Distant Thunders

Distant Thunder is the fourth novel in Taylor Anderson’s Destroyermen series, but the first I’ve read. In summary, a WWII destroyer working the Pacific near Indonesia is caught in a storm that deposits it in another dimension. The earth-like environment they steam into has followed a different evolutionary path. There are numerous sentient species, but the humans, brought there across a broad spectrum of time, are not native.
Where this novel picks up, the native cat and lizard people have, with the help of the American destroyer crew, thwart an invasion by a lizard people who breed like bugs and eat other lifeforms. The lizard people have been assisted by Japanese sailors (who are at war with the Americans) who’ve shared their show more technology and training, both of which this world lacked.
It’s a thrilling story with political plots and sub-plots, great characters and a goal – the elimination of the species of lizards that eat people. They set out to do this by building a coalition of the various species, setting in motion cultural clashes and rapid modernization.
I enjoyed Taylor’s writing and the theme such that I purchased the sequel to this. I’ve got the seventh novel in the series and may well purchase the original three so I can see how the story developed from day one.
One of the best fantasy novels I’ve read. show less

The weakest book in the series (although still not bad). Many of the incidents (repairing the beached sub, finding the, well, something, in the jungle, etc.) are obviously setups for later books. One part of a major plot point is resolved but another left hanging in true Edgar Rice Burroughs fashion. If you are a fan of the series (as I am) you will enjoy meeting the continuing characters (and the Walker)again but this is not a place for a newcomer to dip in.

Everything that I reviewed as negative in "Maelstrom" (book 3) was corrected in this book (book 4)

Yes there is the occasional flashback there sort of has to be such as there are a lot of characters to remembers but instead of pages of rehash there are only a concise one or two lines to jog your memory.

The story goes in several directions at once:

- the search to find the submarine again and attempts at salvage
- The issues between the Alliance and the British East English over Rebecca
- The development of new weapons as well as finding of a Military treasure trove.
- The conversion of Jenkins the British East English commodore to the side of the Alliance.
- a Grik battle in Singapore
- the treachery Billingsly/Truelove - the British East show more English secret service in taking hostage Sister Aubry, Lieutenant Karen, Rebecca, Lawrence (Rebecca's lizard friend and quite a fighter), Dennis Silva and others and fleeing back to their homeland.
- the rising of the WALKER and pursuit.
- and much more

All stories interact with each other very well. Not all issues are resolved completely making reading of the next in the series a high priority for me..... an excellent 5 star read show less

3.5 stars. Originally reviewed at FanLit: http://www.fantasyliterature.com

The 100 remaining American destroyermen have now been in their strange new world for 16 months. Theyƒ??ve just had a major victory against the evil Grik, but they know their respite will be short, for the Grik seem to have an unending supply of soldiers.

Thereƒ??s a lot to get done before they face their enemies again, so the destroyermen are spread out thin. Theyƒ??re building ships, planes, weapons (but not gas weapons), and a dry dock. Theyƒ??re refining fuel and recycling metal scrap. Theyƒ??re training their Lemurian allies to do all these jobs and to be sailors, pilots, and infantry men. The Americans have started an industrial revolution ƒ?? show more the old ways of specialized craft guilds and apprenticeships are giving way to cold precise machinery. Captain Matthew Reddy feels guilty about the cultural changes theyƒ??ve caused, but he knows itƒ??s the only way to win the war against the evil Grik.

He also hopes to gain some new allies when he returns Princess Rebecca to her people, but first he needs to convince them that the Grik are their enemies, too. Yet heƒ??s not sure how Rebecca and the Americans will be received because thereƒ??s some sort of political intrigue, and maybe some treachery, going on.

If youƒ??ve enjoyed Taylor Andersonƒ??s DESTROYERMEN series so far, youƒ??ll most likely be pleased with Distant Thunders. Thereƒ??s still a lot of repetition of facts and jokes (i.e., Juanƒ??s coffee, Vienna sausages, the Coke machine, Bradfordƒ??s reckless enthusiasm) with few fresh ones to replace them, but perhaps these serve to remind us of more carefree times. The villains continue to be over-the-top and itƒ??s hard to take them seriously when they patiently wait their turn to recite their evil monologues, but the story progresses sufficiently and there are some humorous and some dreadful scenes, and one or two which are both humorous and dreadful at the same time ƒ?? something Taylor Anderson does really well. There are also some thoughtful discussions, such as Courtney Bradfordƒ??s explanation of how the theory of evolution is not, contrary to popular opinion, antithetical to a creator God. He also has some ideas about how the strange storm that brought the destroyermen to their new world may have worked. I look forward to learning more about this in a future installment.

Taylor Anderson leaves us with a couple of cliffhangers and gives us plenty of reason to read the next volume, Rising Tides. Iƒ??m enjoying the audio versions narrated by William Dufris, so Iƒ??ll be looking for Rising Tides on sale at Audible or Tantor.com. I donƒ??t feel like I have to read it immediately, but this series is interesting enough to be on my TBR list. show less

It wasn't just during WWI that the Time storm struck. The British East Indiamen have been in this world longer and they have adapted differently than the Destroyermen. As human beings, are we a better race than the Lemurians... not necessarily based on the story Taylor Anderson tells. And are all the evil Grik, all evil?

I can't quite put my finger on it but it is not as good as the previous three books in the series, could this be because I had to wait to read it?
This seems to have slipped more into general fantacy and is not so based on the actual ship and navel which made this series stand out so much from others in this genra. This was what had glued the survivors together and given them a leader seems to be a little distant.
but this is still a very good read

Moves the plot along nicely while upping the stakes with potential new enemies.