Average customer rating:
- ONE MORE THING...
- Amazingly Detailed
- Terrifying (but sometimes tedious)
- Not Simmons' best
- Absolutely Amazing!
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The Terror: A Novel
Dan Simmons
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
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Binding: Hardcover
 Simmons, Dan
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ASIN: 0316017442 |
Book Description
The bestselling author of Ilium and Olympos transforms thetrue story of a legendary Arctic expedition into a thriller worthy ofStephen King or Patrick O'Brian. Their captain's insane vision of a Northwest Passage has kept the crewmenof The Terror trapped in Arctic ice for two years without a thaw. But thereal threat to their survival isn't the ever-shifting landscape of white,the provisions that have turned to poison before they open them, or theship slowly buckling in the grip of the frozen ocean. The real threat iswhatever is out in the frigid darkness, stalking their ship, snatching oneseaman at a time or whole crews, leaving bodies mangled horribly or missingforever. Captain Crozier takes over the expedition after the creature kills itsoriginal leader, Sir John Franklin. Drawing equally on his own strengths asa seaman and the mystical beliefs of the Eskimo woman he's rescued, Croziersets a course on foot out of the Arctic and away from the insatiable beast.But every day the dwindling crew becomes more deranged and mutinous, untilCrozier begins to fear there is no escape from an ever-more-inconceivablenightmare.
Customer Reviews:
ONE MORE THING..........2007-10-08
I agree 100% with the 5-star reviews already submitted but would like to add one thing that seems to have been played down a bit: this book is bloody TERRIFYING!
Amazingly Detailed.......2007-10-03
You have to admire the sheer amount of research that went into this novel, because after reading this book I guarantee that Dan Simmons knows every bit of maritime trivia, every conceivable thing about living in the arctic, and enough Esquimaux mythology to boggle the mind. The story is that of Captain Crozier, who commands one of two ships on a doomed mission to find the northwest passage. Early in the expedition, the ships become frozen into pack ice, stranding the captain and crew. This leads to many problems, including the inevitable accidents, starvation, disease, mutanies, etc. In and of itself, that would be enough to doom any expedition. However, it gets much worse than that -- there's this monster out there on the ice that has an unstoppable desire to kill Crozier's crew in the most sadistic ways possible. The story isn't so much about the creature as it is about the crew's ability (or inability) to deal with the situation. I have to warn you though, this story is long. There are more than a few times when I was hoping it would simply hurry up and get on with it.
Terrifying (but sometimes tedious).......2007-09-30
I enjoyed both the horror and the historical aspects of this book. Unlike some reviewers, I thought Simmons melded those styles and approaches together well. And there were so many characters, so well developed. Half of the enjoyment here, for me, was in learning about the characters and wondering what they would do next, how they would react in the various situations that confronted them. Also, it was just straight-out terrifying to imagine being in some of those situations.
All of that said, occasionally I thought the writing was a little slow and tedious and I probably even skimmed parts. But then, I'm impatient.
Not Simmons' best.......2007-09-27
After the sun-lit world of Olympos, Simmons plunges his readers into his darkest material at least since Carrion Comfort. That in itself is not necessarily a problem, but there is an issue with the way the novel is being billed.
It is NOT a historical novel with a metaphorical element of horror. It is a HORROR novel that happens to have a historical setting.
Again, not in itself a problem. But Simmons himself seems to have difficulty deciding which kind of a novel he's writing, so the historical elements place constraints on the story that keep it from having a fully satisfying plot, while the horror elements introduce things that are historically ridiculous.
After Olympos, Terror's Hobbesian theme is stunningly bleak. But then, life WOULD be nasty, brutish, short, etc. if one were on an early 19th-century Arctic expedition whose captain made astonishingly bad decisions based on an irrational faith that God would see them through--or if one were an Inuit of that time. So the final Rousseau-like chapters romanticizing the "noble Inuit" are particularly strange. Simmons is inordinately impressed with the only two things the Inuit could do: build igloos, which really isn't that hard (I did it as a boy scout at age thirteen or so, though mine no doubt lacked the mathematical symmetry of those Simmons describes, though it's not as if the Inuit, lacking a system of writing, could actually have grasped the higher mathematics of what they were supposedly doing); and hunting seal, which, well, they'd pretty much HAVE to be good at. (None of this is meant to belittle or morally criticize the Inuit of the time, as given their circumstances, it would have been near impossible for them to advance much beyond that.)
Also, Simmons has already done the "what if their primitive mythology were true?" bit in Fires of Eden, with the much more entertaining Hawaiian mythology, and unhampered by claims of historicity.
Still, Simmons' style here is beautiful, and many of the characters are among the best he's created, so it's certainly worth a read, like everything else he's written.
Absolutely Amazing!.......2007-09-26
Quite honestly, I bought this book as a gift for my son in law, but, being momentarily out of reading material, decided to tackle the volume myself. And I was gob-smacked. The amount of research that had to have gone into this book is simply unimaginable. And, Dan Simmons has somehow managed to turn blank historical figures into real people with real problems. He has breathed life and depth into an expedition that still remains enigmatic. And, boy, did he do his homework. Real history is so much more interesting than fiction. We are talking here about an expedition into the arctic some 160 years ago, fuelled by coal and tinned foods and not much more. These guys definitely didn't know what they were getting into and suffered greatly for that lack of knowledge. I trust Dan Simmons. Well, I've read his other books. I trust that his search for the facts has been rigorous and absolute, and that he has endeavoured, and very successfully, to interweave those facts with the ficticious personas of his characters. In doing this, he has written an absolutely incredible book, extremely readable and continuously fascinating. He has kept, without any judgement, within the mores, the cultural values of that time, and that is also fascinating.
I greatly applaud this book and the man who wrote it. To have been able to create such a tale, interwoven with a cumbersome amount of detail and enhanced true characters is indeed a feat worth applause. And, man, it is just really interesting. Not since The Swarm has a book captivated me to this extent.
Amazon.com
The appeal of Dava Sobel's Longitude was, in part, that it illuminated a little-known piece of history through a series of captivating incidents and engaging personalities. Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea is certainly cast from the same mold, examining the 19th-century Pacific whaling industry through the arc of the sinking of the whaleship Essex by a boisterous sperm whale. The story that inspired Herman Melville's classic Moby-Dick has a lot going for it--derring-do, cannibalism, rescue--and Philbrick proves an amiable and well-informed narrator, providing both context and detail. We learn about the importance and mechanics of blubber production--a vital source of oil--and we get the nuts and bolts of harpooning and life aboard whalers. We are spared neither the nitty-gritty of open boats nor the sucking of human bones dry.
By sticking to the tried and tested Longitude formula, Philbrick has missed a slight trick or two. The epicenter of the whaling industry was Nantucket, a small island off Cape Cod; most of the whales were in the Pacific, necessitating a huge journey around the southernmost tip of South America. We never learn why no one ever tried to create an alternative whaling capital somewhere nearer. Similarly, Philbrick tells us that the story of the Essex was well known to Americans for decades, but he never explores how such legends fade from our consciousness. Philbrick would no doubt reply that such questions were beyond his remit, and you can't exactly accuse him of skimping on his research. By any standard, 50 pages of footnotes impress, though he wears his learning lightly. He doesn't get bogged down in turgid detail, and his narrative rattles along at a nice pace. When the storyline is as good as this, you can't really ask for more. --John Crace, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819, the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with twenty crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than ninety days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, disease, and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival. Nathaniel Philbrick uses little-known documents-including a long-lost account written by the ship's cabin boy-and penetrating details about whaling and the Nantucket community to reveal the chilling events surrounding this epic maritime disaster. An intense and mesmerizing read, In the Heart of the Sea is a monumental work of history forever placing the Essex tragedy in the American historical canon.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic.......2007-09-24
I am a big skeptic when I read these types of books. I always assume the author is filling in the substantial blanks in the story with his own interpretation & fluff. I did not feel that way with this authors version of the story.
The story was really entertaining. It was a page turner that kept me up too late on work nights. I think I read the last 1/3 of it without putting it down.
Highly recommended. You will learn a lot about whaling and Nantucket, both of which I surprisingly found captivating.
A Captivating Read........2007-08-17
Knowing that this was not a fictional story added an element of intensity as I read this book. Truthfully, this would have made for good fictional reading as well. I enjoyed the character development and the way in which the story was told. I was on the edge of my seat, and looking forward to getting to the book every morning while reading this. In the Mr. Philbrick's words, "The Essex disaster is not a tale of adventure. It is a tragedy that happens to be one of the the greatest true stories ever told."
one of the best maritime disaster books I've ever read.......2007-08-13
What a fantastic story told in a fascinating way. I've read many books about maritime disasters, and this one has gone to the top of the list. Nathaniel Philbrick is a great story-teller and meticulous researcher. I'm very, very impressed.
great book!!!.......2007-08-04
Wow, this is a great book. The author is very skilled in telling historical facts and journal entries but into a story that is easy to read, full of factual informative information, and has great structure. If you like this book I would definitely suggest reading "Skeletons in the Sahara" another phenomenal book, it's not written by Nathaniel Philbrick, but also another amazing author who tells a tragic story of a crew and his captain lost at sea near Africa and the story of the few that survived.
I also bought Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower but haven't had a chance to read it yet but look forward to doing so now since i've read In the Heart of the sea.
If only I could give this six stars!!.......2007-07-10
This is a phenomenal book. I am putting it in my top five. It is that rare bit of nonfiction that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I am an avid horror reader, and although technically this book doesn't fit that genre, I am making a place for it on my horror shelf. This truly is a tragedy, and the depths of Captain Pollard's misfortune is staggering. Granted he wasn't a "fishy man," but he is a character you rooted for. Chase, more captain than first mate, was the true leader. He kept an almost obsessive watch over the rations and kept his battered boat in sailing shape despite the seemingly insurmountable odds set before his crew. This is an outstanding book. Philbrick is an excellent writer. I particularly like the way he handled the explanation of starvation and the effects on the psyche. I've heard some call the section about cannibalism gruesome, and it was, but in order to understand the sheer power of this tragedy, it was tactfully and, I think, brilliantly handled in this regard by Philbrick.
Kudos to the author and kudos to the lucky reader who picks up this book!
Book Description
In the first hours there was nothing, no fear or sadness, just a black and perfect silence.
Nando Parrado was unconscious for three days before he woke to discover that the plane carrying his rugby team, as well as their family members and supporters, to an exhibition game in Chile had crashed somewhere deep in the Andes. He soon learned that many were dead or dying—among them his own mother and sister. Those who remained were stranded on a lifeless glacier at nearly 12,000 feet above sea level, with no supplies and no means of summoning help. They struggled to endure freezing temperatures, deadly avalanches, and then the devastating news that the search for them had been called off.
As time passed and Nando’s thoughts turned increasingly to his father, who he knew must be consumed with grief, Nando resolved that he must get home or die trying. He would challenge the Andes, even though he was certain the effort would kill him, telling himself that even if he failed he would die that much closer to his father. It was a desperate decision, but it was also his only chance. So Nando, an ordinary young man with no disposition for leadership or heroism, led an expedition up the treacherous slopes of a snow-capped mountain and across forty-five miles of frozen wilderness in an attempt to find help.
Thirty years after the disaster Nando tells his story with remarkable candor and depth of feeling. Miracle in the Andes—a first person account of the crash and its aftermath—is more than a riveting tale of true-life adventure: it is a revealing look at life at the edge of death and a meditation on the limitless redemptive power of love.
Customer Reviews:
EXCELLENT STORY.......2007-09-11
Must read for anyone who has climbed in the mountains and a must not read for anyone going to climb in the snow or fly ain a plane over the Andes. Scary and heroic and entertaining all at the same time. You won't believe the story unless you read it straight from a survivor. Not only a survivor, but THE survivor who walked more than 70 miles with one other person until they reached help. 72 days in the Andes, thats the only fact you need to know to want to open this book and read it.
Easy read that takes no time to read. Highly suggested
Miracle in the Andes.......2007-08-08
An inspirational and rivetting book. Well worth a read to jog you out of everyday mundanity. Maybe you should always take a few blocks of choccy in your carry on luggage!!
"Even in this place, ours lives are worth living".......2007-07-24
Readers will wonder what Nando Parrado has to say that wasn't already said in Piers Paul Read's masterpiece, "Alive." Even Parrado expresses his doubts that he can add something to Read's tale (he says Read told the story "masterfully"). But, behold a new masterpiece: Parrado and co-author Vince Rause have created a stirring, compelling piece of work.
Whereas Read's work is a facts-based recounting of the events, Parrado and Rause put you inside the head of the pivotal protagonist, the survivor most committed to striking out on an expedition. We see his commitment ("I tell myself that each step takes me closer to my father"), his fears, his horror at losing two family members at the crash site. Amazing stuff, shaped into powerful, declarative language by Rause. The text is crisp, sharp and fast moving. Rause captures Parrado's voice.
It's estimated that Parrado and fellow expeditionary Roberto Canessa traveled some 45 miles before running into a peasant herder tending to his flocks. That's 45 of the hardest miles imaginable. So hard, in fact, that the rescuers ask Parrado - as they ready to scale a 13,000 ft peak via helicopter - "Are you sure you understand this map?" They're simply incredulous (rightfully so) that these two had crossed the high Andes on foot ("Impossible!"). But, indeed they had. It's mind-boggling...a trip that has to rank in the annals with Shackleton's journey across the seas in a skiff back to South Georgia.
Alive revisited: Uraguayan rugby teammates struggle seventy-two days to survive a plane crash in the Andes.......2007-06-19
Those who read Alive, published in 1975, probably remember most: plane crash, Andes, cannibalism (not necessarily in that order). Crash survivor Nando Parrado's attempt to revisit the harrowing, desperate situation and retell the story of forty-five people on an intended 3.5 hour trip from Uraguay to Chile that went bad, reads amazingly well. So much so, and seamlessly, that it seems the co-writer, Vince Rause, deserves more than the second billing he was given; his name printed in tiny font below Parrado's on the cover. With a bit of background, excellent descriptions of the goings on up to, during, and after the crash, the fight for survival, a devastating avalanche, and the attempts to hike out, Parrado and Rause have done more than one might expect. Three criticisms: Parrado's contention that he agreed to participate in a hike for help even though he knew it was futile; the awkward though somewhat logical interchangeable use of "my father" and "Seler" (his dad's name); and the word "miracle" used in the title, considering Parrado's account sounds neutral to negative on the concept of religion and divine intervention. His description of the first inkling of a seemingly obvious food source, "My gaze fell on the slowly healing leg wound of a boy lying near me," [page 95] is haunting. Sensational but new (to me), the "meat" consumed by the survivors ultimately included the organs after the supply of muscle was exhausted. Dreams of his father, having lost certain family members during the ordeal, kept him going and the strong spirit of teamwork amongst the close-knit rugby players helped them achieve victory over the overwhelming obstacles they encountered. Sadly, the pilots, reluctant to continue on to the intended destination during a storm which had earlier forced them to land in Argentina, were prodded into their fateful decision by the vacation-hungry fliers and a looming limit on their allowed 24-hours of refuge in the country. One of the best-written books I've read involving an assistant author. Good companion reads: the original - Alive by Piers Paul Read, and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.
Inspirational Book.......2007-06-10
This is a book that ranks alongside Cherry-Goddard's 'Worst Journey in the World'. The outline of the story is well-recounted elsewhere, but I found the spiritual angle of the book fascinating. One remarkable thing is that in spite of the awful outcome for many of the passengers and the unbelievable hardship suffered by the others, for some of the survivors their faith was strengthened, for others it was destroyed. The author states that he considers the arbitrary waste of (a devout) life as evidence for the absence of God, at least a God who "sets one religion above another".
Being so close to death has clearly made Nando much more aware of the importance of life and of the love of friends and family. Nando is obviously extremely close to his father who was obviously an inspiration for him. Reading this book is surely a better way of understanding team work than going on a management jolly whether or not it involves white water rafting.
Amazon.com
Some stories are so enthralling they deserve to be retold generation after generation. The wreck in 1815 of the Connecticut merchant ship, Commerce, and the subsequent ordeal of its crew in the Sahara Desert, is one such story. With Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival, Dean King refreshes the popular nineteenth-century narrative once read and admired by Henry David Thoreau, James Fenimore Cooper, and Abraham Lincoln. King's version, which actually draws from two separate first person accounts of the Commerce's crew, offers a page-turning blend of science, history, and classic adventure. The book begins with a seeming false start: tracing the lives of two merchants from North Africa, Seid and Sidi Hamet, who lose their fortunes—and almost their lives—when their massive camel caravan arrives at a desiccated oasis. King then jumps to the voyage of the Commerce under Captain Riley and his 11-man crew. After stops in New Orleans and Gibraltar, the ship falls off course en route to the Canary Islands and ultimately wrecks at the infamous Cape Bojador. After the men survive the first predations of the nomads on the shore, they meander along the coast looking for a way inland as their supplies dwindle. They subsist for days by drinking their own urine. Eventually, to their horror, they discover that they have come aground on the edge of the Sahara Desert. They submit themselves, with hopes of getting food and water, as slaves to the Oulad Bou Sbaa. After days of abuse, they are bought by Hamet, who, after his own experiences with his failed caravan (described at the novels opening), sympathizes with the plight of the crew. Together, they set off on a hellish journey across the desert to collect a bounty for Hamet in Swearah. King embellishes this compelling narrative throughout with scientific and historical material explaining the origins of the camel, the market for English and American slaves, and the stages of dehydration. He also humanizes the Sahrawi with background on the tribes and on the lives of Hamet and Seid. This material, doled out in sufficient amounts to enrich the story without derailing it makes Skeletons on the Zahara a perfectly entertaining bit of history that feels like a guilty pleasure. --Patrick O'Kelley
Book Description
Some stories are so enthralling they deserve to be retold generation after generation. The wreck in 1815 of the Connecticut merchant ship, Commerce, and the subsequent ordeal of its crew in the Sahara Desert, is one such story. With Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival, Dean King refreshes the popular nineteenth-century narrative once read and admired by Henry David Thoreau, James Fenimore Cooper, and Abraham Lincoln. King's version, which actually draws from two separate first person accounts of the Commerce's crew, offers a page-turning blend of science, history, and classic adventure. The book begins with a seeming false start: tracing the lives of two merchants from North Africa, Seid and Sidi Hamet, who lose their fortunes#151;and almost their lives#151;when their massive camel caravan arrives at a desiccated oasis. King then jumps to the voyage of the Commerce under Captain Riley and his 11-man crew. After stops in New Orleans and Gibraltar, the ship falls off course en route to the Canary Islands and ultimately wrecks at the infamous Cape Bojador. After the men survive the first predations of the nomads on the shore, they meander along the coast looking for a way inland as their supplies dwindle. They subsist for days by drinking their own urine. Eventually, to their horror, they discover that they have come aground on the edge of the Sahara Desert. They submit themselves, with hopes of getting food and water, as slaves to the Oulad Bou Sbaa. After days of abuse, they are bought by Hamet, who, after his own experiences with his failed caravan (described at the novels opening), sympathizes with the plight of the crew. Together, they set off on a hellish journey across the desert to collect a bounty for Hamet in Swearah.King embellishes this compelling narrative throughout with scientific and historical material explaining the origins of the camel, the market for English and American slaves, and the stages of dehydration. He also humanizes the Sahrawi with background on the tribes and on the lives of Hamet and Seid. This material, doled out in sufficient amounts to enrich the story without derailing it makes Skeletons on the Zahara a perfectly entertaining bit of history that feels like a guilty pleasure.--Patrick O'Kelley
Download Description
An incredible story of shipwrecked American sailors sold into slavery in North Africa and dragged through the hellish interior of the Sahara.
Customer Reviews:
A modern retelling of one of the most influential books in U.S. history.......2007-10-09
We read this book for our book club and had the honor of discussing it with the author, Dean King. As someone without any sort of nautical background, I was a bit worried as I started reading that the book was going to be too technical for me, but I quickly got to the point where I didn't want to put it down. The story, which is true and yet reads like a novel, had a certain "Apollo 13" feel to it...it is hard to fathom that so much could go wrong and yet be overcome. Dean King really did his research and was able to verify seemingly unverifiable elements of the story through his own trek on camel - and in some cases on foot - through the Sahara (such as the branding treatment used for illness and the belief that one cannot be hurt if fallen from a camel).
The original manuscript of Captain Riley's has been documented as being one of a handful of books that was influential to Abraham Lincoln. After his own stint as a slave, Riley - a white man - was able to give voice to the inhumanity of slavery here in the U.S. in a way that, at that time, no black man or woman could. Captain Riley's experiences and the telling of his story certainly had an impact on the consciousness of the American people and its leaders. This book brings history alive in a truly thrilling way. I highly recommend reading the footnotes for each chapter and the extra features (like an excerpted interview with the author) included in the paperback version of this book.
Too Much Camel Urine.......2007-09-20
Skeletons of the Zahara certainly has moments of high drama, and the fact that the story is (mostly) true, adds to the sense of adventure and disbelief. And the poor sailors stranded on the Western Shore of Africa could not have been treated much worse than they were. But for me, the retelling of this story suffered from the same monotony as the sailors themselves must have felt. There are lengthy passages of their travels through the desert that are too similar to other lengthy passages of their travels through the desert. This was interspersed occasionally with the graphic depiction of the devouring of an entire camel. I don't really have a weak stomach, but the numerous references to the green goo inside the camel stomach which became the main entree on the menu was a little too much even for me. Then there was the camel urine, which one and all slurped down like a nice chardonnay. Maybe I need to spend more time with the Touareg to get a better feel for things.
One Heck of a Ride.......2007-07-23
This book rips your throat out and stuffs it up your nose!!!!!!!!!
If you think you are tough.....or if you waste your time watching the goofy fake Survival Reality TV shows.......then you need to cleanse your brain with this book......It will show you what a wimp you really are...I do not know anyone who could take for 24 hours what these human beings endured for the extraordinary amount of time they were subject to these conditions from hell......... Dean King did his homework ...from the library to the turf...He actually ventured into this region and DID SOME REAL HOMEWORK
It'll take your breath away.......2007-06-25
Americans shipwrecked in 1815 and held captive by Muslim slavers in the Sahara.
I was considering ordering Sufferings in Africa by James Riley and Robbins' journal: by Archibald Robbins, the two books King based his book on, but after reading this I didn't think I could stomach anymore of their suffering.
The cruelty and ignorance of the arabs/islamist/muslims is stunning. How could and why would anyone be so cruel? If you don't take care of your servants how are they going to be able to continue to serve you?. These arabs were either too dumb to logic that out or just inherently vicious.
Devoured by the Desert.......2007-05-13
This incredible tale captures the true recollections of survivors of shipwreck and enslavement by nomadic Arabs in the western Sahara in 1815. It's a time when the US is striving to assert itself on the world stage. American men seeking to provide for their families willingly take great risk and leave their homeland and find themselves in the Islamic world, stranded and forced to pay a high price to escape. Survival in this world requires enduring constant threat to life and limb. While some of the Arabs are worthy of respect and admirable in their bravery, even the best examples have a moral code that is hard to reconcile with Western values. Equally true is how Islamic values mirror some of the best and worst of Western values (slavery, cruelty for economic profit, strong familial bonds, communal coherance in a time of threat, and dissonance in a time of abundance). While the story of Captain Riley and his fellow American sailors may stand as one of the world's great survival tales, it is enriched by moral themes relevant to today's world experience.
Book Description
In the tradition of The Perfect Storm and Flags of Our Fathers, Halsey’s Typhoon chronicles the epic tale of men clashing against the ruthless forces of war and nature. In December 1944, America’s most popular and colorful naval hero, Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, unwittingly sailed his undefeated Pacific Fleet into the teeth of the most powerful storm on earth. Three destroyers were capsized sending hundreds of sailors and officers into the raging, shark infested waters. Over the next sixty hours, small bands of survivors fought seventy-foot waves, exhaustion, and dehydration to await rescue at the hands of the courageous Lt. Com. Henry Lee Plage, who, defying orders, sailed his tiny destroyer escort USS Tabberer through 150 mph winds to reach the lost men. Thanks to documents that have been declassified after sixty years and dozens of first-hand accounts from survivors—including former President Gerald Ford—one of the greatest World War II stories, and a riveting tale of survival at sea, can finally be told.
Customer Reviews:
Halsey's Typhoon.......2007-09-30
Outstanding!! Best WW2 historial book I have ever read. Wonderful background info on key issues and people
"Sea Cobra" wins.......2007-08-21
"Halsey's Typhoon": earned one star for the awesome photos of future Prsident Gerald Ford skying for the basketball on the basketball court and
Commander Henry Lee Plage of the USS Tabberer looking three times cooler than Fonzie and John Wayne put together. He proved in action to be three times the hero that he looked.
"Halsey's Typhoon": earned three negative stars for a boring start, middle and end as well as talking down to the reader (constantly using words that had to be looked up and when I looked them up the results were staggering. The words were constantly listed as slang, archaic, obsolete and the meaning didn't even fit the sentence!!!)
"Sea Cobra" by Buckner F. Melton Jr.: covers the same event and earned 4.5 stars. It was extremely user friendly and made the story come to life. You felt like you were with the sailors fighting Typhoon Cobra and Typhoon Viper and Commander's Plage's decision to ignore Halsey's orders and amazingly rescue drowning sailors.
"Sea Cobra": earned .5 negative stars due to lesser photos.
Tragedy and Human Response.......2007-08-17
This is a great book recounting the story of the typhoon in December of 1944 that swept through the Phillipine Sea and sunk three American destroyers costing over the lives of over 700 sailors. The author is very good and not only describing these events, but laying out much of the background that lead to them.
Its important to never forget the old adage that "hindsight is 20/20" in assigning responsibility to other people for their response or lack of response to the events around them. This book provides much food for thought about not only Halsey's Typhoon of 1944, but it can also furnish us guidance about responding to contemporary tragedies. In that sense, its more than just an old World War II story.
Acts of God like hurricanes and typhoons may be beyond our control. However, emergency planning and response may make all the difference in the world. Those who read this book will be struck by the actions of Lieutenant Commander Henry Plage who commanded another destroyer at the time, the U.S.S. Tabor. He was quick to respond to the catastrophe and using skills of superior seamanship rescued dozens of drowning sailors from the ocean. Plage couldn't have done it without a well trained crew and understanding the fine art of sailing in seas with waves and swells as high as 100 feet.
Another example of response to this catastrophe took place on board an aircraft carrier, the U.S.S Monterrey. This ship had caught fire after airplanes were flung about their hangars and ruptured gasoline tanks started an inferno. The situation became so bad, an order was given to abandon ship. The crew decided though that they could save the Monterrey and they proceeded to do so by fighting the fire in a very thought out manner. The Monterrey was saved by its dedicated and competent crew.
Old ships that were top heavy capsized in the hurricane. New ships that were designed to ride out bad weather survived the storm.
Its a very interesting book that gives us much to think about.
A compelling story marred by errors and style.......2007-08-01
Halsey's Typhoon is a World War II disaster-survival tale about Typhoon Cobra enveloping the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet, commanded by Admiral William F. (Bull) Halsey, in the Philippine Sea in December 1944.
The best part of the book, by far, is the second half. Participants, primarily surviving crew members of the three sunken destroyers or the destroyer escort Tabberer which rescued 60% of the survivors despite its own severe damage, relate their experiences during the storm, floating in the water for 24-48 hours, being rescued and recovering These survivors' and rescuers' tales, related recently to the authors by a handful of remaining veterans, are informative, frightening, fascinating, memorable and inspiring. I'm glad their firsthand experiences, even in part, have been published.
Unfortunately, apart from the survivors' personal narratives, this book's deficiencies are many. The authors seem to have relatively little knowledge of either the Navy or World War II, with misused terms and questionable characterization events being too numerous to itemize. Examples include referring to the flag flown at the bow of a naval vessel as a "battle guideon" (an Army term for what the Navy calls a battle jack); calling a ship's mess deck its mess hall; repeatedly referring USS Monaghan as having "drawn first blood" when it sank a Japanese mini-sub inside Pearl Harbor thirty minutes after the attack started whereas it is widely acknowledged that USS Ward sank a Japanese mini-sub outside the entrance of Pearl Harbor before the aerial attack even commenced; describing MacArthur's invasion of Luzon as a "stepping stone" toward Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan itself when it was arguably more of a strategic distraction from Nimitz's Central Pacific island hopping campaign through Guadalcanal, Guam, Saipan, etc. that actually established the air bases from which the U.S. directly struck Japan in 1945 and opened the route to Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Also, the book needs serious editing to eliminate wordiness, inconsistencies (e.g., ascribing different ranks or titles to the same people within the scope of a few days) and questionable or obscure metaphors. For instance, does it make sense to describe Halsey's belated decision to allow his command to break formation in order for individual captains to concentrate on the safety of their ships to being like "Mrs. O'Leary reporting her cow missing?" The authors' wordiness and commitment of space to irrelevant biographical details or wartime events may have been a way to deal with the fact that a concise rendition of their most original and compelling material would have filled perhaps just half as many pages.
Finally, apart from the sunken destroyers and their principal rescuing vessel, former-President Ford's experiences on the USS Monterey and descriptions of near-disaster on the USS Aylwin, there are few details about what happened to any of the other vessels during the typhoon. Finally, there is nothing whatsoever about how the typhoon affected the war effort. How long did it take before the damaged Third Fleet was again combat ready? What impact did the loss of Third Fleet air cover have on the Army's Mindoro campaign, which was the reason Halsey was so reluctant to release his ships from formation? The world wants to know...
The book's three sections - The Fleet, the Storm and The Rescue - are divided into twenty-five unnamed chapters that total 266 pages. An Epilogue (immediate post-storm events), Afterword 2006 (post-WWII careers of some figures in the narrative), four-page bibliography, an index and miscellaneous addendums bring the page count to 322. Twenty-eight B&W photos illustrate some of the key characters and ships and endpaper charts depict locations relative to the typhoon track. There are no footnotes.
Recommended to naval history and WWII buffs, survival/adventure tale fans or anyone who lost a relative at sea during WWII due to the recounting of individual veterans' experiences. Not recommended to people seeking information about WWII campaigns and strategies or those seeking tightly composed nonfiction prose.
Not An Untold Story.......2007-07-29
This is not an untold story of the war, rather it has been told for years. Morrison has it in his HISTORY OF NAVAL OPERATION IN WORLD WAR II. Halsey's meteorologist wrote a book of almost exactly the same title 40 years ago.
The writing is not very good. It could have used more polishing and another draft, but my guess is that they were rushing to get it to press because another publisher had a book on exactly the same subject (SEA COBRA) coming out, and they wanted to get in first.
No footnotes or attribution. The bibliography is not that extensive. There is only a single map. More would have been very helpful in following the action -- repeatedly i had to try and figure out the navigation to figure out exactly which turn they were talking about. A mpa showing the ship dispossession within the fleet would have been invaluable.
The authors allow their oral history interviewees to settle old scores. Any officer who ever corrected them gets paid back here. Its true -- history gets written by survivors.
Interestingly, another phenomena of the war is described here -- it was common for ships to sail and have maybe 5% of the crew miss movement. "greatest Generation" and all that, but that alos meant the greatest amount of skulker. Unthinkable to have a ship in today's navy depart with that kind of AWOL.
Customer Reviews:
Great Gift!.......2007-08-10
I purchased this book for my daughter to give her friend as a gift. It was given to a young boy turning six, who knows everything about ships especially the Titanic. He loved it! I would definitely purchase again.
great pictures.......2007-08-05
Though a child's book, well illustrated for those interested in this ship and tired of maps.
Only regret, wish it were more illustrated and does not give break down of lifeboat capacity boat by boat though provides overall lifeboat and passenger capacity.
Inside the Titanic: A Giant Cut-away Book.......2007-04-01
I bought this book for my grandson's 7th birthday. He is into everything Titanic. He loves it.
Big book for small Titanic fans!!.......2007-01-21
I purchased this book for my 4 and a half-year-old son, which is now fascinated by all things Titanic. I felt the tragic nature of the story; the excessive text of most books and the content of the movies were not suitable for kids. When I found this book I knew it would be just right for a him.
The size of the book was the first thing that amazed my son. Then he was impressed with the dominant artwork inside. Marschall's illustrations are simply wonderful. He's indeed a great artist and an expert when it comes to the Titanic. The book illustrates the great ship, its interiors and it's ultimate demise as it follows the story of two real-life children that were aboard the Titanic on her maiden voyage.
My son was so excited after we finished the book that he insisted to take it to school where his teacher had a reading for the whole class.
great pictures.. facts.. and even a story.......2007-01-20
My 4 year old son got this book from his Nana for Christmas. He wants to read it every night. It is filled with great pictures, including a huge 4 page fold out. The pictures are colorful and very detailed. It is also filled with great facts, and even a story. Couldn't ask for a better book on the Titanic.
Book Description
The Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie away to the decks of that ill-fated ship, the Titanic. There they must help two children find their way to a lifeboat--all while they are in danger of becoming victims of that tragic night themselves.
Customer Reviews:
Good Book.......2007-06-11
I purchased this book in order to replace a damaged one. The transaction was smooth and the price was great!
Fantastic Titanic - Joe Third Grader.......2007-05-02
Magic Tree House has done it again!! Jack and Annie are in for the adventure of their lives when they climb aboard the Titanic!! An unsinkable ship that hits an iceberg. What will Jack and Annie do when they dicover that the Titanic needed twice as many life boats as it had on deck?Jack and Annie find themselves just as sad as so many passengers when they realize that people could have survived if the people who planned the voyage had thought ahead. This is an amazing story that I couldn't stop reading! Women and children were put into the lifeboats first becuase men were brave and cared about their lives. More than 1,500 people lost their lives. Everything was explained clearly so that you don't get confused. After this tragedy, laws were made so that all ships would have enough life boats for all of its passengers and an INternational Ice Patrol was formed so that ships could be warned about severe ice conditions. In 1985 a scienctist named Dr. Robert Ballard discovered the ship under water. I reccommend this book to everyone that I know!!
Magic Tree House.......2007-03-19
Here is a summery of this book. There is two kids and they were playing in the woods when they found a tree house. So the kids decided to see in side. So read this book to find out what happens to the kids. The way I found out about this book is because my mom told me to read a book when I was in 5th grade. So I heard about this wonderful series of books. I would love to recommend you to read this book. Who can read this book you ask! Anybody can read this book. If they like to explore then you should read this book.
What did I like this book you ask! The thing I liked was the characters because they are young and they don't know what was going on. They are always getting in trouble and they don't know why they are in trouble. I also like the action in this book. There are so many parts. I don't know how to explain. There are some parts I don't like is the length of the book. It is to short.
I loved this book a lot because it is nice and cool. I really think you should read this book. So read this book.
MY BOY LOVES READING.......2007-01-07
My 1st grader hates to put it down, he would rather read Magic Tree House books, than play video games. He even reads them to his class and explains the story for show and tell. In his kindergarten class the teacher would also let him read the Magic Tree House books out loud, not to give her a break, but to promote reading out loud. Great books!
Invites youngsters into active history.......2006-12-24
From the band playing to the life boats and many details in between, the author mixes actual historical fact with age appropriate fictional interest. My first grade son and I read this and now we're researching the grand ballroom because its now interesting to him.... great series!
Amazon.com
On July 26, 1945, the heavy cruiser Indianapolis steamed into port at the Pacific island of Tinian, carrying a cargo that would end World War II: the uranium that would be dropped on Hiroshima just three weeks later. Having delivered its load without incident, Indianapolis moved on toward the Philippines to join the great armada moving in on Japan. Though intelligence reports assured Captain Charles McVay that the route from Guam to Leyte was safe, there were Japanese submarines active in the area. On the night of July 29, having detected with sonar the clinking of dishes aboard the Indianapolis from a distance of more than a dozen miles, the submarine I-58 sank the American ship, killing nearly 900 sailors in the explosion and its terrible aftermath.
Captain McVay was quickly court-martialed for having failed to follow evasive maneuvers, "the first captain in the history of the U.S. Navy," Doug Stanton observes, "to be court-martialed subsequent to losing his ship in an act of war." Although the sailors under his command would insist that McVay had been scapegoated, and although I-58's commander testified before the court that "he would have sunk the Indianapolis no matter what course she was on," McVay was never able to clear his name. He committed suicide in 1968.
Stanton captures the drama of these events in his vigorous narrative, which augments and updates Richard Newcomb's Abandon Ship!. Stanton observes that although McVay was exonerated by an act of Congress in 2000, the conviction still stands in Navy records. Stanton's book makes a powerful case for why that conviction should be overturned, and why the captain and crew of the Indianapolis deserve honor. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine. An estimated three hundred men were killed upon impact; close to nine hundred sailors were cast into the Pacific Ocean, where they struggled to stay alive, battered by a savage sea and fighting off sharks, hypothermia, and dementia. By the time help arrived-nearly four days and nights later-all but 317 men had died. How did the navy fail to realize the Indianapolis was missing? Why was the cruiser traveling unescorted in enemy waters? And how did these 317 men manage to survive? Interweaving the stories of three survivors-the captain, the ship's doctor, and a young marine-journalist Doug Stanton has brought this astonishing human drama to life in a narrative that is at once immediate and timeless. The definitive account of this harrowing chapter of World War II history-already a bestseller in its hardcover and mass market editions-In Harm's Way is a classic tale of war, survival, and extraordinary courage.
Customer Reviews:
IN HARM'S WAY.......2007-10-09
My husband was given this book and after he read it I couldn't put it down, I was mesmerized by the book and the writing and all the things we haven't heard about this particular incident in World War II....I have now bought two more books to give as presents for Xmas and another three books will be purchased for my son in laws and son to keep and read and pass on to their friends. Don't miss reading this one....Doug Stanton gave me the chance to read and visualize every heartbreaking moment in the life of the men that served on the USS Indianapolis...Its not just for men, ladies just pick it up and see for yourself. Barb Frick
The Best book I Ever Read!!!.......2007-08-29
Hands down, this is the best book I have ever read. Not just military books, but of all books. Incredible story.
good study of human behavior in a disaster.......2007-08-29
I've heard about the Indianapolis for a long time (I guess from Quint's monologue in Jaws -- you can esily find it on you-tube). I read about Duncan Scott's late 90s episode to raise the attention of the Indianapolis before congress (Captain McVay was the only commanding officer who was court-martialed after losing his ship in an act of war).
The Indianapolis raised across the Pacific to deliver "Little Boy" to Tinaian Island before it was dropped on Hiroshima. Then it left to go to Leyte. This was a huge ship -- more than a thousand men. It was sunk by a Japanese sub -- but the Navy lost track of it (with all the ships arriving all over the world, orders were NOT to announce the arrival of a ship. But the corollary is people followed this order to NOT announce ships which DIDN'T arrive on time. Or tommorrow. Or tomorrow.
What happened after the sinking (the ship went down in minutes) was most of the crew was dumped into the ocean. And most succumbed to combination of drinking salt water (which kills you), exposure, drowning and sharks. I wasn't aware that life vests lost buoyancy after several days of use.
Another amazing thing is they got off a distress call, but the protocol was the receiver had to query the sender. There was no time for this. So the distress calls were ignored.
It was a comedy of errors for the way the Navy handled this. Since there was still a war going on, there was no news about this (I checked the archive of the NY Times -- much more about the court marshall than the event).
Since I read the book several weeks ago, there's been a number of mentions on TV of the indianapolis. Its a story you won't easily forget.
Finished it before husband did..........2007-08-12
I bought this book originally for my husbands birthday when it was first published. He was too busy to get to it so this summer I made him take it on vacation with us so he could read it. He started it and then told me some details about the book. My curiosity was immediately peaked so I stole the book and read the darn thing in a day and a half! I was mesmerized, shocked, angered and sad, sometimes all in the same chapter. And he STILL hasn't finished it! (Although his work schedule does slow things down abit, but still.) If this can happen back then, heaven only knows what may lie in wait now...
used for school.......2007-05-14
This went to my granddaughter for school and she was more than happy to get it in time for studies and it was in good shape.
Amazon.com
The facts speak for themselves. In 1857, the Central America, a sidewheel steamer ferrying passengers fresh from the gold rush of California to New York and laden with 21 tons of California gold, encountered a severe storm off the Carolina coast and sank, carrying more than 400 passengers and all her cargo down with her. She then sat for 132 years, 200 miles offshore and almost two miles below the ocean's surface--a depth at which she was assumed to be unrecoverable--until 1989, when a deep-water research vessel sailed into the harbor at Norfolk, Virginia, fat with salvaged gold coins and bullion estimated to be worth one billion dollars.
Author Gary Kinder wisely lets the story of the Columbus-America Discovery Group, led by maverick scientist and entrepreneur Tommy Thompson, unfold without hyperbole. Kinder interweaves the tale of the Central America and her passengers and crew with Thompson's own story of growing up landlocked in Ohio, an irrepressible tinkerer and explorer even in his childhood days, and his progress to adulthood as a young man who always had "7 to 14" projects on the table or spinning in his head at any given moment. One of those projects would become the preposterous recovery of the stricken steamer, and the resourcefulness and later urgency with which the project would proceed is contrasted poignantly with the Central America's doomed battle in 1857 to stay afloat.
Thompson, who spent nearly a decade planning and organizing his recovery effort, emerges as one of the great unsung adventurers of these times (the technical innovations alone required for such a task produced a windfall for the scientific community and defined a new state of the art for deep-sea explorers and treasure hunters), and the story of the steamer's sinking is compelling enough to make any reader wonder why the Central America sinking isn't synonymous with shipwreck in this Titanic-happy age. --Tjames Madison
Book Description
"White knuckle reading...with generous portions of adventure, intrigue, heroism, and high technology interwoven."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review
This enthralling true story of maritime tragedy and visionary science begins with a disaster to rival the sinking of the Titanic.
In September 1857, the S.S. Central America, a side-wheel steamer carrying passengers returning from the gold fields of California, went down during a hurricane off the Carolina coast. More than 400 men--and 21 tons of gold--were lost. In the 1980s, a maverick engineer named Tommy Thompson set out to find the wreck and salvage its treasure from the ocean floor.
With knuckle-biting suspense, Gary Kinder reconstructs the terror of the Central America's last days, when passengers bailed freezing water from the hold, then chopped the ship's timbers to use as impromptu liferafts. He goes on to chronicle Thompson's epic quest for the lost vessel, an endeavor that drew on the latest strides in oceanography, information theory, and underwater robotics, and that pitted Thompson against hair-raising weather, bloodthirsty sharks, and unscrupulous rivals.
Ship of Gold is a magnificent adventure, filled with heroism, ingenuity, and perseverance.
Customer Reviews:
What an Adventure !.......2007-09-21
This is an appealing book on many levels. 19th century sea adventure, heroes, tradegies, great survival stories, heart stopping excitement, 20th century high tech recovery adventures, interlopers and bottom feeding lawyers and insurance companies, it's got it all. Why 4 stars rather than 5 ? I found it a tad long after they found the boat and began that part of the story. But, that is a small point. Well worth the reader's time.
Ship of Gold is a good story with excellent details about the recovery of the gold........2007-08-28
Ship of Gold is a good story with excellent details about the recovery of the gold.
In my next recovery book I will look for more diving experience. The ROV's do not have the same adventure value as the human diving experience we have on the North Sea but then again the North Sea is maximum 40 meters deep. We don't need ROV's at these depths.
I liked the sonar specialist story and the systematical scanning of the area's with the best values in the probability matrix.
Hands down one of the best book ever! .......2007-08-20
This is by far the best book ever. I have purchased more copies then I can count and I have given it to all of my family members and most of my friends. All of them loved it. Even my mom told it was one of the best books she had ever read. Being she reads a book every two weeks that's a pretty good compliment.
This is a short book, but it takes a long time to read. It's not that it's a hard read; it's just that it's so good you will take your time to read it. Almost like savoring a great wine.
I don't recommend many books, but this one should be on the top of your reading pile. Once you read it you will understand why and I'm willing to bet you will recommend it to all of your friends.
Good modern day treasure hunt.......2007-07-04
I liked the way the author took the reader back and forth from the past to the present. It was interesting to see how much planning and inguenuity it took to accomplish the recovery of the gold. Once the treasure was found, I have to admit to having a mild case of 'gold fever' due to the vivid descriptions provided by G. Kinder. The only reason I didn't give it the full 5 is because of the Tommy (the technical mastermind of the recovery) praising!!!! Alright already, he certainly must walk on water, and if he doesn't, he'll surely invent a way to. Inspite of the Tommy factor, this is a good book.
Also recommended: In the Heart of the Sea
Fantastic Nonfiction.......2006-12-28
When the Central America sank in 1857 she took 21 tons of gold and more than 400 souls to the bottom of the sea, including one of my ancestors. Kinder's incredible book weaves the tale of the shipwreck together with the story of the thrilling recovery more than 130 years later.
Ship of Gold is a fantastic book from historic and scientific perspectives. If you read this book, you will gain new insights about the Gold Rush and 19th-century sea travel; better yet, you will be amazed by the technological and biological advancements which were a direct consequence of Tommy Thompson's recovery.
I read Ship of Gold to fill in the details of an old family legend. I was pleased to discover a truly amazing work of nonfiction.
Average customer rating:
- WORTH READING AGAIN
- Very long winded.
- A Nice Ride
- Emotionally gripping; excellent plot - another solid Koontz work
- High level suspense with a surprise end
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Sole Survivor
Dean Koontz
Manufacturer: Knopf
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0679425268
Release Date: 1997-01-29 |
Amazon.com
Joe Carpenter, the hero of Dean Koontz's newest novel, Sole Survivor, is a man nearly paralyzed by grief. One year earlier, his wife and two children had been among the 230 victims of a plane crash that left no survivors. So when Joe encounters a woman who claims to have been aboard that plane and survived the catastrophe, and then she almost immediately disappears, he is understandably riled up. In the course of trying to track this woman down, Joe finds himself entangled in a web of shadowy conspiracy and perilous secrets.
In this latest book, Koontz pumps up the volume and gives his readers what they've come to expect from him: an expert mix of cover ups, cults, bizarre suicides, and a shocking twist at the end that keeps Sole Survivor racing along from one improbable but undeniably thrilling event to the next.
Book Description
A catastrophic, unexplainable plane crash leaves three hundred and thirty dead— no survivors. Among the victims are the wife and two daughters of Joe Carpenter, a Los Angeles Post crime reporter.
A year after the crash, still gripped by an almost paralyzing grief, Joe encounters a woman named Rose, who claims to have survived the crash. She holds out the possibility of a secret that will bring Joe peace of mind. But before he can ask any questions, she slips away.
Driven now by rage (have the authorities withheld information?) and a hope almost as unbearable as his grief (if there is one survivor, are there others?), Joe sets out to find the mysterious woman. His search immediately leads him into the path of a powerful and shadowy organization hell-bent on stopping Rose before she can reveal what she knows about the crash.
Sole Survivor unfolds at a heart-stopping pace, as a desperate chase and a shattering emotional odyssey lead Joe to a truth that will force him to reassess everything he thought he knew about life and death—a truth that, given the chance, will rock the world and redefine the destiny of humanity.
Customer Reviews:
WORTH READING AGAIN.......2007-10-09
I absolutely loved this book. Its so suspenseful. I was stuck on this book and could not put it down. I loved it i can't believe some people did not enjoy it. I would read this book again.As soon as I forget what it was about.Although it still wouldn't be as great as the first time
Very long winded........2007-09-04
My wife and I enjoy listening to CD books when we travel. Well I made a big mistake when I purchased this long winded waste of time. I think the author must subscribe to "Metaphors Monthly" because this book is chock full of tireless metaphors many of which are so lengthy I lost track of what it was related to. There are ten disks in the set and it could have been abridged down to four.
A Nice Ride.......2007-08-07
Dean Koontz is probably best known as a "horror" writer because of all the years that he went toe-to-toe with Stephen King during which the two of them seemed so easily to dominate that particular genre. But with novels like Sole Survivor, which I "read" in audio book format, Koontz has shown that he is also capable of writing a first class thriller.
Joe Carpenter, on the first anniversary of the deaths of his wife and two little girls in a devastating plane crash, is a broken man. He finds himself unable to go back to his newspaper job and living in a garage apartment while hoping for death to mercifully take him. But for reasons that he cannot fully explain to himself, suicide is one option that he has considered and rejected. He prefers to slowly starve himself to death while continuing to grieve at a level that never seems to lessen.
When Joe is finally able to force himself to his family's grave site that day his life takes a sudden turn that is to change it forever because of the stranger who is taking a picture of the headstones as he arrives. Rose, the tiny black woman with the camera, tells him that she was on the flight that killed his family and that, when she is better prepared, she has something to tell him about the crash. Before she can say more she is forced to run for her life from the two gunmen who suddenly rush the graves, and Joe finds himself sucked into a mysterious plot to hush up the truth about the plane crash that claimed the lives of 230 people.
Joe soon comes to the realization that his life is in danger from the same people who chased Rose from the cemetery, but because Rose has gifted him with the reason to live that he didn't have after losing his family, he is determined to find her and to get the answers that she has promised him. He still has the skills of the newspaper reporter that he had been before the plane crash, and over the next few days he comes to believe that Rose really did what seems to be the impossible by walking away from the horrible crash that so completely destroyed the bodies of all on board the plane that day.
Dare he hope for other survivors? Why does someone want to kill everyone who comes into contact with Rose? Who is behind the conspiracy to keep the truth about that fatal flight hidden and is the government involved? Joe only knows that, if he is to survive his brush with Rose, he has to find the answers to those questions, and he has to find them soon.
Sole Survivor is an excellently paced thriller, one that keeps the reader guessing along with Joe as he tries to unravel the mystery that has claimed the lives of his family. We feel some of the same emotions that he feels as his bewilderment morphs from hope to despair, and back to hope, while he fights both for survival and a reason to live the rest of his life. David Birney, reader of the audio book, does a good job expressing the various emotions that Joe Carpenter experiences during the course of this story and his reading style adds to the high level of suspense and mystery that builds all the way toward what proves to be the novel's satisfying ending.
Emotionally gripping; excellent plot - another solid Koontz work.......2007-05-26
One of the knocks against Dean Koontz is that many of his novels share too many similarities - the abundant bougainvilleas, frequent hip bumping, intelligent dogs, sadistic academics, children wise beyond their years, etc. With SOLE SURVIVOR, Koontz breaks out of his traditional mold and delivers an emotionally gripping tale of a man who cannot come to grips with his wife and daughter's fatal plane crash. When a woman reaches out to him, implying that something about the plane crash and the subsequent deaths of many surviving loved ones is suspect, fast-paced action ensues. I have read around a dozen Koontz books, and for the most part, they have varied in quality with an inverse relationship to the prevalence of supernatural elements within their pages, and SOLE SURVIVOR is no exception. The supernatural aspects are kept to a minimum, and when they're included, they sully the story (in my opinion, of course). Nevertheless, this is definitely one of the better Koontz books I've read.
High level suspense with a surprise end.......2007-05-18
This book opens with the sad tale of Joe Carpenter, devoted husband and father, in a deep depression after losing his wife and two daughters in a catastrophic plane crash. His misery is so well rendered and so realistic, it could make you cry.
On the one year anniversary of the crash Joe goes to visit the cemetery where the remains of his wife and daughters are buried. He is surprised by a visit from a stranger who is photographing the grave marker and then by armed assassins who go after that stranger to kill her.
From there this book takes off at breakneck speed with all the suspense of a spy thriller. It will keep you glued to the edge of your seat. It also blends classic Koontz fantasy in the last quarter of the book. It is all done so well that you can suspend belief long enough to enjoy a truly terrific read.
I highly recommend this book! In the event that you would like to try another Koontz classic - read Lightening, my personal favorite.
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