| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details
|
Product Description
About the Author
Geoffrey Archer's gripping thrillers are inspired by a deep knowledge of international intrigue gathered during more than 25 years of reporting for ITV's News at Ten. His other international bestsellers include: Java Spider, Scorpion Trail, Eagle Trap and Sky Dancer.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Shadow Hunter" is Geoffrey Archer's second book, published in 1989 towards the end of the cold war. Compared to "Sky Dancer" (Geoffrey Archer's debut novel) the writing style has become smooth and consistent. ("Sky Dancer" was very good for a first book, but the writing was somewhat uneven.)
There are a fair number of similarities between this book and Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October", published in 1984. Both stories involve a renegade submarine captain and the exciting underwater hunts and battles between the out-of-control submarine and other submarines and naval vessels from the same nation and enemy nations.
In "Shadow Hunter" the renegade captain is British, the commander of the HMS Truculent, a British nuclear-powered attack submarine. He sets off on a mission of his own, sailing Truculent up along the coast of Norway and east towards the Russian naval bases around Murmansk, and ignoring orders from the British naval command.
Why? It becomes obvious that the renegade captain is suffering some kind of nervous breakdown, but the reasons for this are not apparent until later. Nor are his intentions clear. Does he plan to wage his own private war on the Russian Navy? Will he inadvertently start WW III? Or does he have a completely different goal?
In the mean time the Soviet General Secretary is manipulating a Russian Navy Admiral in an attempt to create a crisis that will strengthen his hand in the Soviet Politburo. The British are doing everything they can to prevent the captain of HMS Truculent from doing whatever it is he's doing. And the American Navy is also involved, playing their usual role in the constant show of force vis-à-vis the Soviet military powers.
The result is a mixture of various plot-lines that results in a very exciting story.
I find "Shadow Hunter" to be a better book than "The Hunt for Red October" because I think Geoffrey Archer is much better at making characters who are real people, not one-dimensional clichés. This makes the book more believable and enjoyable to read.
However, I do find certain aspects of the plot in "Shadow Hunter" to be rather unrealistic, and this is the reason for the lack of the fifth star. The idea of a submarine captain suffering a breakdown is an exciting and scary scenario, and was a good idea. (Even though I'm sure that the various navies of the world have contingency plans for the crew to handle the situation.)
But what I can't accept is the refusal of the British to enlist the aid of their American allies, and to warn the Russians about what is happening. This just doesn't make sense, considering the terrible consequences of what the captain of HMS Truculent could do.
In spite of this unrealistic element in the plot I really liked "Shadow Hunter" and recommend it, especially if you're a fan of techno-thrillers.
Format:Audio Cassette
I picked up this audio book for 50p at a jumble sale. I'd avoided Geoffrey Archer books having only ever heard his work slated so I was pleasantly surprised to find this was a good and enjoyable yarn. I can now only assume that the negative comments I've heard, mainy on tv, have been based not on knowledge, but on prejudice, either against the man or his politics. The reason for 4 stars rather than 5 is that it's not quite as gripping as a Clive Cussler, Ian Rankin or John Grisham but it kept me wanting to know what happens next - the mark of a good book - and had some unforseen twists.
Format:Paperback
Having been there and done it off the Kola in the 80s and 90s, the detail in the operational sense of the 'Truculent' is quite near the mark. Obviously the plot does become a bit far-fetched but hey, that's what is so good about thrillers.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
