John McLaren (1) (1932–2015)

Started out a mere two-three stars as, although, most of the characters that drive the story are quite well-developed and "supported" by an antagonist who delivers high marks on the scale of evil and sheer hate-ability, by contrast the protagonist's involvement and character seemed, at first, rather lackluster. However, the protagonist totally redeemed himself when midway through the book he turned out to be a man of conscience defying civilian leaders and their lackeys in the military, and this became a clear case of a four star novel. Wooden followers of inculcated duties are rewarded by the material trapping of our consumer society. Followers of their own moral compass must jeopardize, more often than not, the trappings and security of our material society, so we relegate such idealistic behavior to the safe realm of the imagination.
It should not be that way. What matters most is that we are taught a moral lesson packaged within a believable scenario that involuntarily made me question what I would have done in the protagonist's shoes. Writing style and character development is at the root of a good novel but only when, in addition, the writer manages to pull of that kind of involvement and identification in us, something is truly worth reading.
One caveat though - the setting on an Invincible class Royal Navy aircraft carrier necessitates, for realism’s sake, usage of quite a bit of navy jargon and the typical male sexist banter. The writer certainly did not go overboard on it, but the navy is a man's world and that may or may not put off female readers.… (meer)