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I've been a little out of sorts, the last few weeks. I suffered one catastrophic computer failure and one minor failure, but have finally been able to get things set up and working more-or-less normally. That being said, I've got very little artwork done, lately, because of all the setting up I've been doing and reloading software, etc.
Anyway, it's been a less than fun time, for me. But, I've been reading a lot in my down time and I have a book to recommend. I heard about it from a friend of the author, who was selling me a gun at the time and I was a bit dubious, until I checked out the series. You see, I've seen a lot, and I mean a LOT, of horrendous science fiction with titles like this, so you can understand if I thought I was going to see some Warhammer 40,000 A.D. clone, when I heard the title "Destroyermen". You know, roided-out cyber-warriors who kill everything in their path or something like that?
Technically, "Destroyermen" is the catch-all title for a series of books by Taylor Anderson, he has taught history at Tarleton State University, he's also a gunmaker and has worked as a technical consultant for several movies.
The Destroyermen, of the series, are the men serving on a destroyer. Seems logical, once you make the connection. The destroyer in question finds itself in the meat grinder of the Java sea during the early days of World War Two, enters a squall, and abruptly finds itself somewhere else. Well, not really. It's still in the same region, it's just that things are very different where it ends up. This is an alternative history story, you see, and for the last 65 million years, things have followed a somewhat different path than in our world.
Imagine you've just escaped destruction by the Imperial Japanese Navy, only to find yourself in a world where there are actual sea monsters. And land monsters. But, that's not all. Evolution hasn't stood still for 65 million years.
I don't want to give it all away, so I'll stop describing the events of the story and talk about the excellent writing. Anderson has a way with characters that rivals some of the best known writers in the business. In a few sentences, he is able to give you a feel for the characters and while many of the characters are clearly meant to fill certain adventure/war story archetypes, he manages to play to the cliches and subvert many of them, at the same time. The big bruiser, Silva, who is way smarter than he lets on, is one example.
This is one of those kinds of stories that I think about doing, but never manage to do. I love thinking about how I would get or make the things I'd need to keep going, if I were suddenly cut off from all modern support. It's one of those thought exercises. If I turned this corner and the road just disappeared under me and I was a million years in the past, how could I survive, just using what I've got in the car with me? This story is like that, on a larger scale, involving an entire crew.
There is one (maybe more than one and I just didn't notice it) allusion to Star Trek, where the Captain takes a party across to an "alien" ship, against the advice of his second-in-command. Hey, it is science fiction, after all.
So far, I've only finished the first book, and there are seven more in the series, I think. I expect I'll enjoy them all and you probably will, too. World War Two with dinosaurs, what's not to like?
You can read more about the author at: www.taylorandersonauthor.com
Joe L. Singleton
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