From Publishers Weekly
The romantically unflappable Amanda Garrett, the maritime commander of Cobb's action-at-sea series, falls out of character and into the arms of a modern-day pirate on her latest voyage. Garrett, leader of an elite navy strike force known as the Sea Fighters, is called to arms after pirates lay siege to a U.S. research vessel in the Indonesian Sea and steal a satellite that contains military secrets. Assisted by her able crew aboard the high-tech destroyer USS Cunningham, Garrett quickly determines that the satellite thieves are part of a huge organization of oceanic marauders led by the dashing Makara Harconan. While in pursuit, however, Garrett allows herself to be not only seduced but also kidnapped by Harconan, who takes her to his secret hideout where, coincidentally, the satellite is also stored. Garrett's poor judgment forces the Sea Fighters to turn a simple seek-and-recovery job into a damsel-in-distress rescue mission. Cobb's fourth Garrett adventure (Sea Fighter; Sea Strike), set in 2008, packs plenty of hard-charging Neptunian spirit and features dogged sea battles and interesting historical asides about Indonesia and piracy. Garrett's weakness for the archipelago's Svengali, however, not only is odd considering her previous guts-and-glory determination but gives an otherwise steely plot a squishy core. Cobb's hand at suspense slips a bit here, too: although they lose their commander for a time, nothing really comes too hard for the Sea Fighters. (Feb.)Forecast: Most Cobb fans will throw up their hands at their heroine's slip into romance; a few will enjoy the diversion. This isn't one of Cobb's best efforts, but the franchise is still seaworthy.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
In the fourth Amanda Lee Garrett novel, she still commands the Sea Fighter force of armed hovercraft and supporting vessels, now against a formidable new opponent. Makara Harkonon is bent on organizing the piratically inclined Bugi tribesmen of Indonesia into a force of sea warriors that will control maritime passage through the archipelago. He is also a classic exemplar of the charisma of the dark side, and Amanda is not unwilling to be seduced by him. Seduced but not turned, and when Harkonon learns that, he kidnaps her and holds her in a durance that, but for the Sea Fighter force, augmented by a moonlight-requisitioned Indonesian warship, might become exceedingly vile. Problems are solved, but not so many as to preclude a fifth Amanda Lee adventure. Cobb's hallmark lovingly detailed settings and high-tech naval hardware, irresistible nonstop action, and slightly-larger-than-life characters are as effective as ever, and broadly read thriller fans won't be surprised that Cobb acknowledges Modesty Blaise as one of Amanda Lee's literary ancestors. Enjoy.
Roland GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
de James Cobb
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