(3.00)346 pages.
This was author Charles D. Taylor's first novel, published in 1981, and released in digital format in 2015. I read the Kindle version.
This is a near-future military thriller, written from the perspective of the 1980s and before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
As the novel begins, two fleets confront each other in a remote part of the Indian Ocean. The Americans are building something on an island they possess, intending to counter growing Soviet influence in the region. The Soviets believe the Americans are building a missile base, but that it is not yet operational. A Soviet fleet is approaching the island, and an American fleet is blocking its path.
Flashbacks tell the stories of the opposing admirals. Soviet Admiral Alex Kupinsky is the step-son of the admiral who has overseen the growth of the modern Soviet Navy. Alex commanded a submarine during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when it was detected and forced to surface by an American blockading force. U.S. Admiral David Charles was a brand-new lieutenant onboard the destroyer which humiliated the Soviet submarine.
Charles later served in Vietnam with swift boats, not afraid to break the rules to score a victory. Later he served as a naval attache in London, where he met Soviet naval attache Kupinski and they became close friends.
But now the two men are on opposite sides of a naval confrontation. The Soviets are eager to prove they are a match for the American navy, and determined to expose American actions on the remote island. They calculate that a military action in such a distant location will not lead to escalation. Both sides have tactical surprises in store for the other.
And then the weapons are launched, and when the communication satellites are taken out, both admirals are on their own…
I found this novel to be a mixed bag. The primary characters are given deep backgrounds, well steeped in their naval careers, though definitely in the heroic mold. The author is at his best when describing war at sea and the incredible destruction of modern weapons.
There are subplots about negotiations in Moscow and politics at the White House, involving David Charles' naval colleagues, and a spineless U.S. president and his hawkish Secretary of State.
Where the novel has problems is where the author takes a good plot, and tries to overlay it with angst about the superpowers being equally guilty for the global situation, which simply doesn't match the facts as set up in the plot. I was turned off by the hand-wringing tone of the author.
Then the novel has a truly terrible 'tearjerker' ending that is simply preposterous. One of the worst endings ever.
Can you wargame it? Unfortunately, no OOB is given for the two carrier groups, although you could come up with a partial list by noting ships mentioned in the text (usually when damaged!). However, any two carrier groups should work, balanced by Soviet land-based air support. The swift-boats battles in the Vietnam War could also be wargamed.
The novel is a bit confusing at the start (with the flashbacks), gets interesting with the naval battles, then completely falls off the rails at the end. Not recommended.
Reviewed by 
Editor in Chief Bill 
.