The book's title comes from the ominous whirr given off by Second
World War mines when their fuses have been activated. Once the
noise begins, you have precisely 12 seconds to stop it or die. For
a small group serving in the Special Countermeasures section of the
Royal Navy, that sound is something they live with daily. Few
people would be skilful or desperate enough to perform their job,
but these are brave, lonely men with something to prove to
themselves - or perhaps nothing to lose. Their task is to
deactivate enemy mines at sea and on land, and the booby-traps
built into some of these bombs simply make the task more dangerous
than it otherwise would be. Once again Douglas Reeman (who also
writes historical seafaring fiction under the name Alexander Kent)
has created a humdinger of a thriller. In prose that at times
borders on the terse, he weaves a clever plot and series of
sub-plots around these professionals, who all have hang-ups and
painful memories. There is Lt-Commander David Masters, a former
submarine captain who lost his ship to a mine. Now he teaches
reckless 'pupils' about deactivation, and has seen many of them
die. There is also Lt Chris Foley, trapped with a mine close to
enemy territory, and Sub-Lt Michael Lincoln who fears exposure as a
coward. Douglas Reeman has written more than 50 novels - 30-odd of
them under his own name and the rest as Alexander Kent. A veteran
of wartime convoys across the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, he is
able to write with feisty realism about those times and the mood of
sailors who risked all they had. (Kirkus UK)
The mine is an impartial killer, and a lethal challenge to any volunteer in the Special Countermeasures of the Royal Navy. They are brave, lonely men with something to prove or nothing left to lose. Lieutenant-Commander David Masters, haunted by a split second glimpse of the mine that destroyed his first and only command, H. M. Submarine Tornado, now defuses 'the beast' on land and teaches the same deadly science to others who too often die in the attempt. Lieutenant Chris Foley, minelaying off an enemy coast in ML366, rolls on an uneasy sea with a release bracket sheared and a lie mine jammed, and hears the menacing growl of approaching E-boats. And Sub-Lieutenant Michael Lincoln, hailed as a hero, dreads exposure as a coward even more than the unexpected booby-trap, or the gentle whirr of the activated fuse marking the last twelve seconds of his life.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
