Destroyermen: Straits of Hell: Destroyermen, Book 10

Fun and exciting. Lots of new and old enemies. This is a fun series of books about hero’s and their everyday lives during this world war. A lot of new story lines have been woven to replace the closing lines.Series like this can go on forever and if you continue on only with this story, you miss so many more. So, I have decided to lay this story aside while I explore other authors and their tales. Rest assured that I will return to find out what new trouble Silva gets into, what remarkable discoveries Mr Bradford turns up and what new adventure awaits Matthew Reddy, Orin Reddy and the Destroyermen and Aviators of the new Union, not yet named.

Absolutely the BEST Alternative History/Reality series this side of reality!!! Taylor Anderson hits it out of the park....AGAINAs a writer myself, I can appreciate the labor that goes into constructing a good story. That labor has rightly been characterized as "labor pains" because, as in the case of childbirth, writing is a solitary thing that only the author can do. Taylor Anderson has "given birth" to not just one solitary story, he has birthed an entire universe, and populated it with near-to-real, and very lovable characters that drive the story along to the very last page. That is a very impressive feat! I won't delve into book 10 of the series (no spoilers from me), except to say to those following along, "Sound General Quarters. All hands to actions stations!"The Destroyermen series opens on the first stages of WWII, in the Pacific. Our main characters serve aboard the USS Walker (DD-163), an aging WWI destroyer, and the USS Mahan (DD-102), her sister ship. Both ships are engaged in a running (losing) battle with a massive, and more modern, Japanese battleship, when they are swept into a strange storm that somehow transports them to an alternate Earth. The men and women of Walker and Mahan quickly find themselves in another kind of running battle, that for their survival in a strangely familiar but deadly new world.The Destroyermen series is a wonderful alternate history/fantasy that captures the spirit of American WWII soldiers and sailors. Here there are no cynical criticisms of American foreign policy; no, "We should have done that, instead of this;" but rather an accurate salute to the "CAN DO" attitude that characterized the fighting men and women of the Greatest Generation. Politics are strictly confined to those the characters find themselves in. Taylor Anderson admits to having the author's itch, "What if?" and uses that itch to infect his readers with all the wonders of speculation we had as children. "What if dinosaurs evolved into intelligent beings, along with other species?" "What if humanity wasn't the dominant species on earth?"If you are a fan of good alternate history, are a patriotic American, or just love a good fantasy read, you will love the entire series. Adults and kids alike should find it an imaginative and thrilling ride. One slight caution however: Although it isn't any worse than what you may be exposed to on TV, there is a limited amount of profanity in these stories (they are sailors after all). Children below, say 12, may need to wait on these, but everyone else should dive right in and begin swimming! Aha....just watch out for the "Flashies!"(The Audible version has "WhisperSync", and the narrator, William Dufris, absolutely owns the story and really brings all of the wonderful characters to life. I highly recommend it as a compliment to the book. Believe me, you won't want to stop reading!)I would love to see this series made into a movie series. It's that damned good!Way to go Mr. Anderson.

So as a standalone book this one would likely get 4 stars mostly because half the book was huge battles...and who can really dislike that. I expect the next book wont get anywhere near that though because the plot is frankly bloating completely out of control there are too many characters but I don't really care about that many of them. I expect this is really going to show in the next book when this problem won't be as easily hidden by lots of huge battles because so many major enemies were seriously defeated. The other issue is that the huge number of characters and perspectives is slowing the plot to a snails pace meaning it may be several more books until there are more cool battles by which point I expect everyone will have lost interest. Plus the addition of new enemies means that this series is nowhere near finished and makes the current conflicts feel progressively more meaningless.Also the whole situation is becoming ridiculous the grik somehow keep coming up with armies a hundred thousand strong (how do they even feed them since they don't farm I know they eat each other but they still need huge non-grik food sources.) Plus how in the world are less than 2 million lemurians managing to equip and supply close to a hundred thousand troops across literally half the globe with primitive transport ships. That seems kind of absurd. I don't necessarily want long answers to those questions, but the scale is bloating out of control at a ridiculous rate and starting to strain credulity. Anyway if things don't start changing quickly I for see this series clogging the plot bloat drain in the next 2 installments.

I love the books. I got lucky on this one. The guy who had the bed next to me at the VA hospital left his copy after he was discharged. I picked it up and didn't put it down again ( Except for a EEG test :D ) until I had finished it. By the next day I had all of them downloaded on my tablet.What do I like about them? You have taken people and put them somewhere they would never expect to find themselves. The reactions and watching the characters grow from book to book is fascinating to read. Even in their flaws you find pieces of what they could be and might be as time goes on. The stories move at a brisk pace while not leaving out the context needed to make a story flow. That is more rare than people might think these days.What really makes them good? I just don't read the books. I can be a part of the journey they are taking. I can get lost in the story. It's been fun watching you grow as a writer with each book also and yes you can tell. It's not often I can say each new book is better then the last but in this case I can.So keep them coming and maybe even start a new series. I have room on my tablet for as many as you chose to do. :)

I have to go back to the start of this series and just follow one or two charectors the whole way through, then go back and pick two more to do the same.It's the only way to figure out what the hell is going on, there are so many story arc and so many diverse charectors in this universe that it feels real. Captain Matt reddy is as always the lead with some entertaining primary people like the "mice" and David silva all getting their own stories.If I have to complain about how rich and full the stories are its a good thing. Great series of books and I'm sure they will continue on in to the future. There are new enemies added and new friends found to add to the overall fun

This series, The Destroyermen, is very good indeed. The latest episode is well up to standard with a good plot that is well developed and well written.I hope that when the series ends Taylor Anderson will finish the story well, rounding off all the sub plots. But not for a while yet.

Absolutely brilliant series, carnt think of anything that I don't like in the series. If you like space opera and plenty of action look no more, this is for you.

This in the same vane as the pass books in this saga. Is becoming a bit formulaic, the captain to the rescue. This does not detract from otherwise is a great fun read

Loved the series upto this point. But when i saw the price of the next book i lost all interest in the series. Shame really