• The Devil's Waters

  • A USAF Pararescue Thriller, Book 1
  • By: David L. Robbins
  • Narrated by: Benjamin L. Darcie
  • Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (464 ratings)

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The Devil's Waters  By  cover art

The Devil's Waters

By: David L. Robbins
Narrated by: Benjamin L. Darcie
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Publisher's summary

David L. Robbins, author of the war classic War of the Rats, delivers another heart-stopping, deeply researched military adventure, this time right off today’s front pages.

The US military’s most highly trained and elite unit is the US Air Force pararescuers, known as PJs. All battle-hardened vets, their motto is "That Others May Live". Their singular mission is CSAR: Combat Search and Rescue. But, off the Horn of Africa, one PJ unit is tasked with a desperate assignment that goes against its oath: Take down a cargo ship full of secrets that’s been captured by Somali pirates. The team doesn’t hesitate, because one of its own is already on board the hijacked ship. There, they will face ruthless Yusuf Raage, a pirate leader who will sacrifice anything and anyone to keep his captured ship. The PJs have only one hour before the ship is destroyed by a missile, with all hands and cargo aboard.

©2012 David L. Robbins (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Devil's Waters

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    186
  • 4 Stars
    172
  • 3 Stars
    80
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
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Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
    139
  • 3 Stars
    69
  • 2 Stars
    7
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    158
  • 4 Stars
    138
  • 3 Stars
    74
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    10

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A good Military action novel

I am so glad to see a book about the United States Air Force. At times I feel the authors have forgotten this service. This is a highly engaging fast pace military action story. A big freighter is hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the cargo is top secret, the order goes out get it back at all costs. The only unit close by is a USAF Para-rescue Jumpers (PJ) a combat search and rescue group stationed in Djibouti. They are usually not a combat operation unit but all the men are combat trained medical rescue people. Robbins spend a considerable amount of time researching this book both military framework and the characters. The amount of time spent on character building would imply Robbins is planning this to be a series rather than a stand alone book. There is lots of action, suspense and thrills in the book to keep one glued to the story. If you enjoy a military action story this book is for you. If you wish to learn a bit about the horn of Africa this book would interest you. Benjamin L Darcie did a good job reading the story.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Ridiculous story line

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story line could be reasonable.

Has The Devil's Waters turned you off from other books in this genre?

I stopped listening to the book with an hour and 20 minutes left, because the story line was so ridiculous and treated the PJs as if the were totally inept.

What aspect of Benjamin L. Darcie’s performance would you have changed?

It was okay.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Devil's Waters?

Many of the fighting scenes would have been edited to eliminate discussions that would not have occurred at the time. The actions of the PJs to the hostage situation would be rewritten.

Any additional comments?

I would not recommend this book to anyone. It is not realistic and an injustice to real life PJs.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent military/espionage novel

There is a tendency for military thriller authors to substitute continuous action and fabricated suspense for a real plot. The Devil's Waters has all of the action and suspense expected while also having a strong plot. This is the first novel in the USAF Pararescue Thriller series. It is a better novel than The Empty Quarter which is the second book in the series (I reviewed it 13 months ago). The team fights Somali pirates without understanding their real mission is espionage against Iran. Some reviewers write that this novel is unrealistic. I disagree! The espionage scenario by the US could easily occur.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Regret using my credits on this...

Would you try another book from David L. Robbins and/or Benjamin L. Darcie?

Not likely

What was most disappointing about David L. Robbins’s story?

Disjointed and paper thin characters, actions scenes are a snore. Cliché involvement of women to create sexual tension with main character.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

No

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Devil's Waters?

Any of the action scenes.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story that goes bad in the end

Very realistic until the end ... just shoot the SOB ...

Might try another book in the series

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

New Exciting Rescue by Parachute

Where does The Devil's Waters rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Devil's Waters ranks high on the audiobooks that I have listened to of this genre. This audiobook is about a branch of the US Military, the Air Force, that provides water rescue for our American soldiers.

What did you like best about this story?

The story provided me with an exciting audiobook about the Air Force. This thriller was an excellent listen about new subject material for me.The story had so much new information that listening to it provided me with an enjoyable learning experience. This is the first time I've listened to a story about the Air Force. The story was not boring in any way. The book started out good and stayed that way through to the end.

What about Benjamin L. Darcie’s performance did you like?

Benjamin L. Darcie's performance was excellent. I liked the many different accents he used. Whether the accents were correct for a particular region I have no idea. However, they sounded very good to me. There were gruff voices, gentle, curious, angry, teasing and many other intonations. The book was an easy listen. He used great pronunciation. I didn't have to back up to understand what was read.

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

There were a couple of times that my eyes did get wet. The PJ's, (Parachute Jumper's), have a specific service that they provide for people. Their sincerity in caring for people was admirable to say the least. I could see and hear what service these men provided for those injured or dying. The JP's always worked in pairs, never less than two. If it meant having to die they did not leave. There were extenuating circumstances that had to be reasoned through to an acceptable and realistic decision. These were the times that were very tense and created my emotional experience to the story.

Any additional comments?

The majority of the PJ's had fought on foreign soil. These men and the newbies did not want to carry guns and fight another war. However, they were given orders from their commanding officer to board a ship and kill all the men aboard from the country of Samoa. However, if the PJ's were not successful by the given hour provided to them by their commanding officer, the ship would be blown out of the water, the PJ's included. The country of Samoa is 1093 square miles in the SW Pacific, consisting of two large islands and several small ones. The country is extremely poor. Listening to the book led me to the conclusion that there was no government that provided for a semblance of order. I don't know if this is fact or fiction. I will have to research that fact on the internet. The group of men from Samoa were pirates and boarded a ship to stop the captain from going to Iran and to change directions and go to Samoa. The pirates were told of the large sum of money that they would receive if they completed their mission. There was a conspiracy in the making involving many countries, including the US. The book is inexpensive and an excellent listen. I encourage anyone who listens to this genre to purchase the book, sit back and listen. I wanted to finish the book in one sitting but could not. I completed the book in two days. And what a listen.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable Listen

Amongst all the negative and positive reviews, I find this book a good read with lots of action to sustain my attention. Definitely not a waste of time. Plus, I get to learn about a new section of the marine, the PJ. Excellent narration by Benjamin Darcie.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Non-stop thrill ride

A great story full of non-stop action and adventure. “The Devil’s Waters” is well written and keeps you riveted as you wonder what will happen next and the characters are the best of the best the PJs who want to save lives rather than take them. This is a great book for anyone who loves thrillers with a ton of action!

Mr. Darcie does a great job bringing the characters to life with his accents.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Eventually, the book ended

Would you try another book from David L. Robbins and/or Benjamin L. Darcie?

From Mr. Darcie, I'm likely to: I liked his voice and he could render the various character.From Mr. Robbins.... Well, the book was much, much, MUCH slower I wish it to be.The plot was not a bad one, on the contrary: a humanitarian mission turned into the rescue from an hijack of a classified vessel.
Quite alluring as a plot.
But the story went on at snail pace. It took me a real effort not to put it aside.

Would you be willing to try another book from David L. Robbins? Why or why not?

As before, this book was so slow!

Which scene was your favorite?

The death of the capitain of the ship. I liked him, his death suits both the character and the plot.

Could you see The Devil's Waters being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Maybe it could turn to a decent tv series. Stars... No, it suits to anonymous actors.

Any additional comments?

Not a complete waste of a credit, if you look for a mild action book.
The characters as a bunch are some plain and hackneyed.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Mediocre

Story was alright but definitely not accurate to what would really happen. Narrator mispronounces words/names and it becomes a nuisance

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