A review by steelcitygator
Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War by August Cole, P. W. Singer
3.0
A clear inspiration and update on the classic "Red Storm Rising," it fails to really capture some of what made that great but is still an enjoyable experience for anyone interested in the subject. My first issue with the book is how much it jumps around. Gaining different perspectives in a war scenario book like this is good but some of the storylines needed trimming from the story. Early on they jump super quickly and it destroys any flow and can be quite confusing for the reader trying to parse together the timeline. None of the storylines are bad enough to flag as the one that needs cut and it feels better at the end of the book when they start wrapping up and spending more time with each but it takes a long time to get there.
That said, the ending is really great. Once they start getting into the battle at the end you really get the feel you want from a book like this. It makes you wish there were more like it in the book as even the insurgent sections seem mostly bereft of fighting. I also think the beginning could have gone with some adversity. Seemingly the winning side has everything go perfectly to a degree that feels off. It is war, something goes wrong.
That said it's pretty enjoyable and if you're into the sort of style of work like Red Storm Rising it scratches the same itch just less efficiently. There are not a ton of books in this category, especially modern focused ones compared to the cold war era and you will enjoy it.
That said, the ending is really great. Once they start getting into the battle at the end you really get the feel you want from a book like this. It makes you wish there were more like it in the book as even the insurgent sections seem mostly bereft of fighting. I also think the beginning could have gone with some adversity. Seemingly the winning side has everything go perfectly to a degree that feels off. It is war, something goes wrong.
That said it's pretty enjoyable and if you're into the sort of style of work like Red Storm Rising it scratches the same itch just less efficiently. There are not a ton of books in this category, especially modern focused ones compared to the cold war era and you will enjoy it.