Watch out Tom Clancy! (Patrick Robinson in general)

Member Name: rlcross

Product:	Patrick Robinson in general
Date:	02/07/02 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: involving plotlines, vivid imagery

Disadvantages: can be slow, can be a little too pro-USA

As is mentioned in another review I bought my first PR book - Nimitz Class - while waiting at an airport.
Patrick Robinson is firmly in the techno thriller category - think Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, Dale Brown et al, although he concentrates on 'sea stories'. Most of his novels appear to be written with technical assistance from Admiral Sir John Woodward - and it shows in the depth and vividity of the naval imagery, it's so easy to visualise what he's writing. What separates Mr Robinson from the aforementioned authors, (all excellent by the way), is the way that he manages to skillfully weave 'spy thriller' thread(s) into the stories without being boring or appearing to be 'add on'.

Given the excelence of that book I went out and added to my collection, here are a quick selection of mini-reviews of the volumes I've got/read:
o Nimitz Class - excellent, superb introduction to the work of this author. Story covers the nuclear destruction of a US aircraft carrier, and the search for the perpetrators.
o HMS Unseen - if you liked Nimitz Class, then get this one next. Better than Nimitz Class, but reading the earlier novel is really required to get the best from this book. Superb! Story covers the theft of a British/Brazilian submarine by the Iraqi terrorist in "Nimitz Class", (who was pretending to be an Israeli), now working for the Iranians, and his use of this to attack British/US aircraft.
o Kilo Class - excellent. Frightening because it's all so believable! Story covers the covert activities of the US to stop the Chinese getting a "blue water" submarine fleet that they could use to attack Taiwan.
o Seawolf - in my opinion the weakest of the five novels. A bit too gungho, "stars and stripes forever" for me personally, although the ending has a nice twist. Story covers the capture by the Chinese of the state-of-the-art US submarine and it's crew, which includes th
e presidents son. The US have to get the crew back quickly and seize or destroy the captured submarine before the Chinese can copy it.
o The Shark Mutiny - this will probably appeal more to the Le Carre fans than to the drawing room admirals. Still excellent nevertheless. The ending is certainly very thought provoking, was the judgement correct or not? Story covers the efforts of the US to combat a joint Chinese/Iranian effort to close the gulf to everyones shipping but they're own. The US must strike back against such aggression, but how - therein lies the main story.

To summarise, I look forward to Mr Robinson's next work with anticipation. I'd certainly agree with the Stephen Coonts quote on the back of "Seawolf" - "Clear the calendar when you read 'Seawolf' - it will cost you a weekend", but qualify that by saying that this applies to all his novels.

Summary: