Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the US Walker?a Great War-era destroyer?finds itself retreating from pursuing Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, desperately leads the Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover?only to emerge into an alternate world. A world where two species have evolved: the cat-like Lemurians and the reptilian Griks?and they are at war.
With its power and weaponry, the Walker?s very existence could alter the balance of power. And for Reddy and his crew, who have the means to turn a primitive war into a genocidal Armageddon, one thing becomes clear. They must determine whose side they?re on. Because whichever species they choose is the winner.
From Booklist
Anderson’s outstanding first novel combines alternate history and seafaring in a way that recalls S. M. Stirling’s splendid Island in the Sea of Time trilogy. Two U.S. four-stacker destroyers on the run from the Japanese in the spring of 1942 sail into a mysterious squall. The USS Walker emerges upon an alternate earth, where the dinosaurs were never wiped out. One savage sapient race, the Grik, has evolved from the raptors; another, from lemurs. The latter becomes the allies of the castaways in parallel time, and together they prepare to fight the Grik, solve some of the mysteries of this world, and find the missing second destroyer. There may be points, probably few, at which naval buffs will raise their eyebrows, but the nonstop action will speed nearly all readers past them. That action works out in the context of extremely high-level achievement at both world building and characterization. It’s safe to say that the series this book launches is going to go places—for starters, into the hands of all seafaring-sf fans. --Roland Green
Review
"Taylor Anderson has brought a fresh new perspective to the tale of cross-time shipwreck. The action is gripping and riveting…and the description vivid…. Anderson is a new talent to watch." ---S. M. Stirling, author of The Sunrise Lands
Description:
Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the US Walker?a Great War-era destroyer?finds itself retreating from pursuing Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, desperately leads the Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover?only to emerge into an alternate world. A world where two species have evolved: the cat-like Lemurians and the reptilian Griks?and they are at war.
With its power and weaponry, the Walker?s very existence could alter the balance of power. And for Reddy and his crew, who have the means to turn a primitive war into a genocidal Armageddon, one thing becomes clear. They must determine whose side they?re on. Because whichever species they choose is the winner.
From Booklist
Anderson’s outstanding first novel combines alternate history and seafaring in a way that recalls S. M. Stirling’s splendid Island in the Sea of Time trilogy. Two U.S. four-stacker destroyers on the run from the Japanese in the spring of 1942 sail into a mysterious squall. The USS Walker emerges upon an alternate earth, where the dinosaurs were never wiped out. One savage sapient race, the Grik, has evolved from the raptors; another, from lemurs. The latter becomes the allies of the castaways in parallel time, and together they prepare to fight the Grik, solve some of the mysteries of this world, and find the missing second destroyer. There may be points, probably few, at which naval buffs will raise their eyebrows, but the nonstop action will speed nearly all readers past them. That action works out in the context of extremely high-level achievement at both world building and characterization. It’s safe to say that the series this book launches is going to go places—for starters, into the hands of all seafaring-sf fans. --Roland Green
Review
"Taylor Anderson has brought a fresh new perspective to the tale of cross-time shipwreck. The action is gripping and riveting…and the description vivid…. Anderson is a new talent to watch." ---S. M. Stirling, author of The Sunrise Lands