CARRIER 9 ARCTIC FIRE BY KEITH DOUGLAS

Copyright 1997.

A group of Cossack separatists have taken control of a submarine and landed on the island of Attu in the Aleutian chain. They have some goal to get a separate homeland or something like that. They sink a Greenpeace vessel and get into a fight with some Innuit people. Admiral Tombstone Macgruder has been assigned to command Alaska. Luckily his old carrier battlegroup the Thomas Jefferson is also in the area. The Cossacks manage to get on board and try to take over the carrier.

This book is when I checked out on reading the series. Of course, during this time, I kind of checked out on reading in general but it didn’t help this book was such a piece of crap. The whole book has no logical plot. Why did they decide to occupy this island. It seems that the leader at the last minute decided to take over the carrier, so I have no idea what the original goal was. You keep reading the book expecting the reveal and get nothing. Also, the action scenes were laughable. A F-14 has trouble shooting down a slow-moving Bear bomber. There was a marked decline in the series when the original creator Willaim Keith left.

Now I do want to read the other books in this series. I think multiple authors took over and some do sound interesting. So, I am open to continuing reading this series but that will have to wait for the future.

CARRIER 8 ALPHA STRIKE BY KEITH DOUGLAS

Copyright 1997.

A tank stationed on an atoll in the Spratley Islands is destroyed in an explosion. The Chinese accuse the U.S. Carrier battlegroup in the area as being the instigators. Soon another base is destroyed, and a Vietnamese patrol boat is sunk. Admiral Tombstone Magruder and the U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson has to find out what is going on before this leads to a war with China.

This is the first book that William Keith the creator of this series didn’t write. I don’t know who wrote this, but it is an OK book I suppose. The setting is if anything not dated as the Chinese still are actively claiming the whole South China Sea and its oil deposits. It anything with China’s growing navy it has the potential to become as serious incident in the future. The writer though does write a book that not a lot happens for most of the book. There are some incidents with a cruise launched missile from a mysterious sub. The commander of the Aegis cruiser is way too gung-ho for action and has to be relived. Also, the stationing of a tank on a small atoll seems a bit dumb. I don’t know if the Chinese have actually done that. I know they keep troops on them to enforce their claims but a tank.

Anyway, the action doesn’t really come until the last few chapters of the book, and it gets resolved way too easily. Tombstone gets reassigned and his best friend is promoted to admiral and command of the carrier. He also starts a romantic relationship with a female pilot that he was friends with. Sadly, the series without William Keith is a bit lackluster.

CARRIER 7 AFTERBURN BY KEITH DOUGLAS

Copyright 1996.

The Russian Civil War has been raging for some time. Ukraine has managed to build a powerful army and control half the Black Sea fleet. It is only a matter of time before they take the Crimea. The Russian general decides to save it by surrendering control to the U.N. At this time CBG-14 lead by U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson has entered the Black Sea to enforce a no-fly zone over Georgia. Now the current administration puts the carrier group under the U.N. to help protect the Crimea. Only a renegade Russian admiral has a plan. He destroys a bridge over the Bosphorus and destroys a fuel resupply ship. Now the carrier is trapped and running low on fuel and supplies.

This is the final Carrier written by Keith William who created the series and also the final to deal with the Russian civil war storyline. It is strange to have the Ukrainians in such a position of power and to be the bad guys. They are very much into ethnic cleansing and that is why the U.N. accepted the role of peacekeepers in the Crimea. This happened shortly after the debacle of Somalia where U.S. military forces were under U.N. command. Tombstone Magruder has to deal with the same incompetence and a hostile feminist Secretary of Defense that hates the Navy. Yet he manages to figure out a way to save the carrier group although the Ukrainians still manage to take over the Crimea and presumable ethnically cleanse it.

CARRIER 6 COUNTDOWN BY KEITH DOUGLASS

Copyright 1994.

The failed invasion of Norway has triggered a civil war in the Soviet Union. There is the Red side of the hardline Communists and the Blue under democratic reformers. The Red side has decided to nuke a rebel city to get them to surrender. They will use their Typhoon class submarines. The only thing stopping them is CBG-14 the carrier battle group lead by U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson. The Jefferson with its recently promoted Tombstone Macgruder as CAG has to fight off hordes of Soviet bombers. Land a division of Marines on the Kola peninsula and hunt down the Typhoon subs to stop the civil war from going nuclear.

This book continues with a full-blown war in Russia. Something that was a fear back in those days. Such a war would add the threat of loose nukes. Naturally the U.S has to stop this. The book also has a lot to deal with the concept of women in combat. The carrier wing has been augmented with female aviators. This does cause some problems and the author gives a realistic telling with all the positives and negatives of such moves. To a lesser extent it also deals with the just current don’t ask don’t tell policy of the Clinton administration. Another enjoyable action book that deals with an amphibious assault on a strategic point that was one of those scenarios wargamed during the cold war. This is also the final one to deal with the old Soviet Union as the main opponent.

CARRIER 5 MAELSTROM BY KEITH DOUGLASS

Copyright 1993.

America has now joined the war to drive the Soviets out of Norway. Carrier U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson manages to hit the Soviet invaders hard and prepares the way for a Marine amphibious landing. The Soviets expand the war and invade Sweden. They also conquer Denmark in a lighting invasion. This allows the Baltic fleet and another carrier group to enter the fight. Jefferson is now caught between two carrier groups. Low on missiles and fuel the situation looks grim. Commander Tombstone Macgruder comes up with a bold plan. Hit the first carrier and sink it then turn around and take out the other.

The next book in the series continues where the last left off. They have successfully stopped a Soviet amphibious invasion and hide out in a fjord. They have a series of fights that almost destroy the carrier. Yet manage to turn things around and defeat the evil Soviet invaders. Tombstone gets to rekindle his romance with news reporter Pamela Drake. Gets promoted to captain and permanently assigned as CAG for the carrier. The action is exciting and feels real. The author really knows his stuff about carrier operations.

CARRIER 4 FLAME-OUT BY KEITH DOUGLASS

Copyright 1992.

It is 1997 in this alternate future where the Soviet Union managed to reconstitute itself. NATO has been disbanded and the resurgent Soviets have invaded Norway. The country valiantly fights back but it is obvious they can’t win. Enter U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson America’s newest carrier of CVB-14. The Soviets have declared an exclusion zone in the Norwegian Sea and America decides to ignore it. Tombstone Magruder is back and now deputy CAG (Commander Air Group). An incident occurs that starts a shooting war between the Soviets and America. Keflavik is destroyed and the carrier attacked with many planes lost and one destroyer. The CAG is killed elevating Tombstone into the position. Now they have to fight off a Soviet carrier and figure out a way to stop an amphibious invasion of Bergen.

The fourth book in the series has decided to go old school. They have a future where the Soviet Union managed to reconstitute itself and stay a world power. They start a war with Norway and invade Finland. It seems logical the writer of this series would decide to have the carrier battle the enemy it was originally envisioned to fight. No third-rate country this time but one with weapons that could seriously defeat them. The battle for Norway was a common scenario in the old Harpoon wargame so everything seems very familiar to me. This is where the series really came into giving us a true workout for the Carrier.

CARRIER 3 ARMAGEDDON MODE BY KEITH DOUGLASS

Copyright 1992

India and Pakistan have gone to war. The stakes raise when Pakistan detonates a nuclear bomb showing the world it is now a nuclear power. Carrier battle group 14 lead by the U.S.S. Jefferson is on station in the Arabian sea. They accidentally sink an Indian submarine. The Indians demand all foreign warships leave the area. America refuses and plans to attack the Indians to stop the war. They are joined by a Russian carrier group. The Russians want to show the world they are still a world power. The Indians launch an attack. Using mass waves of aircraft, they hope to penetrate the defenses and show the world their power.

The third book in the series takes the carrier to the Indian Ocean and a battle with India. India was a growing naval power at the time, so it makes sense to write a story of them battling the Indians. Combine this with the Pakistan-India rivalry and you have the genesis of the start of a conflict. The Russians are in this also and portrayed as allies. They want to prove the Commonwealth (anybody remember the Commonwealth?) is still relevant. Now the Soviet Union had just collapsed and there was an optimistic believe they would be partners with the U.S. We know where that went.

Anyway, the Russians don’t really work well with America and have their own agendas which complicates the battle. Plus, a new commander who is more concerned with his career also complicates things. This book is the first time that the carrier group faces an opponent that could seriously sink or damage them. The battle scenes feel realistic and exciting. Another enjoyable entry in the series.

CARRIER 2 VIPER STRIKE BY KEITH DOUGLASS

Copyright 1991.

The U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson has been ordered to Thailand. The government there is suffering a Communist rebellion in the north. The Jefferson is there to show support for the government. Yet sinister forces are at work. A renegade Chinese intelligence agent has joined forces with a Burmese general and disaffected officers in the Thai army. He manages to bring over a squadron of Chinese J-7 aircraft into Burma. The goal is to destabilize the government so a coup can occur. This would give the plotters control of the drug trade in the Golden Triangle.

Tombstone Magruder and the other crew are looking forward to a relaxing leave in Bangkok. Magruder starts a love affair with a journalist who was sent to interview him. Only the coup plotters drag in the crew. An F-14 gets shot down and the crew has adventures with Karen rebels inside Burma. Tombstone and others get kidnapped to reveal info to help a plan to attack the Jefferson. It all comes down to an action-packed ending that destroys the various coup plotters.

The second book in the series is a bit low key. The first dealt with the planning of a complex rescue operation against a country. There were major air and land battles. This one is more about the intrigue of a complex coup plot. The awesome might of the carrier is not really used until the final part when they battle the renegade Chinese planes. It does a great job of giving the reader the cultural and political background of Thailand and Burma. It also gives us a different story from the first book which I appreciate.

CARRIER BY KEITH DOUGLASS

Copyright 1991.

The North Koreans attack and capture the U.S. spy ship U.S.S. Chimera and hold the crew captive. They threaten to execute them. Fortunately, CVB-14 U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson is in the area. A plan is implemented that includes Navy SEALS and a Marine landing to rescue the hostages. Lt. Commander “Tombstone” Magruder leads the Tomcats in the fight to attack the North Koreans. He has his hands full bombing the SAM sites and protecting the fleet from attacks by bombers and fighters.

This is the first of a series in the nineties about a carrier battle group and their various battles. It was created by William H. Keith Jr. who wrote the first six books in the series. Keith wrote many other most notably under the pen name Ian Douglas for a series of futuristic marine and navy novels. He also did the excellent time travel series Freedom’s Rangers.

Keith is a former Navy veteran and is very knowledgeable about the service. His story paints a very realistic portrayal of the combat. The dogfights as well as ground combat feels very realistic. You do get a feeling of being on a carrier. He also puts in realistic accidents such as a guy carelessly not paying attention and getting sucked into a jet engine and causing an explosion. The result closes down the deck for a crucial hour. The scenario at the time was also realistic. The Soviet Union was in decline and aid was getting cut to the hardline regime. You could see them doing this to get attention and need aid. This was a very solid first book for the new series.