After zealously pursuing Deutermann through several of his books, I sort of got tired of him. I'm glad I took a break for it made it much easier for me to once again appreciate his work. He tells a gripping tale that makes taking time to turn a page seem wasted. Once again, he has done his research. His characters all come alive and the events are relentlessly told with no straying. Once again, his publisher treats his work shabbily. ( )

This is a gripping story set during the Spring of 1945 and the Battle for Okinawa. This is the navy side of the battle and the story is focused on a destroyer, the fictional USS Malloy and the deadly months it served picket duty. Picket duty was a line of radar equipped ships whose purpose was to provide early warning for the seemingly endless kamikaze planes and baka rocket planes that suicided against the US ships. They also had to worry about submarines. The picket ships were a focus by Japanese planes because if they were gone the large waves of Japanese zeroes and bombers could better surprise and attack the navy ships supporting the invasion of Okinawa.

Although this is a fictional story it is written around very real events. We follow an executive officer newly assigned to the Malloy, meet the crew and see what they faced. This really brought the reality of war in the Pacific to life for me. ( )

Sentinels of Fire by P.T. Deutermann is a great fictional World War II story set in the Pacific. It tells the story of a lone destroyer, part of a picket line involved in the battle for Okinawa; the last island before the expected invasion of Japan itself.

Deutermann conveys a realistic and terrifying sense of life on a destroyer, living in constant fear of kamikaze attack and the knowledge that death could be waiting for you every second of every day.

Today we see daily demonstrations of advanced military technology and precision, and the pervasiveness of it on TV and the internet has a certain desensitizing effect. Deutermann convincingly portrays what it is like sitting in the middle of the ocean depending only on your eyes, your ears, and a system of radar that was still in its technological infancy.

The story is told from the perspective of newly arrived Executive Officer Connie Miles. Not only is he transitioning from the relative safety of a large aircraft carrier to a small destroyer on the front lines of the attack, but he soon comes to realize that his Captain, Pudge Tallmedge, has had his nerves frayed to the breaking point and may be losing his mind.

Deutermann vividly takes you to that time and place. You can feel yourself in the middle of the ocean, eyes and ears straining for any warning that an attack is coming your way. Each battle is more thrilling than the last. The desperation of a Japan that knows it is lost but appears willing to die to the last man in an effort to inflict as much damage on the Americans as it can. Both the Japanese and the Americans alter tactics to outwit the other side. Death awaits the loser and living one more day is the prize for the victor. The cat and mouse game makes for an intense, and intensely satisfying story.

Great characters, historically realistic setting and well-written action sequences make for a highly entertaining novel. Recommended for any lover of action and war stories.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this novel. ( )