Circle William

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Summary: Military Technology-Politics & Humour a Novel reaction
Review: "Circle William is a wonderfully balanced written first novel by Captain Bill Harlow. His obvious inside knowledge of the US Navy and the US Political System just added to the realism.

I agree with Bob Woodwards review in regards to -"all done with great seriousness while capturing the humour in the personalities". It was well paced and not too much technical information overload, that Tom Clancy sometimes falls into."

Rating:
Summary: Good Read! Don't miss this one.
Review: Bill Harlow knows his Navy, his bureaucrats and his bad guys! This was a delightful find. The Libyan government is up to no good, planning to gas Israel and the United States. The title refers to Navy slang for the procedure used by warships under chemical and/or biological attack.

Commander Bill Schmidt finds himself and his crew on the firing line (in more ways than one) in an effort to thwart the Libyan attack. Without giving too much away, Washington comes up with a hair-brained scheme and Bill's crew gets the assignment to carry out orders.

This book is engaging, well paced and well written. Like many first novels, it goes from beginning to end without many side trips. I've added Harlow's name to my list of authors to watch.

Rating:
Summary: Fine & Fun First Novel
Review: Circle William by Bill Harlow is a riveting, fast paced, first-rate effort for a first novel. The heroes are heroic, the villains, villainous, and the good guys win. If you're looking for literature, search elsewhere, but if you want a few hours diversion in the company of some believable and developed characters acting out an intriguing story line, you've picked the right book. Clanceyesque is his attention to detail and technical expertise, Harlow weaves his action, adventure plot through the halls of the White House to the decks of a modern Aegis destroyer with agility. Reminiscent of the storytelling style of W.E.B. Griffin, he moves closer to Nelson DeMille in the quality of his writing. Intelligent, funny and respectful of his reader, Harlow avoids many of the pitfalls of modern fiction, one of which seems to be the required gratuitous sex sequence. He does set the stage for this standard cliche‚ but deftly lets the story carry itself away believably. All is not perfect in Circle William. Some of the characters are two dimensional - notably the Secretary of State and the Executive Officer of USS Churchill, both of whom fail to evolve into complete people. They seem to have no purpose other than the advancement of their own careers and the annoyance of everyone around them. Wait a second, I know those guys! Then we have CDR Jim Schmidt, an officer with whom most military guys would love to serve, but who would have trouble surviving in today's politically correct military with his crew of lively-but- lovable liberty risks more suited to McHale's Navy than to today's. Harlow paints a picture of a Navy from a more forgiving era when sailors were not expected to be candidates for canonization, when kicking up your heels on liberty was viewed as normal and when the nation seemed to understand that the guys it hires to do its killing may not be suitable guests for afternoon tea. Bill Harlow describes a Navy I remember fondly - but I digress.

Action, adventure, a little bit of fantasy and some skillful writing can create magic in the right hands, and Bill Harlow has 'em. If he is the quick study which his former high powered military career would indicate, his next novel should be stunning.

Andrew W. O'Hara LtCol USMC(Ret)

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Summary: Schmidt happens!
Review: I came across this book while researching the "competition" for my upcoming novel. Circle Williams shines like a diamond amidst the coals in the category of the military thriller. Harlow's characters are believable and realistic--especially the details about Churchill's XO; if he were a woman and in the medical field, he could very well be my husband's division officer!

The dialog is slick, clever and at times uproariously funny. It has the authenticity of conversations you might overhear between well-educated and intelligent professionals.

Of the dozens of books I've been subjecting myself to in my research, Circle William is the one exception: enjoyable and well-worth the time it took.

My only question is for Mr. Harlow: when will we see more from you? Please do say 'soon!'

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Summary: Kirkus Is Krazy!`
Review: I took the time to write this review because I thought the reviewer from Kirkus is way off base.

I READ A LOT. I bought this book at a dollar store for one dollar. That does not speak well for it. I bought it because it came well recommended from people who have been on the inside-- Navy Secretaries, Press Secretaries. They couldn't put it down.

I think it is the best piece of modern fiction I have read in a long time. It is funny. It is way beyond those Tom Clancy dreary soap operas where everyone has such cute, perfect and extremely well-documented lives. It is about PEOPLE who are well sketched (in a brief format of a 300-page novel). The story is just part of the lives of these people.

I think I know why this book has struggled. It is politically incorrect. He slams National Public Radio for being a bunch of windbags. Now, how are you supposed to get reviewed by effete pace setters if you slam them in your book? Also, Mr. Harlow makes the outrageous suggestion in 1999 that America could conceiveably come under attack by a bunch of crazed terrorists. Admittedly, this is far-fetched. At least it was far-fetched in 1999.

This is an outstanding work for a first novel, yea, a one hundredth novel. Note: it is not Henry James. Thank goodness, it is not Tom Clancy either.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly Surprised
Review: I was searching throught the book store one day looking for a new book when I came across Circle William. The back cover described a generic techno-thriller and seeing nothing else I picked it up to buy. Later that night in my hotel room I was transported to the Mediterain Sea on-board a modern DDG. Missiles were flying, planes were dropping, and the world seemed like it was taking a turn for the worse. Luckily the Schimdt's were there to cover for us and bring us back to the happy go lucky lifestyle we have today.

Harlow's style was gripping and very entertaining. The love interest very subtle and infact only implied. The action was believable and stated very simply without overloading the reader with jargon.

So here I am now checking out Amazon to see if he has any more titles out there.

To Mr. Harlow: I hope your next novel is just a gripping and exciting as your first.

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Summary: Simply amazing
Review: If you're looking for humor, action, a good plot and insider knowledge, you won't find any better than this. The author achieves this, by the way, without as much technical drivel as Clancy gives you in an effort to prove he did his research. I can only hope Capt. Harlow will write again.

Best of all, the ending is worth the time invested in getting there (rare for a first-time novelist these days).

Instead of repeating what others have already written, I'll just add this: I rarely read a particular novel more than twice. I've read this one seven or eight times.

Rating:
Summary: Highly enjoyable military novel!
Review: It's amazing to me how a handful of major book reviewers with an attitude can affect the market's reception to an otherwise stunning work. It's hard for me to believe that the reviewer from "KIRKUS" and I read the same book called "Circle William." As a longtime fan of Tom Clancy, Michael Crighton and John Grisham, I'd like to think I have a nose for hugely commercial works. "CIRCLE WILLIAM" is the greatest undiscovered political-military-terrorist-White House-suspense thriller in the past ten years. Someone at Scribner Publishing has a great eye for talent with Bill Harlow. But someone in Scribner's publicity and marketing department should be reassigned to Libya for allowing this terrific read to end up on a "remainder's table" at [local store]. With the right marketing and publicity, this should have been one of the top ten bestsellers of 1999. If you ask me, I think some jealous and bitter wanna-be novelist at "Kirkus" unfairly excised their bile on this great novel, and this may have tempered the publisher's enthusiasm to support the book. What a shame for book consumers, and what a shame for Kirkus. Will somebody out there please get Bill Harlow to write another superb thriller?

Rating:
Summary: A great "bang" for a book.
Review: One day, in a bookstore not so far away, I was browsing for books, and came upon Circle William. I didn't recognize the author's name. I read the jacket and was intrigued. I read the first chapter and proceeded to the checkout; I was hooked. I hadn't read any good naval humor since Admiral Dan Gallery.

The author, Bill Harlow, combined fact with fiction and his very active sense of humor. Several times, I drew odd looks from my fellow railroad commuters when I laughed out loud when I was intently reading and would suddenly come upon one of Mr. Harlow's witicisms out of the blue. It was like hitting a humourous speed bump. And the great part is that the humor doesn't detract from the seriousness of the situation.

Many of the characters remind me of military and civilian characters I have known that take their responsibilities very seriously, but not themselves; they lighten up when the moment is appropriate.

I look forward to reading more of Mr. Harlow's books. (And more of the Schmidt brothers.)

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Summary: A great surprise and an author to follow
Review: When I bought this book I thought it would be (hopefully) an interesting and easy read for an airplane ride. I read loads of technical material and like to mix it up with an action thriller. Little did I know that this book would be like no other I had read. It had mystery (keeps me wanting to read), action (why I bought it in the first place) and a great believable group of characters that I actually began to care about. Mostly action books do no character development. Harlows book does lots. The last thing is the humor. I found myself laughing and telling my wife what a good author this ex-naval guy was.