My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a fabulous and very gritty Royal Navy story. Most of Douglas Reeman’s stories are usually set in World War I or II. Especially II. This story is set in 1970. It concerns an old frigate named HMS Terrapin. The Terrapin is at the end of her service days. She is ready for the scrap yard or for sale to a developing nation. The ship is at Singapore when a new Captain is suddenly given charge of the languishing ship and over-relaxed crew. The Far East is a place that the United Kingdom is gradually withdrawing from. The Empire has gone and the Royal Navy is shrinking in size.
The new Captain is completely old school. Not suited for the modern day Navy. He is bubbling with aggressive patriotism and alive with no-nonsense enthusiasm. Lieutenant-Commander Standish is alarmed by the new Captain’s mad vigour. Yet through all of the bluster and tragic past of this no-nonsense man, there is a spark. The enthusiasm grips Standish and a loyalty begins to develop. The area of the sea they patrol is infested with pirate junks and smugglers. The Vietnam War is still going on and there are junks from the Mekong Delta.
HMS Terrapin is part of a wider naval mission or project with an American Admiral in overall command of the patrols up against the smuggling etc. There is also another British Captain attached to the American Admiral’s staff. A liaison officer. He is trying to ruin Terrapin’s new Commander.
The story becomes more gripping as the gun hoe Captain of the Terrapin gets it into his head that there is a bigger menace to deal with among the seafaring pirates and smugglers. Something connected with the Communist powers. The strange thing is… Lieutenant-Commander Standish thinks he might have a point.
I wished the British film industry would go back to making those old matinée pictures. This one would be an absolute sizzler. I could not put it down. I enjoyed every single page of this seafaring tale.
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