Back to old school World War 2 action books. If you are like me, and was weened onto adult books by the likes of Douglas Reemnan and Alistair MacClean, writing about “the war”, and if you, like me, have missed this type of book you are in for a treat.
Battle Station follows a group of men, from just before Pearl Harbour through the Battle of Medway, Guadalcanal, and through to the early days of 1944
Andrew Troost starts the war as a Captain but is soon promoted to Rear Admiral, whilst his son Warren, who funked out of flunked out of flying school takes his commission on a supply boat.
One of Warrens friends Jacob Miller, who graduated flying school, reports to his aircraft carrier just after Pearl Harbour but is very much amongst the action from then on.
Farmer boy Glen Lascomb is a Naval Reservist when the war starts and his brother is killed on the Arizona. Glen reports for duty and is soon in the thick of the action.
Tony Trappaso, an Italian decent New Yorker, is a commissioned officer on submarines fighting the war from below the waves.
The story of these sailors interweaves, their paths crossing in the peaceful harbours, which compared to most countries during the war seem strangely unaffected, and at times fighting from different vessels in the same battles or campaigns.
The action comes thick and fast and is realistic in its sudden, traumatic, adrenaline fuelled, fear filled pace.
Relationships are formed ashore which leave adds a personal thread in the story and makes the loses, and there are loses, emotional
The ending of the book is not so much a cliff hanger, more a the story isn’t over, why stop here type of thing.
I will read the next one because I want to know how the story ends, but I think this could have been done n one volume.
Pages: 330
Publisher: Sapere
Publishing Date: 20th April 2020
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