[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]

TARGET LOCK by James H. Cobb G. P.Putnam's Sons, February 2002 400 pages $25.95 ISBN: 0399148493

Perhaps you, like I, were under the impression that high seas piracy was controlled and eliminated in the last century or so. However, the year is 2008, and high-tech pirates are conducting some very sophisticated operations in Indonesia. As the book opens, a satellite whose payload contains some very critical data on new and unique compounds that cannot be created on earth is about to splash down before being recovered by the appropriate authorities. Before they are able to recover the craft, it is artfully stolen away by the pirate band. Other acts of aggression are being carried out in the seas of Indonesia by what appears to be an organization of a united pirate fleet coming under a single centralized command.

The United States reacts by putting together a task force led by Commander Amanda Garrett of the US Navy. She has many resources under her control, including two battleships and various other sea and aircraft. The mission is of the highest importance, and as such, the US Navy Admiral, Eddie Mac, is on board with Garrett and her Sea Fighters. Amanda is a brilliant tactician who time and again outwits the forces of evil. The various strategies that are employed during these operations are very creative. Clearly, Cobb is an expert on all things military and uses his knowledge to enhance the credibility of the book. Unfortunately, the pirate operation never seems to come out ahead in any of the encounters, which stretches credibility.

The brains behind the pirate operation is a handsome and exceptional man by the name of Makara Harconan. Makara and Amanda are worthy and equal opponents, who are attracted to one another in spite of the fact that they are enemies at the core. Unfortunately, once Cobb moved off the battlefield and into the bedroom (or the island beach or the isolated cave), the narrative was far less assured. Having established a group of strong female characters, he has Amanda act in a totally inconsistent way in her initial meetings with Makara, showing a vulnerability and weakness that was never apparent in any other setting. The Sea Fighters engage in several missions to overcome the pirates, and during one of them, Amanda is captured and whisked away to a very secure hideaway that was used by the Japanese during World War II. She and Makara are basically living in his love nest. She is able to transmit some information about her location, and the Sea Fighters focus on coming to her rescue.

The main issue that I had with this book that it had a tremendous amount of technical language around the operations and the equipment which made it very difficult for me to understand. Although the use of this vocabulary did lend verisimilitude to the narrative, it really limited comprehension for the average reader. The strange language coupled with a plethora of acronyms made me feel like I was reading a Sanskrit war text. The first 100 pages really dragged as the basic situation was set up in highly technical detail.

The book was populated with an overabundance of characters, and it was difficult to sort out who each person was and their role in the operation. There was a veritable deluge of air and seacraft-ships, hovercraft, helicopters, etc.-and their crew members to keep track of. The personal story line was a bit sappy. The romance element really detracted from the story.

Cobb was wise in setting Target Lock in 2008. That afforded him the ability to employ technology that is not currently available today, but without getting so advanced that the narrative felt like science fiction. This book would likely appeal to those with a military background. It really did not appeal to me. This is the fourth book in the series, so obviously it has its fans.

Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, May 2003

[ Top ]

QUICK SEARCH:

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)

[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]