Author: RE McDermott, $4.95 E
There is no better nautical thriller in bookstores today than Deadly Coast. I’m not being cheeky about this being an ebook (I presume Mr. McDermott will offer a softcover in the near future). I mean this is the best nautical thriller author writing today. And this is his second book. He started out great with Deadly Straits and just keeps getting better.
Being a native of the desert, I’m not one to judge the minutia of nautical stories. I’ll leave that to those who like arguing their ports and starboards, lee and windwards (there, exhausted my nautical vocabulary). I like a great thriller. And the fact that this one takes place on the high seas usually dissuades me from reading such foreign stories. However, I learned from his first book that Mr. McDermott can put any reader on any type of ship, slip us gently out to sea, and show us a thrilling time.
In the first book, Deadly Straits, the action was non-stop and the threats frighteningly real. In this book, we readers get all that and we’re treated to more depth of character. Not only is our favorite Russian, Major Andrei Borgdanov back from the first adventure, but so are our favorite heroes, Dugan, Arnett, and Milam. While these people are warm, friendly and familiar, the author shows his genius at the craft of writing with an incredibly deep and complex Japanese scientist. You’ll know him when you read him.
Villains are the key to any thriller. In Deadly Coast, there are more villains than you can shake a stick at. Not only are they well drawn, but there are different factions whose interrelations are equally well drawn. Anyone who reads the news is peripherally aware of the Somali pirate problem. Most of us think, as I often do, why don’t we just send in Seal Team 6 and wipe them out? Mr. McDermott takes us into the complex world of pirate clans, warlords, tribes, and the terrorists who swim around them. He gives us a well-researched, knowledgeable look at the problem from inside the pirate clans. In a very realistic view of the inner workings of the Somali coast, we begin to understand the extent of the issues involved.
Layered on top of those villains are the ultimate villains, the terrorists. Again, Mr. McDermott takes us inside a tight-knit group of fundamentalists who, at their core, are just as greedy as anyone else. As is the case with terrorists, their greed is for a different kind of recognition. He treats these terrorists with the contempt they deserve and makes sure they get what’s coming to them. Even though it’s too good for them. Mr McDermott’s appreciation for Islam is evident and respectful, and makes a clean break where the terrorists take it too literally. He even includes a scene similar to the one we know all suicidal jihadis live through at some point; something along the lines of: Aren’t you coming with me, dear leader?
The core characters, Dugan and his crew of merchant sailors turn in another admirable performance. Their actions in the face of adversity are realistically heroic tempered with moments of abject fear and the good idea gone awry. The solutions to problems encountered are clever and realistic. That is, as far as I know, because everything I know about oil tankers I learned on Myth Busters. Or was it the Science Channel? In any case, the math works.
The story centers around one too many ships hijacked off the Somali coast. This time the ship’s owners are fed up with government red tape and decide to do something about it. In the process, we learn about the loose registration involved in international shipping, the considerably lackluster efforts some countries go to in combating piracy, and the conditions that allow piracy to flourish. I am not an expert in these matters, but I feel a good deal better educated about them having read this book.
Mr. McDermott includes a section called “Facts Behind the Fiction”. Some facts were factually historical and we readers intuit those passages as we read. Some of the most outlandish and obviously fictional show up under facts at the end. One outrageous scene in particular involves a submarine toilet. I’m not going to spoil it for you, I’m just telling you to watch for it. I burst out laughing. But it’s not what you think. Read it.
If you like thrillers of any kind, you will love this book. If you like nautical thrillers in particular, you will really love this book. If you like Cussler, Clancy, or Connelly, you will love this book.
This one is not only worth reading, but worth buying in quantity to give as gifts.
Peace, Seeley James
Special NOTE: Stories about the many fake, sock-puppet, or straw-man reviews have been making the news lately. MY REVIEWS ARE MY REACTIONS TO THE BOOKS I’VE READ. I have no relationship, financial or familial, with the authors. I do not expect, but would not refuse, any reciprocal reviews or recommendations. Just sayin.
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