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The Modern Naval Fiction Library
Dive in the Sun
Only one team can destroy the German floating dock that is large enough to hold a major warship and still stand a chance of surviving -- the crew of HM Midget Submarine XE 51.
234 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
33 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Reeman
139 books178 followersAKA Alexander Kent.
Douglas Edward Reeman was a British author who has written many historical fiction books on the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars.
Reeman joined the Royal Navy in 1940, at the age of 16, and served during World War II and the Korean War. He eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant. In addition to being an author, Reeman has also taught the art of navigation for yachting and served as a technical advisor for films. Douglas married author Kimberley Jordan Reeman in 1985.
Reeman's debut novel, A Prayer for the Ship was published in 1958. His pseudonym Alexander Kent was the name of a friend and naval officer who died during the Second World War. Reeman is most famous for his series of Napoleonic naval stories, whose central character is Richard Bolitho, and, later, his nephew, Adam. He also wrote a series of novels about several generations of the Blackwood family who served in the Royal Marines from the 1850s to the 1970s, and a non-fiction account of his World War II experiences, D-Day : A Personal Reminiscence (1984).
Series:
* Blackwood Family
Douglas Edward Reeman was a British author who has written many historical fiction books on the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars.
Reeman joined the Royal Navy in 1940, at the age of 16, and served during World War II and the Korean War. He eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant. In addition to being an author, Reeman has also taught the art of navigation for yachting and served as a technical advisor for films. Douglas married author Kimberley Jordan Reeman in 1985.
Reeman's debut novel, A Prayer for the Ship was published in 1958. His pseudonym Alexander Kent was the name of a friend and naval officer who died during the Second World War. Reeman is most famous for his series of Napoleonic naval stories, whose central character is Richard Bolitho, and, later, his nephew, Adam. He also wrote a series of novels about several generations of the Blackwood family who served in the Royal Marines from the 1850s to the 1970s, and a non-fiction account of his World War II experiences, D-Day : A Personal Reminiscence (1984).
Series:
* Blackwood Family
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 28, 2015
Ugh. This probably is the last Reeman I hadn't read, and among the worst. Starts fine; interesting mission, but devolves into a series of sine-wave jeopardies that are solved before they scare. Doesn't help that there's not a single sympathetic character.
January 27, 2021
** Spoilers **
Not the best example of Reeman’s and in some ways I do feel I a bit let down by the blurb and the story construction. I was expecting a tense story about the attempt of the midget submarine in their attempt to destroy the large portable dock. Instead the attack was over in the first couple of chapters and we find the crew having to abandon the midget sub and make for the coast. Stranded and given up for the dead the story follows the crew as they attempt to evade the locals, German soldiers and join up with allied army expected to be invading southern Italy.
The story is OK but the tensions between the crew and extraordinary events that happen to them seem slightly implausible and leave the reader a bit underwhelmed by the whole thing.
Not the best example of Reeman’s and in some ways I do feel I a bit let down by the blurb and the story construction. I was expecting a tense story about the attempt of the midget submarine in their attempt to destroy the large portable dock. Instead the attack was over in the first couple of chapters and we find the crew having to abandon the midget sub and make for the coast. Stranded and given up for the dead the story follows the crew as they attempt to evade the locals, German soldiers and join up with allied army expected to be invading southern Italy.
The story is OK but the tensions between the crew and extraordinary events that happen to them seem slightly implausible and leave the reader a bit underwhelmed by the whole thing.
February 14, 2021
This is another in the Second World War naval titles by Douglas Reeman. This one has some of his standard features, a strong, but somehow flawed, solitary captain leader and an attractive available woman. The strong leader never goes off the job but he and the lady form a solid bond with almost no words. There is also a weakish member of the team. To differentiate from his norm, the war work was successfully completed at the start of the book and the challenges and story take place on the trip home.
The book opens with a four man crew in a British mini submarine targeting a floating German drydock in a north eastern Italy port. The submarine is damaged and they are unable to meet their tow home. This forces them to venture into a small Italian port. After a series of adventures, they end up commandeering a small sloop, some British wounded, Italian soldiers who become POWs the town Mayor and his daughter, the local German Nazi soldier and the sloop’s crew and captain.
The story follows this group, all dependent on the British Captain to reach “safety”. Adventures are started by, impact, or are resolved by various of these groups in random order. One of the four original crew always plays a major roll, in different ways, in resolving or recovering from these adventures. The drama is not all weapons oriented as issues such as loss of all water, etc. pop up. The drama grows as surprises pop up, resources shrink and people die.
This was not a big battle, or even an important battle but it was important to these people and still deadly. The drama grows right to the very end. The story maintains its interest and shows Reeman’s skill to provide a tight story even when he does not use guns in every scene. This is the first time I have read this book. In my opinion, it is not his best but ranks very good.
A very good book, exciting and readable. Four stars.
The book opens with a four man crew in a British mini submarine targeting a floating German drydock in a north eastern Italy port. The submarine is damaged and they are unable to meet their tow home. This forces them to venture into a small Italian port. After a series of adventures, they end up commandeering a small sloop, some British wounded, Italian soldiers who become POWs the town Mayor and his daughter, the local German Nazi soldier and the sloop’s crew and captain.
The story follows this group, all dependent on the British Captain to reach “safety”. Adventures are started by, impact, or are resolved by various of these groups in random order. One of the four original crew always plays a major roll, in different ways, in resolving or recovering from these adventures. The drama is not all weapons oriented as issues such as loss of all water, etc. pop up. The drama grows as surprises pop up, resources shrink and people die.
This was not a big battle, or even an important battle but it was important to these people and still deadly. The drama grows right to the very end. The story maintains its interest and shows Reeman’s skill to provide a tight story even when he does not use guns in every scene. This is the first time I have read this book. In my opinion, it is not his best but ranks very good.
A very good book, exciting and readable. Four stars.
August 31, 2020
Reeman's fourth novel (1961), before he got into his groove.
The good: Reeman hasn't yet fallen into the productive-but-tired formulaic writing that fills his later novels (tormented captain has to overcome a trauma from his past, and is ultimately redeemed by love and an awkardly-written sex scene just before the big final battle, all the while struggling with a misguided, egotistical senior officer who makes his life difficult, and a doomed subordinate with a hidden flaw).
The bad: the plot meanders and reads more like a boys' adventure story, without all the details of naval life that we've come to enjoy in his later novels. You keep expecting a unifying story arc that never quite emerges.
The good: Reeman hasn't yet fallen into the productive-but-tired formulaic writing that fills his later novels (tormented captain has to overcome a trauma from his past, and is ultimately redeemed by love and an awkardly-written sex scene just before the big final battle, all the while struggling with a misguided, egotistical senior officer who makes his life difficult, and a doomed subordinate with a hidden flaw).
The bad: the plot meanders and reads more like a boys' adventure story, without all the details of naval life that we've come to enjoy in his later novels. You keep expecting a unifying story arc that never quite emerges.
May 9, 2023
Another excellent adventure from Douglas Reeman who is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors.
The way Reeman makes the reader feel they are really there with his characters as the story unfolds is clever ,and this story is no exception . Full of twists and turns - some predictable and some not- coupled with the occasional moments of dry humour just adds (in my opinion) to the whole enjoyment of the book .
The way Reeman makes the reader feel they are really there with his characters as the story unfolds is clever ,and this story is no exception . Full of twists and turns - some predictable and some not- coupled with the occasional moments of dry humour just adds (in my opinion) to the whole enjoyment of the book .
June 9, 2021
Dive in the Sun is a midget submarine drama set during the early stages of the Italian campaign in 1944. It’s a well put together yarn with some well-drawn characters, interesting political developments and exciting action.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of’39, all published by Sacristy Press.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of’39, all published by Sacristy Press.
October 20, 2022
Not very good Reeman. Slow, plodding start. Feels like he's making it up as he goes along. Not a good ending. Real "you gotta be kidding" story line throughout. Soap-opera ending. I stretched it to a 3-star. This might be a only if you're really bored book.
August 8, 2017
This wasn't the best Reeman that I have read but I still enjoyed it enough to not put it down.
September 14, 2022
Great read
Excellent as with all Douglas Reeman books. Easy reading, good tale with human frailties exposed. Would highly recommend all of Reeman's books.
Excellent as with all Douglas Reeman books. Easy reading, good tale with human frailties exposed. Would highly recommend all of Reeman's books.
September 16, 2012
Adriatic, 1940s...Curtis was the pro. He could steer a sub through a saloon and no one would notice. Duncan was the grumbler, more at home in the Aussie Outback than twenty fathoms under the Adriatic. Jervis was the spit-and-polish man, who knew the correct way to die. And George, the Cockney, was the toughest of them all. Four men in the Royal Navy's smallest sub, preparing the way for history's largest invasion. They had three tasks: slip into a closely guarded harbour, attach a time-charge to the Jerries' biggest dry-dock, and escape with their lives if possible. The first two tasks were orders. The third was optional.
August 21, 2024
This was the first Reeman novel I read. The paperback cover caught my attention.
August 12, 2014
V češtině Než přijde smrt..., naprosto úžasná, poutavá kniha, hltala jsem stranu za stranou
MOJE RECENZE NA BLOGU: http://lucysfinearts.blogspot.cz/2014...
MOJE RECENZE NA BLOGU: http://lucysfinearts.blogspot.cz/2014...
February 15, 2015
Starts out with a Royal Navy crew of 4on a midget submarine in World War II.
October 19, 2015
Velit eos consequatur possimus ad sunt provident porro. Magni libero quod aut. Assumenda inventore debitis quia. Ut et excepturi commodi nobis qui quam eius.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews