Helpful Score: 1
I have to admit, I had never heard of Patrick Robinson before. I am not typically a reader (or listener in this case) of fiction works, but the story line sounded promising
The book is supposed to be a great military suspense novel between the mighty powers of the United States and China. China mines the Straight of Hormuz, supposedly as an act to destabilize the economies of the oil consumers of the world and corner the oil markets. However, this whole military action performed by China is nothing but the first move in a great chess match. China strings the United States along, causing the US to commit their navel forces to various locations around the globe. Just when the US thinks they have China in the corner, BAMChina pulls a rope a dope and pursues its true intentions.
All throughout this conflict with China, there is a second conflict being played out in the book. The Captain of the submarine, the U.S.S. Shark, plays completely by the book. This narrow focus by the Captain causes members of a SEAL team to die due to inaction by the Captain. As a direct result of this and other disturbing factors, there is a mutiny on the submarine. The XO who takes over the boat is then court-martialed, despite the fact his actions saved the lives of numerous SEALs.
I am well aware that I was listening to an abridged audiobook and much is cut out to save time. However, I think this is one of the most humdrum book I have read. The whole story line is highly predictable and quite elementary. There were parts of the book that seemed to be nothing more than padding. I have never served in the military in my life, but even I knew there were glaring inaccuracies in this novel ranging from weapons to court martial procedure.
I found the reader of this audiobook quite annoying. The reader speaks with a heavy English accent and his American, Chinese, and other accents are not very believable. As the book centers on the American military, I think the audiobook performance would have been much better if an American were reading it.
The book is not a terrible one. I did find the book entertaining enough to listen to the whole thing. However, while it is not a bad book, it is not a book I would recommend to my friends and family. If you can pick this book up cheap or for free, it might be worth the time to read it. Personally, I would not recommend wasting the gas money to get it from the library.
The book is supposed to be a great military suspense novel between the mighty powers of the United States and China. China mines the Straight of Hormuz, supposedly as an act to destabilize the economies of the oil consumers of the world and corner the oil markets. However, this whole military action performed by China is nothing but the first move in a great chess match. China strings the United States along, causing the US to commit their navel forces to various locations around the globe. Just when the US thinks they have China in the corner, BAMChina pulls a rope a dope and pursues its true intentions.
All throughout this conflict with China, there is a second conflict being played out in the book. The Captain of the submarine, the U.S.S. Shark, plays completely by the book. This narrow focus by the Captain causes members of a SEAL team to die due to inaction by the Captain. As a direct result of this and other disturbing factors, there is a mutiny on the submarine. The XO who takes over the boat is then court-martialed, despite the fact his actions saved the lives of numerous SEALs.
I am well aware that I was listening to an abridged audiobook and much is cut out to save time. However, I think this is one of the most humdrum book I have read. The whole story line is highly predictable and quite elementary. There were parts of the book that seemed to be nothing more than padding. I have never served in the military in my life, but even I knew there were glaring inaccuracies in this novel ranging from weapons to court martial procedure.
I found the reader of this audiobook quite annoying. The reader speaks with a heavy English accent and his American, Chinese, and other accents are not very believable. As the book centers on the American military, I think the audiobook performance would have been much better if an American were reading it.
The book is not a terrible one. I did find the book entertaining enough to listen to the whole thing. However, while it is not a bad book, it is not a book I would recommend to my friends and family. If you can pick this book up cheap or for free, it might be worth the time to read it. Personally, I would not recommend wasting the gas money to get it from the library.
