fossumcarl

this would be 4 stars if not for an annoying habit of the author early on in his books in this series. He falls prey to telling not showing, particularly in inner monologues showing what his characters are thinking. Also he has a great deal of military minutia he wishes to share and uses the monologues for this purpose. they slow the beginnings of his books tremendously. when he reaches the middle of the books the pace quickens as does the writing and then and only then the Destroyermen books fly. Finding a way to spread these out and no longer slow the first 3rd of each novel would make these books great and not merely very very good.

Maelstrom is the third in a series of books featuring the aging WWI era destroyer,( the same type as those of "Tin Can Sailors" fame) The USS Walker and her commander Matt Reddy. The Walker and others are brought In 1942 by a major storm to an alternate earth without humans but still involved in a a world war between a lizard like warrior race the Grik and more peaceful thoughtful yet fiercely defending "Lemurians".

The Battle scenes are spectacular as are the moments when Reddy and the Walker crew must find and or create replacements for fuel and ammunition. the ingenuity of the men and the way he incorporates this seamlessly into the plot are truly stellar.

These books are fun filled with a generous helping of period historical detail and a crackerjack plot and topped with human and/or humanistic characters.Apart from some stalls in the beginning a truly enjoyable alt history SF thriller.