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Sink the Shigure
- Jack Tremain Submarine Thriller
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
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Summary
October 1943: Lt. Commander Jack Tremain is back on duty with a new sub and a new mission. But when he spots the Shigure - the Japanese destroyer that sank his beloved first command, the Seatrout - he declares his own personal war on the dreaded ship known as the "Submarine Killer".
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Overall
- Paul
- 15-02-20
An enjoyable listen and the captain finally got his ship.
A good book and really enjoyed the suspense. A little slow in some parts but overall good
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- S. Morris
- 23-03-21
Good Stuff!
Sink the Shigure is the second, and sadly it appears last, in the Jack Tremain series from R.Cameron Cooke. I'd hoped this series would continue for at least one more book, but this does not appear to be the case.
Fresh off the heels of finishing the first in the series, Pride Runs Deep, I eagerly got stuck into this story. The opening pages depict the demise of a U.S submarine and its crew in visceral and terrifying detail and is once more a testament to the experience Cooke brings to this story, given his former submariner status.
Interestingly, we meet Tremain aboard a U.S destroyer en route to his next assignment. During that trip, the trio of destroyers forming the squadron Tremain is riding, get into a battle with Japanese forces. The enemy ships include the Shigure and Tremain ends up among the survivors of the Japanese assault.
Thereafter the pace slows up a bit as plot guidelines are established. My only real critique of this book revolves around the length of time things take before the main plot really starts. this is not a show-stopper for me, just like to get into things a bit quicker, especially given this is the second in the series and so some elements need no second going over here. Tremain has a new crew and a new boat, the White fin, and is tasked with a routine mission until his personal need for vengeance sees him wanting to sink the Shigure, the expert Japanese destroyer responsible for the loss of his first command, the Sea Trout.
I like the way Cooke uses historical elements to give his stories a more realistic feel. The Shigure was a destroyer that survived all the major naval battles of the Pacific that she was present at, unlike most of her brethren. Note: For those interested, the real story of the Shigure, its captain and crew can be found here on Audible in the form of the book Japanese Destroyer Captain by Captain Tameichi Hara and is an excellent read.
Cooke has an interesting second main character here, just as he did in the prior book. This time, it's a destroyer man who hates submariners and has come aboard after a challenge laid down by Tremain after their destroyer was sunk. Cooke captures the feel of life aboard a U.S fleet submarine during the Pacific campaign. In particular, the awesome power of the sea is depicted vividly when the White Fin sails into a typhoon, perhaps one of the most powerful storms on the planet. There is once more historical precedent here as Typhoon Cobra" was so powerful, it ended up sinking three U.S destroyers and taking hundreds of sailors with them. Life is pretty grim aboard a submarine as it battles for days on the surface against huge waves and howling winds and it rather reminds me of the scenes in Das Boot where we see the towering waves of an Atlantic storm pounding the small U-96.
I find I have to chuckle when American authors write British characters. This book is no exception. Sure, British officers back then probably all spoke with a classic crisp English accent as the narrator, Tim Campbell does so well, but to emphasize the point, Cooke perhaps goes over the top with the characters name. I can't spell it here, so won't mention it, but as soon as you hear it, you'll know what I mean. And on the subject of accents, as mentioned, Tim Campbell does an excellent job. I've tended to find that many Americans find it hard to do a good English accent, but Campbell delivers. he also does good Japanese English speakers too.
This book has Tremain go on two linked missions, so we get double the story in a single book here. The second mission has quite a bit of land based action and Cooke handles that with aplomb. The action on the island is brutal and also contains scenes of torture, so perhaps not to everyone's taste.
One minor historical note: In the early stages of this story, the lethal Japanese torpedoes fired from their destroyers are referred to as "Long Lances". I may be wrong, but I heard that this term wasn't coined until after the war.
All in all, an excellent story and I'm just a little disappointed not to have any more Tremain based books to read.
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