for a wide rage additional stories. Well worth adding to your Audible collection no matter what your genre preference is.

Amazing narrator!

Would you listen to Into the Storm again? Why?

Can't wait for the next book! The story keeps you glued to the headphones!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Silva, what crazy and lovable guy.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

Sounds like each character is a different person.