Rating: 
Summary: Very Absorbing Read!
Review: I read this novel by request of a friend. The storyline in "Six Fleet Tomcat" by David Meadows was most interesting and in no time I was completely absorbed in the compelling plot. At times throughout the book I actually felt as though I was part of the action. And make no mistake about it there was plenty of action. Loved the intrigue. Loved the characters. And, loved the tale of a small group of Marine Corps Survivors involved in a mission that went South of the Boarder (so-to-speak). A very compelling account as these Marines make their way across the Sahara. "Sixth Fleet Tomcat" was intelligently written by man definately on the rise in the literary world! John Savoy
C.E.O. & Financial Advisor
Savoy International
Motion Pictures
Rating:
Summary: Meadows' Style Gets Better with Every Volume A fun read
Review: I'll confess right up front: Dave "Igor" Meadows and I periodically flew reconnaissance missions together in the US 6th Fleet's area many years ago. He remains a legend among those of us in the community who knew him "back then" and is a respected figure now. Thus I was pleasantly surprised to see he had written a novel,"Sixth Fleet", about a year or so ago. Out of curiosity I picked up the volume and in 24 hours had become absorbed by his entertaining style, descriptive abilities, use of dialogue to advance plot and even his wit, especially when it comes to describing the ins and outs of swimming in the "shark"-infested waters inside the Beltway. His latest volume, "Sixth Fleet: Tomcat" is oddly named, as it focuses on ground operations in the desert, with a large side-dish helping of submarine warfare and the infighting sometimes seen on the currently in-vogue "Joint" war time staffs.
If you read these three books back to back, the discerning reader will be able to watch Meadows grow as a writer. His characters may seem at first to be fitting the techno-thriller "cartoon cutout" requirements, but as he tells the tale of a small group of Marine Corps troops, survivors of a mission gone horribly wrong, as they attempt to make their way across the Sahara with oil drillers and academics, they grow into people with good and bad sides, strengths and weaknesses, just as much as those characters who have chosen to side with a pan-arabic attempt to oust the influence of the United States and others from the Mediterranean area. Meadows' cuts away from the action periodically to keep readers of the book up to speed with many of the sub-plots that figured much more significantly in the first two volumes of this series. Old friends come back, new ones emerge, but best of all is his delicious portrayal of a politically-connected Army general sent from Washington to take overall command of allied forces trying to rescue hostages in Algeria, while fighting off attacks on US forces from air and undersea while remaining utterly clueless about the nature of the enemy he faces. I strongly recommend this book. Moreso, I suggest the reader get all three books and read them in order, in order to fully get the flavor of the arcing concepts that Meadows' puts forth in these books. My only complaint is that for the casual reader, this volume does little to fill you in on the back story for the first third of the book. Even then, the reader will be hard put to link all the various plots together without having read the previous two books. That being said, this volume is a wonderful stand alone read, whether on an airplane, at your bedside table or over a long weekend. The only problem Meadows' new fans face is the long wait for the 4th volume of this terrifically entertaining series.
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC SERIES!
Review: Ignore the 2 star reviews! This book is fantastic! If you have not read one of David Meadows books you owe it to yourself to do so. This is a great book to start with. I can hardly wait to begin Mr. Meadows new series, the new book comes out in September ISBN# 0425192067 I'm ordering my copy now and you should too!
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC SERIES!
Review: Ignore the 2 star reviews! This book is fantastic! If you have not read one of David Meadows books you owe it to yourself to do so. This is a great book to start with. I can hardly wait to begin Mr. Meadows new series, the new book comes out in September ISBN# 0425192067 I'm ordering my copy now and you should too!
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the Tomcat?
Review: Other than a fleeting reference to a Tomcat catapulting off the Stennis somewhere in the middle of this book, I am mystified as to the title. Once again the author baffles the reader with his choice. Maybe the publishers and editors should try and perform their function by pointing out this inconsistency. How about we try "The Sixth Fleet: Marines" for this edition and "The Sixth Fleet: Carrier" for the Seawolf installment. The incongrous title only leads into a book that I can't even describe as a good beach read. Character development is non-existent. The plot is MIA. Technical information is way off the mark and highly simplistic. The only suspense is how many pages you can actually tolerate before you toss the book on the coffee table in disgust. I am actually ashamed to have spent the money on these two books. If you have a friend who has read it....borrow his copy only if you don't expect the friendship to last. If you have a library, go check it out from there. But please DON'T purchase it!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great ideas of global conflicts and strategies ... but!
Review: Perhaps if one begins with the first book in what is apparently at least a four-book series, this one would make sense. By beginning with book three, 'The Sixth Fleet: Tomcat,' I have the sense that I came in at the middle of the second act and left in the middle of the third. Obviously, the author - the back cover says he is an experienced Navy captain, whose name may be David E. Meadows -- expects all readers to read all the books, starting with book one. There are some plotting and terminology problems with this novel. Aside from some ancient Greek plays where the device was ginned up, I've never before seen a writer make use of the technique known as deus ex machina - literally introducing a god to untangle the plot. This writer does that. Also, I can't believe a Naval officer would use, for example "1700 hours" to indicate 5pm. The Navy and Marine Corps never tack on "hours," an Army and Air Force custom, using the 24-hour clock system. Am I missing something here? Have the military political correctness police decreed that all hands must now say "1700 hours?" Has some uninformed editor messed over the captain's text? The writer makes another distressing error for anyone familiar with military small arms: the substitution of the label "cartridge" for "magazine." A 'cartridge' is a 'round' is a 'single bullet!' Cartridges are loaded into magazines - that may hold 20-30 rounds, which are then loaded (shoved) into a magazine slot on the weapon - ...This writer's Marines call their magazines 'cartridges.' And their re-supply of ammunition comes in a box filled with 'cartridges,' by which the writer means 'magazines.' But rifle ammo doesn't come that way... Finally, with another bow to political correctness, the author's Marine Corps infantry platoon includes riflewomen. Great Scott!... Recommend the author get a new Marine Corps advisor and a new editor. This novel is so fouled up that the publisher might want to recall, edit, and re-issue it! If the author and editor have so messed over a Marine Corps rifle platoon, one wonders what they have done with the rest of such a high-tech fleet!
Rating:
Summary: Excellant Read
Review: This was, without a doubt, the best of the series so far. The story telling was so good that even the few technical errors didn't tarnish my enjoyment of the book. It's an excellant read. I look forward to the next book in the series.
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