Douglas Reeman is one of the most prolific and reliable authors of nautical/naval fiction. "The Iron Pirate" is one of his books set during World War II and shows that he is as comfortable describing the German Kriegsmarine's war as he is with Britain's Royal Navy experience of that conflict. The story here relates to Nazi Germany's cruiser war - the use of its surface ships as commerce raiders against Allied shipping and convoys in the Atlantic, particularly. Well written and easy to read, Reeman's fiction can perhaps be faulted for complicating his well-described naval actions with somewhat less well etched character development among members of his supporting cast (as compared to his much better presented leading characters). Nevertheless, I have also found it possible to pick up any of Reeman's naval-military novels with confidence that it will be a satisfying read. ( )

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