The Circle

Rating:
Summary: Stressful but realistic
Review: A good account of life on older DDs. I served on three of them similar to this one, RYAN. Poyer perhaps puts this young Ensign in predicaments not normal, however it COULD happen. The corrupt XO is the real bad actor and he sets the tone for the ship.

Nice to hear of life as it is on a small combatant we are too full of how aviators won the war! The Navy is, or should be, about ships such as RYAN. In case you like the trend towards airplanes being the Navy, we now have on TV a series of ;how the JAG Corps runs the Navy.

Good story on the real Navy, Mr. Poyer.

Rating:
Summary: The closest thing to being there
Review: David Poyer's seminal naval work The Circle takes you directly in to the life of a young naval officer. Of all the books I have read about my profession, US Navy Surface Warfare Officer, it is the closest thing to actually being there. The long hours of watch and work, the mistakes you make being over-tired, and the lessons you learn from men who have spent their lives at sea are all contained within this book. In addition the, Poyer paints a vivid image of the environment of shipboard life and the perilous sea. Reading this book makes me cringe and want to return to sea duty as soon as possible.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Military TechnoThriller
Review: For those of you who crave highly detailed and very technical military action-adventure, David Poyer is the one of the very best writers in this genre. Poyer not only gives the reader an exciting naval story, but he packs the novel with tons of technical details about naval destroyers, weapons systems, sonar, propulsion systems, engine rooms, descriptions of bridge operations, etc.
He also gives the reader a very interesting main character, Dan Larsen, who although vulnerable, always triumphs over his adversaries. All in all, a great book to snuggle up to the fireplace with on a cold, wintry night.

Rating:
Summary: Authentic, character driven
Review: I'm not an ex-Navy man, so the constant Navy jargon left me sometimes only vaguely understanding what was going on. Nevertheless, I had the sense that this was what I would really experience if I were hidden, watching action from the back of the bridge of a Navy destroyer, and I valued that authenticity. But the setting was only a pallate for what was the deeper part of the book: men striving with tremendous stress and moral dilemmas. How do they cope, what do they think and do? Mr. Poyer is a keen explicator of human nature. After reading this novel, you'll feel as you had been there and struggled as the characters struggled.

Rating:
Summary: Authentic, character driven
Review: I'm not an ex-Navy man, so the constant Navy jargon left me sometimes only vaguely understanding what was going on. Nevertheless, I had the sense that this was what I would really experience if I were hidden, watching action from the back of the bridge of a Navy destroyer, and I valued that authenticity. But the setting was only a pallate for what was the deeper part of the book: men striving with tremendous stress and moral dilemmas. How do they cope, what do they think and do? Mr. Poyer is a keen explicator of human nature. After reading this novel, you'll feel as you had been there and struggled as the characters struggled.

Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Series
Review: I've read all of Mr. Poyer's novels about the Navy, and thought this one was the most realistic - except for the Tom Clancy-ish business with the sub. Still, Poyer has the ability to write about ships, sailors, and the post-war US Navy better than any other writer I've encountered. The book was especially good at capturing the Vietnam-era Navy's problems with drug abuse, alcoholism, and poor discipline. Reminded me of my first ship!

Rating:
Summary: Great naval chiller
Review: In "The Circle", a young Junior navy officer finally goes to sea. Unfortunately for everybody aboard, the officer is Dan Lenson, the hero of a series of books by Dave Poyer. I've only read a few of the Lenson books, but I've enjoyed them (though I'm pretty sure I wouldn't last a day trying to live through one). Befitting his rank, Lenson's first assignment is the Ryan - an aging destroyer that can barely pull out of port without losing power. Once underway, Lenson begins to learn the art and toil of running a USN ship - its complex mechanics and the labyrinthine passages of its crew. Instead of the Russians (the novel is set in the late 1960's) Lenson must fiercely contend with hustlers among his crew - who deal drugs or otherwise act in manner unbecoming of USN personnel; there are also some officers who prefer sailing with a criminal element, and never stop dreaming of ways to exploit it. Ryan's commander is a sage and noble captain, but Poyer makes it clear that even he may not have a full grasp on what his ship is up against. Soon, with all of its inner pressures kept under control, the Ryan heads for the stormy arctic waters of "The Circle". Lenson must now face the horrors of the polar seas, a possibly rogue Soviet submariner, the shift ones on his own ship and his own inexperience.

"The Circle" was a great read. Poyer inundates you with naval jargon yet manages to sustain a narrative of rare emotional force (for technothrillers anyway). Even if you don't know what's going on, you can at least taste the salt spray. The story is actually composed of two halves, and I agree with the reader who found the first half the better one. Still, Poyer's prose and characters keep you from going into skim mode, and keep "The Circle" from becoming one of those novels whose story seems lifted from an issue of "Jane's all the world's ships". If you loved "The Bedford Incident" or "HMS Ulysses", you've got to get "The Circle".

Rating:
Summary: Great naval chiller
Review: In "The Circle", a young Junior navy officer finally goes to sea. Unfortunately for everybody aboard, the officer is Dan Lenson, the hero of a series of books by Dave Poyer. I've only read a few of the Lenson books, but I've enjoyed them (though I'm pretty sure I wouldn't last a day trying to live through one). Befitting his rank, Lenson's first assignment is the Ryan - an aging destroyer that can barely pull out of port without losing power. Once underway, Lenson begins to learn the art and toil of running a USN ship - its complex mechanics and the labyrinthine passages of its crew. Instead of the Russians (the novel is set in the late 1960's) Lenson must fiercely contend with hustlers among his crew - who deal drugs or otherwise act in manner unbecoming of USN personnel; there are also some officers who prefer sailing with a criminal element, and never stop dreaming of ways to exploit it. Ryan's commander is a sage and noble captain, but Poyer makes it clear that even he may not have a full grasp on what his ship is up against. Soon, with all of its inner pressures kept under control, the Ryan heads for the stormy arctic waters of "The Circle". Lenson must now face the horrors of the polar seas, a possibly rogue Soviet submariner, the shift ones on his own ship and his own inexperience.

"The Circle" was a great read. Poyer inundates you with naval jargon yet manages to sustain a narrative of rare emotional force (for technothrillers anyway). Even if you don't know what's going on, you can at least taste the salt spray. The story is actually composed of two halves, and I agree with the reader who found the first half the better one. Still, Poyer's prose and characters keep you from going into skim mode, and keep "The Circle" from becoming one of those novels whose story seems lifted from an issue of "Jane's all the world's ships". If you loved "The Bedford Incident" or "HMS Ulysses", you've got to get "The Circle".

Rating:
Summary: Hooked Me
Review: Picked up this book as a paperback in an airport bookstore to read during the endless waiting one has to endure when flying. Reading it hooked me as I became fasinated with Dan Lenson. I have since read all of Poyer's books about Lenson and like them all (I am currently reading his latest about pirates in the South China Sea.

Lenson is not a typical hero - which is what I really like about his character. He does remain bound by honor and trying "to do the right thing". He is a character anyone can identify with; not a superhero like the James Bond's of the fictional world.

I read with interest the comments by former Navy types; I am glad Poyer got the details right.

Rating:
Summary: Hooked Me
Review: Picked up this book as a paperback in an airport bookstore to read during the endless waiting one has to endure when flying. Reading it hooked me as I became fasinated with Dan Lenson. I have since read all of Poyer's books about Lenson and like them all (I am currently reading his latest about pirates in the South China Sea.

Lenson is not a typical hero - which is what I really like about his character. He does remain bound by honor and trying "to do the right thing". He is a character anyone can identify with; not a superhero like the James Bond's of the fictional world.

I read with interest the comments by former Navy types; I am glad Poyer got the details right.