Force 12

Rating:
Summary: You can't be all things to all people
Review: (actually, I wanted to give 4 1/2 stars) This book, almost seamlessly, merges three separate plots - a 'daredevil' rescuer, a crab-boat-owner-loser and a bunch of computer geeks (not a PC term, but what the heck!). The computer bunch enters into a suicide polar boat race (operative words: suicide and polar), with no crew except for a ton of expensive computer equipment. Murphy's law states that everything that can go wrong will go wrong - and it does.

Read it, it's fun

Rating:
Summary: 2001: A Space Odyssey meets The Perfect Storm
Review: Another great book by my favourite author! This one brought back memories of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey (any connection to the year 2001 and the theme?) combined with The Perfect Storm's menacing ocean. Add a little "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" type race activity amongst the sailers, and Mr. Thayer's awesome sense of humour (the methodolgies used to get the foreign sailers to come into the race, for example), I could barely put this book down- and read it in three sittings!

Rating:
Summary: exciting thriller that tries to be too much for everyone.
Review: Following the successful test of his new ship Victory, information technology billionaire Rex Wyman announces the yachting race to end all races. His ship will challenge the best to race from San Francisco Bay to Tokyo Harbor via the 5200-mile rhomb line that consists of the shortest nautical distance. This Pacific challenge will occur in the winter making it that much more hazardous.

What makes the Victory different than its competitors is that it is a "ghost ship" whose crew is a computer. On board during the race will be Rex, his girl friend Gwen Weld (the coding genius behind the ship), and former partner and software guru Toby Odell. The world class rivals seem pale compared to the climatic conditions that places everyone at risk. However, more perilous to one's survival is Rex's need to win at all costs because his company is crumbling, but how far is he willing to go to claim victory?

FORCE 12 is an exciting thriller that tries to be too much for everyone. The story line involving the pre-race and the race is fantastic as readers feel the wet wind on their face. That plot easily could have carried the tale and turn this into a must read great novel. The subplot of a deviously dangerous Rex takes front stage and actually slows down the great race. Still FORCE 12 is a very refreshing novel that proves James Thayer (see TERMINAL EVENT) is a talented author. However, though fans will gain pleasure from the book, many readers will believe that it came in second to what it could have been: a modern day humanity armed with technology vs. nature story.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Thayer Has Written Better
Review: FORCE 12 is a fairly exciting and thrilling story of a billionaire soft-ware magnate who creates a computerized sailboat and enters it in a gruelling and dangerous yacht race from San Francisco to Japan through the Bering Sea. He believes the publicity about the boat's software, which pilots the 155 foot Victory (which has a 30 foot beam and 75 ton keel) and replaces a 20 man crew, will increase revenue and sales in his other companies.

Initially the trip is flawless, but gradually accidents occur on the boat and sabotage is expected. Since there are several video cameras on the boat, every movement is witnessed by millions of viewers from around the world and the persona of a forceful man of wealth and power begins to disintegrate.

Besides a mystery, the highlights of the book are the descriptions of being in a boat at the mercy of the sea. It rivals THE PERFECT STORM for its descriptions of the waves and feelings of helplessness while caught in the power of the open ocean.

FORCE 12 is worth reading if you're a James Thayer fan but he's certainly written better. The plot was a little too unrealistic for me but the sailing scenes made it worth the time, especially if you enjoy seeing powerful men in hopeless situations brought down to earth.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: I took this book to Hawaii, and the last 100 pages kept me out of the water. I couldn't go swimming until I finished.

Rating:
Summary: AN ADVENTURE IN THE GRAND TRADITION OF ALISTAIR MACLEAN!!
Review: James Thayer wrote two novels (WHITE STAR & FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT) that are on my top-20 list of most favorite thrillers. Now, he's written FORCE 12, a novel of intense drama and unbelievable courage as man takes on the sea. FORCE 12 is actually made up of three stories that come together in a stunning, climatic ending that will leave the reader feeling as if he's just gone over a water fall in the dead of winter and has almost drowned several times before being pulled out of the water by a set of strong hands. The first story deals with Rex Wyman, a billionaire who's going broke and has once last chance to save his software company, World Quest. Wyman has set up the world's longest and most dangerous yacht race, starting in San Francisco and ending in Japan, and passing through the Bering Sea at the onset of winter. The top ocean racers will be competing. Wyman, however, has the race locked up. There's no doubt in his mind that his yacht, Victory, will win, especially with his genius of a computer engineer, Gwen Weld, on board. In fact, the purpose of the race is to demonstrate to the world the newest technological and software achievements that have been installed on Victory by World Quest, enabling it to function by computer alone. The second story concerns itself with Lonnie Garvin, a fisherman who's afraid of nothing and has worked the harshest seas. Because of serious financial problems, Garvin is about to lose his ocean-going crabber, Hornet, to the creditors. As the Bering Sea begins to claim the lives of those who were foolish enough to pit their feeble skills against it, Garvin receives an offer over the radio that may just save him from financial ruin, but he will have to risk the lives of his crew and the possible destruction of his boat in order to carry out the rescue. The third story is about Jess McKay, one of the toughest members of the 212th Rescue Squadron. As a teenager, he watched his older brother drown in a raging river, afraid to risk his own life to save him. Since then he has been trying to balance the scales by putting his life on the line to save others. Trained as well as any Green Beret or Navy SEAL, Jess may have taken on more than he can chew when he has to helicopter in to the Bering Sea to rescue the woman he's fallen in love with, during the worse storm of the century. It's going to take all of his strength and courage to save her and to get back to safety. FORCE 12 is what's known in the movie industry as a "slow burn." It moves slowly at first by introducing the main characters and the important plot elements, then gradually builds to a roaring inferno that threatens to annihilate everyone within its path. I know absolutely nothing about yacht racing and what it takes to actually make the journey around the world, braving the elements with human skill and superior design. Therefore, I found myself utterly engrossed in the details that Mr. Thayer presents to the reader, especially with regards to the countless dangers any sailor must deal with while on the sea. Also, for any "action" novel to succeed with me, it must have a hero who's capable of facing insurmountable odds in order to save the person he loves or to complete the mission. This has to be a person with honor and perhaps a weakness that offsets him from the rest of the crowd. Such is the character of Jess McKay. A novel must also have a strong villain who equals the hero in tenacity and determination. Quite often the villain doesn't view himself as evil, but rather as a person who's doing what's necessary to protect himself, his family, his company, or even his country. They believe that the end justifies the means. In FORCE 12, it could be argued that that the Bering Sea is the true adversary, but Rex Wyman, for me, takes center stage with his arrogance and his desire to win, no matter what the costs to others. Because of him, as well as a hidden enemy who seeks revenge, a lot of people will die in this book, some deserving the karma that's dealt to them. I certainly enjoyed how the author was able to blend all of the plot points together, directing them on a collision course, and creating a climax that literally had me sitting on the edge of my seat. After the novel was over, I even found myself pacing around the living room for a few minutes, still filled with the sharp rush of its ending. Strange as it may seem, Mr. Thayer seems to feel that he has yet to get it right when writing a novel. I'm here to say that few people do it better than he does. His prose is excellent, his story lines are always thrilling and suspenseful, and his characters come to life in a way few other authors are able to achieve. I'm always at a lost when his books don't hit the bestseller lists, though I know it's only a matter of time before one finally hits the bull's-eye. If you like ocean-going adventures with an in-your-face finale that crackles with adrenaline and suspense, then pick up FORCE 12. If you love action-packed thrillers that will have you ducking from snipers or hiding from the Gestapo, then pick up James Thayer's other novels, WHITE STAR & FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Slightly Soggy
Review: Pacific northwest software mogul Rex Wyman (wonder whom he's patterned after?) has created
the ultimate racing yacht. Humans are mearly along for the ride in this craft, which is completely
run by computer, from navigation to the working of the sails. In a bid to save his suddenly
floundering company, Rex organizes the ultimate yacht race across the Bering Sea, with the
hope that his amazing technological wonder will open new markets for his company. As
increasingly dangerous "accidents" begin to happen shortly after the starting line, the race
becomes one to stop Wyman from pulling an Ahab, and getting everyone aboard killed.

A good alternative title for this book could be "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sailing Gear."
The author is obviously fascinated by all things seaworthy, with descriptions of various types of
vessels bordering on obsessive. But there is an adventure/mystery described, as well, which he
does fairly well. The characters aren't new, but the action is worthy of a beach read.

Rating:
Summary: The first chapter is great however...
Review: The first chapter leads you to believe that there will be a relationship between the "victim-girl" and the pararescueman. The story turns out to be a science-fiction saga about machines versus man (or girl in this case). Not another word about the PJ-girl relationship until the very end....

Rating:
Summary: The first chapter is great however...
Review: The first chapter leads you to believe that there will be a relationship between the "victim-girl" and the pararescueman. The story turns out to be a science-fiction saga about machines versus man (or girl in this case). Not another word about the PJ-girl relationship until the very end....

Rating:
Summary: Arrogant yuppie billionaire gets comeuppance at sea
Review: This action novel stretches the reader's suspension of disbelief past the breaking point. Software billionaire Rex Wyman, apparently bored with his wealth, his multiple homes and private planes, and his serial girl friends, challenges international sailing rivals to an extreme ocean race that passes through the Bering Sea. By means that strain credulity, he succeeds in creating a global media event. We learn that this race is Wyman's device for saving his company, a dubious theory. Then things begin to go wrong aboard his highly computerized yacht. Wyman's former computer geek partner is taking his revenge. The outcome is predictable; the principal female character is saved, but Wyman is not. He is so despicable that you wish him dead. The most intriguing males, an air rescue expert and a fishing boat captain, play only supporting roles. The female lead comes across as a victim who should have bailed out long before. What happened to the French woman sailor who was in second place? There was a lost opportunity for a more interesting end.