Korea Strait (2007)

When we last left our self doubting protagonist, Dan Lenson, the Navy Commander that singlehandedly saves the world a few times, and continually deals with criticisms from his superiors, he was shoreside in The Threat. This time, Poyer gets him back on the ocean in Korea Strait.

As Lenson has lost a few ships along the way, they probably would force him into retirement, but that Medal of Honor that he got back in Black Storm keeps him around. The Navy assigns Lenson to TAG, also known as the "tactical analysis team" that runs wargames, collects data, and then looks at the results to advise the military on how to better utilize the assets (rather plausible, but as far as I can tell the name of the unit is fictitious, but more like this). Lenson ends up in the middle of a wargames involving the South Koreans, the Japanese, the US, and the Australian Navy. He's only a data collector, and has no control of the ship. The test is to practice tracking submarines off of the Korean coast. How much trouble could the guy end up in this time out when he's not even in command of a ship?

Well, if Lenson is involved, quite a bit, but of course it's never really his fault. First, the exercise almost gets canceled when the US sub is almost rammed by the aggressive South Koreans. Then an impending typhoon sends the Japanese and Aussies back home. After riding out the storm (which the author apparently did and inspired the novel), a pack of North Korean subs comes sneaking through the area, and we get a glimpse into what the start of the Korean War, Part II might look like, and how delicately peace is preserved in this region.

Overall, Korea Strait is one really strong novel. Aside from it being well plotted, and going at breakneck speed for a mere 300 pages, it feels like it's considerably longer, and more developed. If it did all that it would still be a good book, but what makes it awesome is that the paragraphs read like poetry. The prose is written in such a way that if you randomly pick a page, the vivid descriptions of the sea, the strong use of action verbs, and the emotions conveyed hardly seem like they would add up to a military thriller. This is the true genius of Korea Strait, and why it gets our highest grade. If you've never read Poyer's work, you should, and Korea Strait may be his best novel so far (there are ten in this series that he refers to as "the tales of the modern navy").

Overall Grade: A+

Reviewed by Jonas

The Threat (2006)

The Threat is the latest novel in David Poyer's series about the modern navy. Poyer is an Annapolis graduate, and served the navy in numerous roles, including at sea on destroyers. With years of service both on active duty, and to allow more time to write, in the reserves, if it involves the navy in some way, Poyer can write about it with the authority that only first hand experience can provide.

These novels are based around Dan Lenson. He has been called a "self doubting protagonist" as he finds himself perpetually in situations that are over his head, and above his rank. Be that as it may, he struggles along, and manages to serve his country despite his nonapproving superiors.

In the previous novel of this series, The Command, Lenson skippers a destroyer that bears the brunt of a nearby nuclear explosion. With his ship glowing in the dark from being contaminated with radiation, he now gets a shoreside assignment. This tour of duty finds him assigned to the White House.

Lenson's first assignment involves antidrug activities. Interestingly, Poyer uses a previous character from his Tiller Galloway diving novels, Nunez ("The Baptist"). Next we find Lenson in the middle of the Bosnian conflict. Finally, Lenson gets assigned to carry "the football," of nuclear launch codes that accompany our President. Frankly, it's a lot of activity for a 305 page novel, but it does keep things from getting dull as the tale proceeds.

While of course this is all fiction, the President is a thinly disguised version of Bill Clinton, womanizing, antimilitary and all that. To make things even worse for Lenson, his marriage is on the rocks, and he suspects his commander-in-chief is involved with his wife.

Along the way, Poyer gives us an inside glimpse into how dysfunctional Washington can be. The self serving politicians, the corrupt lobbyists, and the disgruntled joint chiefs all interweave into The Threat. At times it reads as a cautionary commentary of how too much bureaucracy impedes anything from getting done. It paints our government as an overweight bear that has limited ability to respond to novel and rapidly changing incidents. While we certainly hope this isn't the case, the author has served in the government's upper echelons so it just might be based on something real, or at the very least, plausible.

The Threat reminds me considerably of Poyer's Tomahawk novel, as they both deal with Lenson on a shoreside assignment. It is gritty, with an uncanny ability to get inside the mind of his main character. I can't wait to read, The Admiral, or whatever Poyer writes next.

Overall Grade: A

Reviewed by Jonas

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