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Leviathan Rising: A WWII Submarine Adventure Novel
- USS Bull Shark Naval Thriller Series, Book 2
- Narrated by: Dave Alexander
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
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Leviathan Rising: A WWII Submarine Adventure Novel
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Summary
The war in the Pacific has only just begun, and Admiral Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy has a secret plan to crush the American fleet…but that’s only the beginning…
USS Bull Shark is running for Pearl Harbor after leaving New London and her victory over the Nazi Q-ship, but all is not well aboard the boat. Captain Turner is struggling with new officers and internal clashes that threaten his crew’s morale and ability to fight.
The Japanese are planning a major offensive and the clock is rapidly ticking – with what will become one of the most decisive battles of the war looming on the horizon, the Navy still doesn’t know exactly where or when it’s going to happen.
Now, with time running short and four massive Japanese fleets readying to deliver the death blow to the United States carrier force, yet another secret plan is being set in motion. An experimental new Japanese submarine is being readied for an attack which, if successful, could cripple the American war effort even further. A superweapon is on a collision course with Bull shark and Midway Island. Back at Pearl, the crypto section races day and night to crack Yamamoto’s plans and turn the tables on the Japanese. The trigger has been pulled, and Captain Turner and his crew, Admiral Fletcher and his task forces, and Yamamoto’s unstoppable force are all rushing to an epic clash before the hammer falls!
Can Bull Shark play her part in the Battle of Midway? Or will she meet with Yamamoto’s secret weapon and be swept aside in Japan’s quest for power?
All tubes loaded and all weapons armed – the world will quake under the explosive impact of the world’s mightiest fleets! Cannons thunder, torpedoes race, and egos clash in this second installment of the adventures of USS Bull Shark.
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What listeners say about Leviathan Rising: A WWII Submarine Adventure Novel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- S. Morris
- 02-12-22
A Fair Effort
Okay, I've lost my review notes, so this will be pretty quick, well, by my standards.
I was in two minds whether to even get this second book in the USS Bull Shark series after reading the first, Operation: Snare Drum. It wasn't that the story was outright bad, it was okay. It was the accuracy inconsistencies that bothered me. The author, Scott Cook, clearly did a lot of homework when putting together that first story. He manages to get so much right, and the more complex stuff too. However, he got the easier stuff wrong, plain wrong! Anyway, those interested may want to check out my review of Operation: Snare Drum for themselves.
At a loose end and unsure of what book to go for next, I weakened my resolve, hungry for a good second World War submarine story, and went for this second instalment. The prospect of submarine versus submarine action just too tempting to overlook.
As remarked upon in my review of the first book in this series, the narrator, Dave Alexander, is back - something I like in book series to maintain consistency. As before, I found his narration competent, but a bit too loud and enthusiastic, which often turned a tense moment into a cartoonish action scene. If he'd tone down his performance a bit, it would lend more gravitas to the book. Narration of this sort tends to weaken the deadly seriousness of the situation the crew of the Bull Shark find themselves in.
AN element to this story that was unexpected, and provided some originality to a World war II story, was the sub plot regarding drug abuse onboard. I don't doubt that some form of narcotics were used back then, especially serving aboard a submarine in time of war, but have no idea how prevalent this was. Still, the inclusion of this in this story was interesting.
I also have to give Scott Cook credit here for addressing the criticisms he received over his first book in this series. Those seeking out submarine war stories are likely, like me, to be pretty knowledgeable on subs and so make the most critical target audience. If dipping one's toes into this genre as a writer, you better get it right. So, Cook accounted for his inaccuracies in a preface to the book that I respect him for. He didn't have to do it, but he accepted the errors he'd made and pointed out that, first and foremost, he was attempting to write a good story and that sometimes one has to bend the facts a bit to achieve that. Fair enough, I thought, at least you acknowledged the criticisms and explained your reasons. After that, I softened my expectations and gave Scott Cook somewhat of a pass.
Okay, so as I listened, I still spotted errors that my critical ear picked up on. These are more the sort of errors that proper proofing would have weeded out. Sadly, proofing appears to not be what it used to be. Early on in the story, when remarking upon the huge Japanese submarine, the author states that it must displace more than 4,000 Kg. it appears that the author mixed up his units of measurement. I suspect he meant to say "tons" but somehow Kilogrammes found its way in. Similarly, later in the story another unit mismatch occurs when it's explained during a deck gun duel with a closing destroyer, how the muzzle velocity of the deck gun divided by the 12,000 yards, I believe it was, of the closing destroyer meant a travel time of so and so. Fine, however, Cook has mixed yards and feet here, forgetting perhaps that there are three feet to a yard.
I also felt there was a narrative oddity in that a crew member heavily involved in a sub surface battle was apparently needing to be roused from sleep when the Bull Shark surfaced just minutes later in the story thread. I may have got this one wrong, but I think that's how it played out as far as I can recall.
As I remember the story now, I also seem to believe that there was a plot point requiring the internal air pressure in the boat to be increased in order to slow a leak. However, none of the crew appeared to suffer from the intense pressure in any way, which I found odd.
So, with all that aside, would I recommend this book? For those casual listeners to this genre, then yes. It's a ripping yarn, albeit with a drug narrative woven into it. For those like me? Hmm ... the jury's still out on that one. Failing finding any other submarine based action stories set in the Pacific during the second World war, I may well dip in again and see what Scott Cook has come up with for the third instalment.
Not bad, but there are better submarine war stories out there on Audible.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 16-04-23
Loved it
Great part fiction part factional WW II book, looking forward to the next book
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