Mission: Impossible

STORY (historical fiction) - Lt. Commander Gar Hammond commands the American submarine Dragonfish. He and his crew have been asked to do the impossible -- navigate the dangerous Bungo Suido strait into an inland sea of Japan, singlehandedly destroy the largest aircraft carrier in the world, then navigate back through said dangerous Bungo Suido and escape to safety. Bungo Suido contains the ghosts of several American subs who have been unable to safely navigate her waters due to low tides, dangerous currents, mines and -- oh, yes -- the fact that there's a huge Japanese naval base there, complete with destroyers and bomber aircraft.

I loved the submarine action and wish it had lasted the whole book, but it doesn't. There's also a large part of the book that takes place on land in Japan and also in Pearl Harbor, which was not as interesting to Yours Truly and, therefore, seemed a little slow IMHO. I don't want to give too much away, but this part of the book involves prison camps, Hiroshima and military legal proceedings. Interesting, but what attracted me to this book was the sub action.

PERFORMANCE - I know Dick Hill is a popular Audible narrator but I don't like him. Never have, never will. His reading style is choppy and breathless, and his female characters are horrible.

OVERALL - Good book. I'd recommend this for males or females, whether you particularly enjoy historical fiction or not. (It's not my favorite genre, but I really liked this book). There's lots of action and it affords a view of the war from characters who are actually inside Japan as things are happening. There's a sprinkling of F-words and a few very small references to sexual encounters.

7 people found this helpful

Riviting

This story is set in late 1944. There is a report that Japan is about to launch a new immense Yamato-class ship. After the battle of Midway the Japanese converted the Yamato-class battle ship under construction into an aircraft carrier.

Our protagonist Lieutenant Commander Gar Hammond, Captain of the submarine Dragonfish, has been ordered to go into the Seto Inland Sea to look for the aircraft carrier about to be launched and destroy it if possible. They also have a Japanese man they must secretly place on shore. Five submarines have gone down in the Bungo Suido Strait attempting to enter the Seto Inland Sea. The Bungo Suido Strait is between the Japanese Island of Kyushu and Shikoko.

The book is well written and researched. The author did take some minor liberties with events but after all this is a book of historical fiction. The story is fast paced and action packed. The suspense builds throughout the story. This book won a number of awards in its genre. There is something familiar about the story and I was wondering if it was made into a movie.

Dick Hill does an excellent job narrating the book. Hill has the perfect voice for this genre. Hill is an award-winning audiobook narrator.

6 people found this helpful

If you like WWII Submarine Adventure - your gonna

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, this is a novel but it is based on a true story. You will enjoy the performance even if you can guess what comes next. The truth tends to be that way.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The skipper, it is his tale.

What does Dick Hill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voices of the characters are more alive than if I had imagined them just in my mind.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, submarine patrols took time. You should savor the suspense and sweat out what comes next right along with the crew of Dragon Fish. I was in no hurry to move on so I enjoyed lingering. All in all it took about a week to absorb the tale

Any additional comments?

This is a different time, and the attitudes of the characters are in keeping with WWII. They are not
politically correct by todays standards and that is how it should be.

5 people found this helpful

Nice!!!

This is an excellent example of the old classic WWII books that I used to love reading. The narration was very good and the story was amazing - bravo!!

1 person found this helpful

Wish It Were True

This is an exciting story that illuminates a part of the war in the Pacific that I knew less about. I have read great true stories of submarine warfare in the Pacific which were truly 5 stars. This would have been as well if only it were history instead of Fiction. Still well worth reading for an exciting story!

3 people found this helpful

really good WWII story

This was my second book by author PT Deutermann and I enjoyed them both. This one was a classic World War II story focusing on submarine warfare in the Pacific Theater. The author is a retired Navy Captain so it would seem he had a good background in writing this story. He dedicated the book to the 3600 submariners that lost their lives in the Pacific, I thought that was pretty telling.

3 people found this helpful

As always, a great adventure from P.T. Deutermann!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I've been a very big fan of this author's work for a long time, so I recommend him to anyone I know who likes this particular genre. His books are interesting, well, written, and though fictional, do a lovely job of showing what the world was like during the war.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Worth a credit, worth a listen!

2 people found this helpful

Very interesting story

The storyline is very good but the best part is the narrator. I would give Dick Hill 500 starts if I could.

Simply Outstanding!

This is the third P. T. Deutermann novel for me and I feel like I’ve struck a gold mine! This series in the WW 2 Pacific war is simply outstanding!

Ending WW Ii with a Bang

Absolutely the Best story line and descriptive writing I believe has been produced by any Authors writing about a variety of every facet of world wars occurring in oceans, land, and air battles. All during two centuries over 50 year periods and overlapping major changes in materials, methods, and changed in governance, regimes, royalties,and industrial/technologies used to shorten time and increase some overwhelmingly effective execution and communication.