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Into the Storm
- Destroyermen, Book 1
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Series: Destroyermen, Book 1
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
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Familiar landmarks appear, but the water teems with monstrous, vicious fish. And there appear to be dinosaurs grazing on the plains of Bali. Gradually Matt and his crew must accept the fact that they are in an alternate world---and they are not alone. Humans have not evolved, but two other species have. And they are at war.
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What listeners say about Into the Storm
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Simon
- 07-09-15
Journey into the Unknown
Well, I'll put my hand up to being stupid. I saw the title, read the first paragraph of the blurb and thought "Great, some bog standard second world war fiction" and just spent a credit. Haven't read many simple war books recently and just fancied it.
Obviously anyone who does their research better than I did on this occasion will know before pressing play that I was in for a shock. Not at first, the opening of the book as an excellent description of a rearguard action that makes no attempt to glorify the US navy as it's aging fleet is whipped into ignomious retreat. I was very happy, a clearly knowledgeable author, good writing and Dufris is a very accomplished narrator.
But then of course things began to change, I'm sure my face was a picture as I realised my mistake . . . should I return the damn thing to Audible or should I plough on?
Well, I rarely give up on a book easily and in this case I'm very glad I didn't. Anderson outlines a richly detailed alternative Earth complete with new races of various types. There is perhaps a hint of a cliche or two in the characterisation of the races but don't be put off as the author piles much thought into how the races are motivated by their societies.
If you're open to this kind of fantasy setting and enjoy an author who will spend time on both the action and detailing the background this could well be for you. For me, it was both a genuine surprise and a pleasure. The only real reason for not giving this five stars was that I did want the action to move a little faster but that is purely personal taste.
So, maybe a little piece of patience is required but it's well worth the investment. On that subject though as this is the first in a series check out the reviews of the subsequent books which also cover the length of the narrative / pace of the action as many have opinions that might be useful.
10 people found this helpful
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- Neil Pinder
- 21-10-21
Excellent Start to an Outstanding Saga
Into the Storm provides an excellent start to the Destroyermen Series very quickly Taylor Anderson draws you into the lives of the crew of the USS Walker, characters made manifest, people you grow to love and care for. Setting up a long form series can be a daunting task but very quickly we follow this crew into a World Spanning and Fantastical Adventure, if you have never read Taylor Anderson give this a go I promise you won't be dissapointed
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- S A Webb
- 26-05-21
Exceptional
long but very well written story. I had to listen twice before I really grasped it.
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- Christopher Bick
- 25-10-19
into another world and into another war
ww1 destroyer USS Walker under Matthew Reddy
flee the might of the Japanese fleet in 1942
a strange storm saves them but they are not on their own world anymore.
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- Shane Scott
- 27-03-19
excellent
A different type of listen for me. long story short I've purchased book 2. enough said.
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- M
- 22-08-18
Patrick O'Brian meets the Lost World/Cruel Sea
In "Icerigger", by Alan Dean Foster, a band of plucky humans are stranded on a bronze age ice-world peopled by a catlike warrior race, facing annihilation from marauding barbarians. Using the technical savvy of a schoolmasterly member of the band, they quickly enhance the defensive capabilities of their hosts, sampling exotic local ale, exotic local sex and meeting exotic local monsters. in The course of the novel, the leader of the band discovers his inner hero and gets the girl.
In Destroyermen, a crew of plucky WW2 American sailors are stranded with their 1919 destroyer on an alternate Earth where dinosaurs did not go extinct, and a race of catlike warriors face annihilation from marauding (lizard) barbarians. using the technical savvy of a schoolmasterly civilian on their ship (and the technical skills of the ship's engineers) they quickly enhance the defensive capabilities of their hosts, sampling exotic local ale, exotic local sex and meeting exotic local monsters. in the course of the novel, the captain of the ship discovers his inner hero and gets the girl.
Along the way, we meet ship-rigged two-deckers, fore-and-aft feluccas and captains barges, all crewed by murderous lizard imperialists, with action scenes right out of "Master and Commander". There's even an enormously capable human boson's mate to make everything alright in the end.
This all means that Destroyermen ought to be written off as derivative nonsense, but in fact it is superbly entertaining. I found it to be a compulsive listen, full of fun, excitement, some neatly placed jokes and likeable, if somewhat flat characters.
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- Peter
- 27-04-14
Five, five, five
Would you listen to Into the Storm again? Why?
Yes great story
What did you like best about this story?
Good blend of a war and sci fi book
What does William Dufris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Charectors are easy to identify and also believable
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes great story line
Any additional comments?
I rarely buy series but will make the exception in this case
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- David
- 22-04-14
One of the best books I have had in a while
Don't expect to get much done if you buy this book or the audio version, it is almost impossible to put down. I am just glad this is part f a series and the first book defiantly sets a cracking passe.
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- Rob
- 19-12-12
Gripping. Exciting. Credible.....A real find!
I like fantasy and science fiction, but I only came across Taylor Anderson by accident. And I am so pleased that I did. The style of the writing is like a cross between Anne McCaffrey's accomplished world building and a Douglas Reaman classic
The WW11 era naval operational practices aboard the ageing 4 stack Destroyer and the attitudes of the men that crew her are played dead straight...(i.e. very Douglas Reaman like) This is after all a ship and a crew at war. Mr Anderson clearly has spent a lot of his time around Navy types. Very convincing.
The new races and cultures the "Walker" encounters, are built quite convincingly in a in a strange but weirdly familiar setting... with plenty of well paced and exciting action too.
I like the way the author has chosen a ship that is passed it's best...it is ageing and has been shot up in previous encounters with the Japs, and so does not have the overwhelming technical superiority that a modern or better armed ship would have.
This means the crew have to work hard and think about how they are going to survive more than just a few days or weeks until stuff all runs out. These themes are well handled in the context of a ship that has just been dumped into the middle of someone (something) else's war. and has to make the right decisions on whether to join in or not. And if so...on what side.
The narrator does a great job too, bring some disparate and alien characters to life. I would be happy to hear more from him.
Although clearly the first book in a sequence, the story ended roundly and properly, whilst neatly setting up the next salivating episode....
And now, I've got a whole series to get obsessed with.... Brilliant.
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- Casey Leones
- 17-07-13
What a looney tune.
What would have made Into the Storm better?
Nothing would have made this garbage better. This guy doesn't understand how naval warfare works and his fantasy creatures are totally absurd. I have been cheated!!
What was most disappointing about Taylor Anderson’s story?
Everything
What didn’t you like about William Dufris’s performance?
Obviously non-prior service.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Into the Storm?
I would throw it into the trash immediately.
Any additional comments?
Audible, I dare you to print this.
6 people found this helpful
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- MarvinB
- 06-10-13
performance lacks
Any additional comments?
The recording talent lacks versatility. does not have the depth of characters to bring this too life. sounds forced and fake.
5 people found this helpful
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- AudioAddict
- 01-08-13
The cover is a little misleading
Story - First off, I am one of the few females reviewing this book and I thought it was very good. Second, only about the first 20% of the story is battle engagement (like on the cover.) The rest is what the destroyermen find after they emerge from the squall and the challenges they face in their new world. They find several new species and become involved in battles between two of them, but if you're looking for lots of engagements between destroyers at sea, etc., you might be disappointed.
The story is interesting and unusual. There is action and suspense, but not the edge-of-your seat kind. The characters are smart and likeable, but unfortunately I never really got emotionally involved with them. (That would have made the story so much better!)
The book ends at a good "stopping point" as opposed to a cliffhanger ending, but there is much to look forward to in future books. I don't plan to listen to the entire series, but I will definitely pick up an occasional book when Audible has one on sale.
Narration - Good job, but nothing special.
Overall - Recommended, especially if you like hearing about fictitious new creatures and their way of life. And this is not just for guys...
35 people found this helpful
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- Robin
- 24-08-18
Dinotopia-like.
This book goes to the point of ridiculousness. Certainly not what I expected after reading the summary. Reminded me of the old mini-series, Dinotopia, which was for kids.
4 people found this helpful
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- David
- 19-09-14
Lemur-people vs. Dinosaur-people
A World War II destroyer is sent back in time and joins lemur-people in a war against dinosaur-people.
If that concept sounds awesome to you, then you should read this book. If that concept sounds silly to you, then I've just told you everything you need to know.
Now, to be more precise, it's not entirely clear whether the USS Walker goes back in time or sidewise, but either way, the ship, on the run from a vastly superior Japanese fleet, winds up in an alternate timeline in which humans never evolved. Instead, they find themselves in a South Pacific inhabited by "Lemurians," who sail the seas in gigantic aircraft carrier-sized "home ships," and are currently facing an invasion by the savage, saurian "Grik"... who have sailing ships that are direct copies of 19th-century vessels from our timeline. Obviously, the Grik at some point encountered other humans who wound up in this timeline.
The USS Walker's crew includes a large cast of characters notable mostly for their individual personality quirks, like any war movie, and the Lemurians also get some named characters who will obviously be important in future volumes. The Grik, at least in this book, are just a bloodthirsty horde of nameless monsters, and all we learn about their culture is that they're insanely violent and driven to conquer. They are so mindlessly violent, in fact, that it seems incredible they could even take the time to learn how to operate sailing ships. Hopefully they'll get fleshed out a bit more in future books.
Into the Storm is the first volume in what appears to be a long series. There is nothing deep about it, but the writing, while nothing remarkable, was straightforward serviceable storytelling with brave men (and Lemurians) fighting a vile foe, and a lot of naval tactics, resource management, and inter-species diplomacy. I found it great fun, enough that I'll continue with the series unless and until it loses steam.
7 people found this helpful
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- David
- 30-04-10
You've been there before; a nice trip anyway
Anderson takes a somewhat tired old idea which has been used again and again and breathes some life into it with his outstanding knowledge of the ships and practice of the U.S. Navy. In addition, he creates an appealing, and even charming, race of lemurians to collaborate with the crew of sailors and Marines which you will instantly recognize if you have ever seen a movie set in the Pacific theater of WWII. In fact, the book feels like nothing so much as a good B movie produced in a simpler time, say the 1950's. Not a bad thing, since it is in perfect keeping with the spirit of the story. American know how and the understated nobility of the common fighting man.
Though the story lacks originality in almost every respect, Anderson tells it well with lots of interesting detail, and the narration is very good. I enjoyed listening and I would consider moving on to the next in the series, but without the compelling excitement or curiosity which is possible when you are in the hands of a truly remarkable creative imagination.
26 people found this helpful
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- Lore
- 01-05-12
It just never grabbed me.
I have not read a lot of alternate history/alternate reality books, but I chose to give this one a try based on the reviews. William Dufris is an excellent narrator and he does a decent job with this book as usual, but the story itself was where it fell short for me.
As a reader of many Fantasy/Sci Fi books, I often wonder what I would do if I found myself placed in the same circumstances as the characters in the book. To me that would be the main attraction of this sub-genre. However, while listening to this book I never found myself with those thoughts. I was always an observer of what was going on and was never immersed. I must admit that I was actually going along for the journey at the beginning, somewhat intriguied by the challenges that would be faced by the crew of a modern ship that all of sudden lost access to the infrastructure needed to keep things running. Then the cat & lizard people were discovered and I knew this wasn't for me.
To be fair, I didn't absolutely hate the story, but for now I won't be picking up book number 2 in the series.
37 people found this helpful
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- Wayne
- 13-11-08
Into the Breach
I started this book with some concern that it wouldn't live up to my high hopes. I was very happy to find that it grabbed my attention right away. The description of the battle that led to the ship entering the storm captivated me right away. The author kept up with detail but also came up with an interesting approach to a parallel Earth. I very much enjoyed how the crew of the Walker deal with a local threat and the need to find resources that don't exist yet. The author did a great job of keeping the story interesting and on target. I look forward to the next book in this series!
31 people found this helpful
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- Mitch Calderon
- 05-05-09
Destroyermen and The Lost Regiment
Wow, this is a great series but I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the similarities between the Destroyermen series and the Lost Regiment series by William Forstchen.
The parallels are too close to ignore. USS Walker lost in a weird storm and comes out in an alternate Earth. The 35th Maine regiment on a ship lost in a weird storm comes out in an alternate planet. Lt Commander Reddy of the USS Walker in total command of allied forces, Colonel Keane of the 35th Maine in total command of allied forces. "Cats" joining the ranks of the USS Walker, RUS joining the ranks of the 35th Maine. The traitor Capt. Tobias and his LT remaining loyal to Keane. The traitor Capt. Kaufman and his LT remaining loyal to Reddy. The woman nurse attracted to Reddy. The woman nurse attracted to Keane. The monsters eating people in both books...SGT Major Schuder made a general to train the locals in The Lost Reg. SGT Adler made a general to train the locals in Destroyermen. Overwhelming numers of enemy hordes in both series. "Cats" learning english better than the humans learning the cat tongue. The Rus and others learning English better than Keane and Co.
Still it's a great and entertaining story but completely lifted...Not Exaclty the same but c'mon...Anyone who's read The Lost Regiment Series will recognize it immediately...
If you loved the lost regiment, you'll love this series!!
24 people found this helpful
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- Jeffrey
- 18-11-08
USS Walker Cat Monkeys vs. Evil Lizards!
No, that would not work as a title but the "review" of this book doesn't do it justice as a summary either. I realized that wasn't the intention, but that was all I had to go on when I decided to download this book. Glad I did. If your thing is epic SciFi, this book I recommend. Yes it is Book 1 and yes it is a commitment when beginning a series like this (that Book 2, 3, 4, etc. are not already written) BUT this is a "very good" SciFi book. Can't wait for Book 2.
16 people found this helpful