Fleet Series Books

The human fleets have signed an peace throaty with the cats but has the war really ended? As Jason "Bear" Bodevsy and Ian "Iceman" Hunter face against time to discover the earth's time may have just run out.

Wonderful book I liked the imagery and to find a book that does not strictly go by the plot that the game set out.

What is it about this book that makes you read it over and over. Well the action,humour, a little romance, and the emotion combined with a desperate battle for survival make this book a worth while read. If they only made them like this.

The best of the Wing Commander books. Emotional and exciting, two qualities that i find are missing from books based on previeously created series, like Star Trek or Star Wars. Hunter's death moved me to the point of tears. It didn't take me there entirely but when Admiral Tolwyn cried when they found his nephew, that part drives me over the edge every time I read it. The decriptions of the Battle of Earth are absolutely perfect. Especially when Mike Powolski rams the Kilrathi super carrier with his destroyer. When I read that to my girlfriend, she started sobbing. I recomend this book to anyone who likes a good read. The next Wing Commander movie should be based on this book.

An excellent book providing the reading with non-stop action. This book will keep you on the edge of you seat with surprises around every turn. You will not be sorry that you bought it.

When I read Fleet Action a few months ago I was relatively new to Wing Commander, having only been familiar with WCIII and WCIV and Colonel Christopher Blair. I wasn't too sure I'd like this Jason Bondarevsky guy since I was used to Blair. But I found this book to be one of the best in the series, sticking close to real military facts yet maintaining that brand of science-fiction. And there were some familiar characters from the game like Thrakhath, Tolwyn, and Paladin, so I wasn't totally lost within all these new guys. But in conclusion Fleet Action had all of the action, suspense, drama, etc. I'd expect with the Wing Commander series.

Althougn overshadowed by their American counterparts, British carriers saw widespread service in all theaters of war from 1939 to 1945. The exploits of the Royal Navy crews who manned ships such as HMS Illustrious, HMS Ark Royal and HMS Trumpeter or flew combat in aircraft such as the Swordfish, Albacore, Gladiator, Fulmar, Seafire or Corsair are given the patented Squadron/Signal visual history treatment in this marvelous book written by Ron Mackay.

FLEET AIR ARM is an eye-opening volume when one's previous conception of WWII carrier combat is limited largely to U.S. carrier ops. Royal Navy crews went to war with an incredible collection of aircraft, some of which proved to be aerial duds. It's interesting to read of the achievements of early RN aircrews flying Swordfish, Gladiator and Skua aircraft - dive-bombing attacks against German shipping in Norway, crippling torpedo attacks against the Italian Fleet, etc. When later equipped with modern aircraft such as the Corsair, Hellcat and Avenger, British carriers were an even more formidable force.

Mackay's concise text is complemented by 150 black & white and color photographs and eight pages of color profiles by Don Greer. The color section is really the icing on the cake, featuring profiles of all the aircraft listed above plus Flycatchers, Nimrods, Rocs, Hurricanes, Kingfishers, Barracudas, Walruses and the unbelievably ugly Blackburn Blackburn!

For those looking for an introductory history of British carriers in action, Mackay's book is a great buy. The photographs alone are worth the price.

For those of you who enjoy brilliant character development, intense action sequences and adventurous story telling, look no further than the Sten series. Authors Allan Cole and Chris Bunch transport you to a future where man travels the depths of space with ease, the human Empire spans thousands of light years, and mankind has mastered the ultimate power source: AM2. The Eternal Emperor finds his realm beset by adversaries who seek to gain control of the Imperial AM2 supply. With enemy plots threatening to destroy his empire, the Eternal Emperor turns to Sten and Alex Kilgour to help in the Empire's struggle against the powerful and ruthless Tahn invasion fleet. This novel renders amazing space battle scenes, defines courage and valor in the face of overwhelming odds, and is an excellent chapter in the Sten series. Having read hundreds of titles in my life, the Sten series ranks as one of my favorites of all time and I highly recommend it.

This is a very detailed book on the history of the 1715 fleet. The story is so well written it is hard to set this book down before the ending. In depth historical information and amazing illustration combine to make this a book of dreams, dreams that came true for a few and lost for many. It leaves many more dreams for me...."GOLD FEVER"....

That the author has more than a passing familiarity with World War II aviation is apparent. There are lots of details here about flying and fighting in the Solomon Islands. The air combat scenes, which abound, are reminiscent of the pulp fiction of writers like Arch Whitehouse. In fact, if it weren't for the adult language (which was how the combatants of the Greatest Generation actually spoke) this could have been a graphic novel or something for young adults.

The horror tie-in doesn't occur until almost halfway through the book and the rest of the novel alternates between the war in air against the Japanese and the war on Conquest Island against the man-beasts and the monster of the mountain. Sorry, but it just doesn't work for me. Comparisons between Rainey and H.P. Lovecraft are frequently made and they're probably valid, so if that's what you like, then read this book.

Thanks, Mr. Rainey for the flying scenes and seeing literary tips of the hat to the likes of Tom Blackburn and VF-17, but as for the rest, well, as I said, not for me.

this book was recommended by the magazine g-fan which covers all things godzilla. it's an excellent novel about a fighter squadron on a pacific island during world war 2 with many mysterious happenings including a sub species on the island and a possible monster who lives in a volcano. i'm not usually one for war novels per se, but this was very engaging and quite a page turner and really has a wonderful wrap up with tragic deaths and a wild revelation. if you like things similar to godzilla you might really want to check this out.

I'm not an expert on the Pacific aspect of WWII by any means, but this novel was so well written and so engaging, I was drawn right in and never felt "left behind." The characters were sympathetic and gritty, fighting the enemy they knew and could see and then facing a horrific, supernatural enemy they could only imagine. A great read for readers into WWII military tales as well as those looking for a very creepy horror novel.

I love reading about the WWII era and fighter planes, I also love Sci-Fi, and this book delivers both in healthy doses.

Mr. Rainey conveys his deep passion for fighter combat in a way that draws you into the lives of the pilots and makes you feel as if you are there with them on the island, and on patrol with them in the air.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes Sci-Fi and/or the WWII era, it is absolutely engrossing and enjoyable. A fantastic read.

The year is 1943 and Lieutenant commander Drew McLachlan along with his pilots who are flying in their new F6F-3 Hellcat land on their new base of operations on Conquest Island in the Solomon Island chain in the South Pacific. Their mission is the push the Japanese off Bougainville and the patriotic Navy pilots run many necessary and down many enemy aircraft.

They should feel joyous because they are not losing too many men or planes but conditions on Conquest are slowly deteriorating. The men hear noises in the jungle yet flyover shows no tribe has ever lived there. In the cave where the aviation fuel is stored, a rumbling is heard. Beast men attack the marines and pilots and a monster is seen on top of the mountain. It is getting into the military men's thoughts and Drew believes it is intelligent and evil just like the beast men with their clawed hands, unusual jaw formation and other abnormities but are intelligent and in league with the monster. Between the Japanese attacking the island and the native monsters on it, Drew wonders if any of the men will make it out alive.

This is a horror novel reminiscent of the black and white terror novels of the 1950's. Stephen Mark Raines pays homage to Lovecraft in BLUE DEVIL ISLAND, an action packed thriller that slowly reveals the truth about the beast-men and the monster. The patriotism and courage of the military stationed on the island enables readers to understand why the Greatest Generation enlisted and were willing to die for the ideals their country stands for; the audience hopes they can defeat the enemy from within and without.

Harriet Klausner

I agree with another reviewer that a book of 88 pages is insufficient to do this airplane justice. But given that was all the publisher seems to have given the author, I think Jenkins did a remarkable job of telling the story. Perhaps now that the Tomcat is being phased out of service the publisher will allow a larger, more complete, book to be written.

This book is half-a-dozen years old and just barely touches on the "bombcat" version since it was just being fielded at the time. But otherwise, it goes into sufficient detail on the technology, variants, and history of the airplane to satisfy most anybody. It makes a good addition to any library.

This is your typical Aerofax book, with lots of good details on the history of the Tomcat and many photos showing almost every detail of the airplane. It is a bit light on the operational history, and is also a bit out of date. Nevertheless, it is a bargain for the money. Highly recommended!

Granted the book is limited in its scope since it is only 88 pages long but ,typical of the Aerofax books in general, a lot of information is presented in a readable fashion. There are many photos tracing the aircraft's development and service history. Detail shots are provided in abundance, although perhaps not enough to actually build an F-14 for yourself. Overall this is an excellant book on the Tomcat that provides sufficient information for most enthusiasts.

This book contains just about every technical detail you would ever want to know about the F-14 Tomcat. The book includes a thorough description of the development of the F-14, a brief history of every Tomcat squadron, and covers every variant including those that were never produced. The avionics systems are described as in no other book. The only downsides are that most of the pictures are in black-and-white and it is told in a 3rd person-type point-of-view. For a more personal hands-on book, get "Tomcat! The Grumman F-14 Story." But for technical facts about the F-14 Tomcat, this book can't be beat.

For a book on the fleet defender that is approaching thirty years of service, a book of 88 pages is certainly insufficient. The author has made a good balance of every aspect of the aircraft to condense the materials in order to fit in the limited space. The result is --- a good book for general readers. Scale modellers may be disappointed for its lack of detail shots of different parts of the Tomcat (supplied in abundance in the old Aerofax series) and its lack of scale plans. Warplane enthusiast may not be satisfied by the black and white photos. However, I must commend on the concise unit hishory the detail written descriptions on the different variants.

Limited by its size, it comes second to the "Grumman F-14 Tomcat--Shipborne superfighter" from Aerospace in depth, number of illustrations and drawings; it gives no match to "Tomcat Alley" of Schiffer Publishing Ltd which offers photographic coverage of each unit that has flown the Cat. However, as a book for general reader and justified by its size, it is readable and informative and worths a place in the collection of even Tomcat-freaks.

This is first in a series of really good reads that lays the groundwork for the science and technology in the book. A fan of Star Trek type stuff, I found this right on par if not better than some of the plots that may seem overdone. This book is refreshing. The characters are interesting and the author goes into some detail that gives you a complete picture of who they are.

Excellent book! My husband and I agree this book is a "must read" for all sci-fi fans. It took some unexpected turns and kept me interested throughout. This, along with Mr. Bolton's dry humor, oftentimes when you would least expect it, makes this a most enjoyable book. Although some may find the beginning of the book a little slow, it was necessary to sufficiently acquaint us with Pegasus and her crew. I look forward to seeing how Mr. Bolton continues to develop his intriguing characters in the next installment of the Star Voyager series!

This novel is an excellent start for what I hope is the first of many books in this series. It is a little slow at first due to the character backgrounds which the author has provided to the reader but I think it is well worth the time and energy to learn about the Captain and crew. Once the ship leaves out of dry dock the story really moves along. It has a lot of action and I look forward to reading Mr. Bolton's next novel in this series. Overall it is a fantastic first effort for a new author, especially one that comes from a background in law enforcement and tries his hand at sci-fi! I AM HOOKED!!!!! Bring on the second installment to this series QUICKLY!! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS NOVEL TO ALL SCI-FI FANS!!

I was alittle skeptical at first because Im not a big sci-fi book or movie person but after being pushed by a friend to read this I found myself breezing through it and never putting it down. I cant wait for the next book in the series!

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RLRXQO2Z8UEBQ A Sharpe book is a history lesson in a sugar coated pill! In this short video I discuss who will like Cornwell's books featuring Richard Sharpe and why. Join me! Frank Derfler author of A Glint in Time [...]

Cornwell is a master writer in style, depth of characters, and especially in his meticulous research of the period he is writing about. If learning history was always this much fun, I would have majored in it! Realistic descriptions of the carnage of war may spoil the books for those who cannot bear to look upon its presence through the centuries.

I took out this book from the library because I had read Sharpe's Rifles and Sharpe at Waterloo and had liked both of them. But Sharpe at Trafalgar, you must be kidding! Anyway, Sharpe had to get home from India in 1805, so he ends up at Trafalgar. The book works and I could not stop reading it. Two nights I stayed up til 1:00 am reading this book. Highly recommended for a great fun read.

Only Richard Sharpe could get caught up in a fleet battle on the way home from India and find romance on a Royal Navy line-of-battle ship. But he does, and it's a highly entertaining read.

Sharpe's Trafalgar is set at the conclusion of the trilogy of novels in India in which he obtains some treasure, gets promoted to be an officer after saving the life of General Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington), and deals with the traitor Dodd. Shipping home to join the 95th Rifles, Sharpe initially takes passage on an East Indiaman, and finds an old opponent as one of the passengers. Treachery follows and the ship is captured by the French.

However, as the story is about Sharpe's Trafalgar, we know that he will not remain a prisoner of war for long. And sure enough, after an involved series of events, including the obligatory rescue of a lady in distress, Sharpe and his fellow passengers find themselves guests on a Royal Navy 74 gun ship of the line, chasing a French battleship half-way round the world. Until both ships arrive off Cape Trafalgar on 21st October 1805 ...

As usual Bernard Cornwell has done a great deal of research so that the Napoleonic era battles he describe seem real, and in the historical note at the end he explains that many of the events described during the battle of Trafalgar were based on things which really happened.

The next novel after this in the chronological sequence is "Sharpe's Prey," the main action of which is set two years later in 1807 when Napoleon's continental blockade results in war between Britain and Denmark. That book also tells you what happens to Sharpe's relationship with Grace, the heroine of "Sharpe's Trafalgar".

If you liked the other Sharpe books, you will like this one.

An homage to Patrick O'Brian's "Master and Commander", the series based on the British Navy of the same period. The fan of both will see numerous similarities.

Sharpe's new friend, Captain Joel Chase, is the spitting image of Jack Aubrey. He's a bluff, good-natured fighting captain whose men would follow him through the gates of Hell, and he personally feels the same way about Admiral Lord Nelson. Sound familiar? He rarely flogs erring sailors. He loves his coffee. He pays for extra powder and shot out of his own pocket so that his crew can practice gunnery. And he's loyal to friends like Sharpe, who comes to Chase's rescue during a Bombay brawl with a dishonest merchant who cheated them both.

There are other touches as well. Sharpe's struggle to climb the masts and perhaps avoid using the maintop's "lubber hole" refers to the same running gag about Stephen Maturin, Aubrey's friend and intrepid but without sealegs.

Sharpe, a soldier, doesn't really belong at Trafalgar. But Cornwell contrives a plausible way to get him there, as Sharpe returns to Britain in 1805 to join a rifles regiment. The India books were fun but, after we've seen all those city walls stormed, all those rajahs plundered, and all those hideous Oriental tortures meted out, it's time to move on. Putting Sharpe on a ship, with its backstays and quarterdecks and scuppers pouring blood during battle, is a fine change of pace.

Cornwell's battle detail is typically gripping. And in this book Sharpe finds a romance that, one senses, may be more fateful than those he's had in previous books.

Great images loaded with detail that we can't get anywhere else.
My only question is, what happened to the book that was supposed to come out last year? I'd buy at least one!

The new "Star Trek: Ships of the Line" calendar features outstanding artist renderings of the ships that we have all come to know and respect. The two standouts are: "Tomorrow's Enterprise (NCC-1701-J)," and my personal favorite, "Fleet Museum." Any "Star Trek" fan will not want to miss owning this 2005 calendar! Grade: A+

The artwork, as always, is amazing. The 2-page spreads look great up close and 10 feet away. Like last year's Ships of the Line, this one features the NX-01 a bit too much.

My main reason for not giving it a 4 or 5 star rating is that the actual layout of the dates is non-standard! Instead of the standard five rows of seven days like every other calendar I've seen, the layout artist chose two rows of 15 or 16 days. This makes it a bit harder to glance at the calendar and see just what day "next Thursday" might be, forcing the viewer to scan along the line to find the day, labeled in a relatively small font.

When I ordered this I figured it would be the standard fair, that is, the Calendar opens up vertically. Picture above the fold and calendar below. With standard pictures/artwork/renders of varies ships.
Well wasn't I amazed when this was not the case at all. The Calendar is horizontal. The artwork is amazing. It takes up the entire horizontal surface of the calendar. With the days placed strategically out of the way but very see-able. Also, there are dates for the casts of the shows also placed on the page. But the real highlight is the magnificent artwork. This is something to keep well after 2005 is long gone. I was actually stunned by the wonderful artwork and I couldn't help but crack a huge grin on the centerfold.
If you need a calendar to write on this is NOT the one to get, but if you want something beautiful to look at and enjoy while you're looking up a date. This is a must buy.

Well worth every cent!

With half the images being from the current flop show
'Enterprise', I'll have to take a pass on this one. A
better distribution of subjects would make this a 'must
have', instead it comes off as a cheap marketing ploy
for a miserable series.

Angel on the Yardarm, The Beginnings of Fleet Radar Defense and the Kamikaze Threat, by John Monsarrat, Naval War College Press, 188 pages.

This is a well written account of the WW2 Pacific theater from the point of view of a Fighter Direction Officer. The author restricts his scope to his own wartime experience with the FDO/CIC department of the light carrier CVL-27 (USS Langley). The author's entire combat experience was spent on the Langley and the Langley's entire combat record was experienced by the author. Coverage includes initial setup of the CIC, installation of the radar equipment, selecting and training sailors for the radar-man job, intercepts, combat operations, and bomb damage.


Chapters:
1. Introduction
2. Reporting Aboard at Harvard
3. Desk-Bound in the Bureau of Aeronautics
4. Serving on Admiral Towers' and Admiral Nimitz Staffs.
5. Learning Radar and Fighter Direction

6. Carrier Duty at Last -- The author is assigned to USS Langley, a CVL. The officers of the FDO/CIC are given free hand to design and setup the CIC and radar equipment. The author is an advertising exec in civilian life. He soon puts his natural networking ability to use, visiting all the other ships in the yard in an attempt to distill best practices. He apparently did a good job. Also his department must train a crew of radar men. Normally they are assigned at random, but the officers continue to network and get a chance to review the service records of all the crew and select out a likely group for radar training. This early work in finding the best setup and the best radar-men yielded benefits for the entire combat career of Langley. Its interesting to see how the civilian skill of networking pays off handsomely in later combat.

7. Shaking Down the Langley -- Practice, practice, practice of strikes and intercepts along with laborious calibration of the radar by having the air group fly different altitudes over and over.
8. Return to Pearl Harbor
9. The Capture of Kwajalein, Majuro and Eniwetok
10. Espiritu Santo and the First Strikes on Palau
11. Assault on Hollandia
12. Operation Forager and the Battle of the Philippine Sea
13. Under Halsey the Palaus and Philippines -- The author reveals that the smaller CVL's consistently outperform the Essex CV's on initial detection even though the Essex class has the same radar set and a higher antenna. There is some speculation about the cause, but in their ability to spot bogeys and route the CAP, the CVL's contribute far out of proportion to the size of their air group. One can imagine a task force commander with four Essex class carriers trying to swap one for a smaller CVL.
14. The Battle for Leyte Gulf
15. Supporting the Troops on Leyte
16. The Task Force Meets a Greater Power -- Typhoon
17. Lingayen Gulf and the South China Sea -- Interesting counter radar tactics include the launching of "gulls" which are radar reflective balloons attached to four foot planks to fool Japanese radar into believing that the task force was still there.
18. The Langley Takes Her Lumps -- Late intercept and Kamikaze hits on CV Ticonderoga are attributed to uniformed big egos. After Langley spots a bogey, USS Washington's (BB) CIC declares them friendly even though there is no IFF. Langley repeatedly refers to them as bogeys (unknown) and Washington (the senior ship) reiterates that they are friendly, but they aren't.
19. Busy Interlude in Ulithi
20. Raids on Tokyo in support of Iwo Jima
21. Fast Carriers Versus Kamikazes at Okinawa
22. Homeward Bound
Appendix: Log of the USS Langley (CVL-27)