The Sixth Fleet (Paperback)

What was once the mightiest navy in the world is now but a shell of its former self. Yet the United States Navy is still a force to be reckoned with, and US Navy captain David Meadows has written a fine novel to show us why.

I very much enjoyed the raging battle scenes toward the end of the story. There is absolutely nothing good or grand about war, but I will note that Capt. Meadows did a masterful job at creating some very dramatic and very real battle scenes. The Americans and Italians are fighting the Libyans, both at sea and in the air.

I look forward to reading the entire Sixth Fleet series. The good news is that Capt. Meadows has recently contracted to do four more books. Well-done David. Cheers, shipmate.

That said, I do have three major problems with "The Sixth Fleet".

First problem: The story is not complete. I was aware that "The Sixth Fleet" was the start of a series of books, but I didn't realize that the story in this book ends abruptly in the middle of the build-up to a major conflict, so you have to buy the next book in the series or be left dangling with everything unresolved.

The fact that the story is incomplete means that many of the characters in the book make their appearance and are described in detail and prepare to take part in the story - and then are not mentioned again! What happens with SEAL Captain Duncan James and his side-kick and their newly acquired female cohort? What will happen to the President of Algeria? Why does the author give us detailed descriptions of how the U.S. President reacts to the initial attacks by the enemy, but not to the more serious later attacks? Hopefully, all of these characters return in volume two, but their fragmentary appearances in this book are very unsatisfying.

OK, perhaps you're willing to buy the next book in the series, and maybe even like the fact that the story is big enough and complicated enough that it needs several volumes. If so, please ignore the previous two paragraphs.

Second problem: The entire story is based on a "what if" scenario set in the indeterminate future. The premise is that American military might has been seriously diminished due to budget cut-backs in the USA, and at the same time Europe has become USA-antagonistic.

The fact that the story is based on this "what if" scenario makes the book less appealing for me. For one thing, I don't think that the proposed scenario is very likely to occur, and anyway, even if it does occur someday, I'd prefer a story that is based on something resembling here-and-now reality.

Also, putting the story in the future results in weird situations like this: "I will be the most powerful man in the Arab world, Colonel Alqahiray said to himself. And even more worshiped than old Saddam, who still manages to hold on to power at his age." (pg. 18)

Third problem: The author has no knowledge of modern data-based communications systems, etc. This implies that he should have gotten some expert help when writing the parts of the story that involve these systems. Instead, he resorted to techno-babble, assuming that the readers were just as poorly informed as him. This works for most readers, but for those of us who know the difference between techno-babble and creative extrapolation / modification of real technologies it leaves the impression that the author just couldn't be bothered doing the right thing.

For example, the author claims that GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites are in geo-stationary orbit (they aren't). He also implies that tampering with the GPS satellites so that GPS receivers show incorrect coordinates would not result in an almost immediate global alert about the problem. There is also confusion between the public telephone / telefax system and computer-based messaging systems. Descriptions of how computer viruses work are completely crazy, etc., etc.

On one level this can be brushed off as nit-picking. Who cares if the author's descriptions of data communications are accurate or not? But the problem is one of credibility. I've caught the author faking some aspects of the story, so then I have to wonder if he's also faking the descriptions of naval combat scenes and aerial dogfights?

So even though Mr. Meadows left me curious (and frustrated) with his cliff-hanger ending of "The Sixth Fleet", I'm not planning on buying the next book, despite the positive aspects of this book.

Rennie Petersen