cover image Hunter Killer: The War with China— The Battle for the Central Pacific

Hunter Killer: The War with China— The Battle for the Central Pacific

David Poyer. St. Martin’s, $27.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-09795-8

Poyer’s gripping sequel to 2016’s Onslaught, which continues the story arc of a war with China, finds U.S. Navy officer Dan Lenson promoted to admiral and put in charge of a task force to clear the sea lanes around Guam. Lenson’s mission also includes landing a contingent of Marines to reconquer an island under Chinese control. Thus far America and her allies have been “surprised, outmaneuvered, outthought, and overwhelmed” by the Chinese. The only bright spot is that the carriers are still holding east of Hawaii. Lenson and his crew have fought some terrible battles and barely survived, but worse horrors lie ahead. Intense and bloody only begin to describe the realism of the combat scenes. Meanwhile, back in Washington, Lenson’s wife, Blair Titus, the vice president of a think tank, is advising the U.S. government on strategy to counter the Chinese, and, in western China, Teddy Oberg of SEAL Team Eight is starving in a POW camp. Each book moves the story forward and primes readers for the thrills that are sure to come in future entries. (Nov.)