Into the Storm
The dawn of the Destroyermen – an imaginative alternate history saga.
Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the USS Walker – a
Great-War vintage "four-stacker" destroyer – finds itself in full retreat
from pursuit by Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander
Matthew Patrick Reddy, knows that he and his crew are in dire straits.
In desperation, he heads Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover – and emerges somewhere else.
Familiar landmarks appear, but the water teems with monstrous, vicious fish. And there appear to be dinosaurs grazing on the plains of Bali. Gradually Matt and his crew must accept the fact that they are in an alternate world – and they are not alone. Humans have not evolved, but two other species have. And they are at war.
With its steam power and weaponry, the Walker's very existence could alter the balance of power. And for Matt and his crew, who have the means to turn a primitive war into a genocidal Armageddon, one thing becomes clear. They must decide whose side they're on. Because whoever they choose to side with is the winner.
Taylor Anderson
Taylor Anderson is a gun-maker and forensic ballistic archeologist who has been a technical and dialogue consultant for movies and documentaries. He has a Master's Degree in History and teaches at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.
Destroyermen
Destroyermen consists of fifteen books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Related series Artillerymen
Book Reviews
A contemporary battleship being sent back to prehistoric times would have been interesting enough, but making the ship a WWI destroyer that is already failing when pressed into WWII service is a nice touch, and making that prehistoric world an alternate one, populated by a cat-like race at war with a reptilian one, is fantastic. As sea-fairing military thrillers go, this a solid read. I tend to gravitate more towards submarines than destroyers when looking for a naval adventure, but the historical aspect was more than enough to pique my interest. The characters were all nicely developed, with a few standouts that I hope get more page time as the series continues. In terms of world-building, this is more establishing a concept than truly executing on it, but Anderson lays out enough detail to make the story work, and to make you want to keep reading. The clear delineation between the 'good' race and the 'bad' one is a bit simplistic, so I hope he blurs that line a bit in subsequent volumes. I'm really interested to see how the tentative American/Japanese true develops, and would be disappointed if Anderson didn't blur some lines there as well, particularly in terms of alliances with the new races. There's a lot of potential here, and while I'm not sure it can sustain eight books (which is where the series stands today), I'm more than willing to go along for the ride and see how long the fun lasts. It's a book full of ideas that have been done before, but never quite in this manner. As for the writing, it's a bit cold and simplistic to start, but I could feel Anderson becoming more and more comfortable as the book progressed, with bodes well for future volumes.