A Ship Must Die

Rating:
Summary: Conflict in battle...
Review: This book put in evidence the use of old battlecruiser during the war in the south pacific and in the indian ocean. Friction between the reserve and the regular navy, between English and Austalian, love during that black period and also, a great battle between a ship which should already be dead and a raider that should die. I don't want to tell too much of the story, but people who love the navy during WWII will love this book. As always, Reeman is a good story teller and do so in this one too.
This is probably the best in my opinion of Reeman.

Rating:
Summary: The Action Doesn?t Die
Review: When Douglas Reeman began writing about the Royal Navy in WWII, he wrote some of the best action stories about the war. The novels featured one or two reasonably developed characters, a love interest and a supporting one-dimensional cast. However, he wrote fantastic action scenes and his depiction of naval life rang true. A Ship Must Die was written when Reeman was consistently delivering nail-biting tension and action. It is one of his best.

A Ship Must Die begins in Australia in January 1944. A German raider is stalking the shipping in the Indian Ocean. Since the Indian Ocean is a backwater, the resources to aggressively track it down are not provided. One battered cruiser, Andromeda, must postpone repairs and pursue the raider. Complications arise when it appears that there might be not one but two raiders on the prowl. One cruiser has already disappeared at the hands of the Germans. Can our heroes survive and defeat the enemy?

In typical Reeman fashion the novel builds to a tense climax with all on the line in a final battle. My only complaint is that the idea of even one German raider roaming the Indian Ocean in 1944 tested the willing suspension of disbelief. However, in A Ship Must Die it did seem more plausible than in The Iron Pirate where the Germans were out in the Atlantic in 1944.

A Ship Must Die ranks up there with HMS Saracen as one of Reeman's best WWII novels. He stuck to his formula and executed it well.