The Iron Pirate, by Douglas Reeman

October 9, 2009 by Nekkidblogger
Filed under: Douglas Reeman, book review, historical fiction, naval fiction

The Iron Pirate is a chilling World War II thriller. It is a book about Prinz Luitpoldt, a Hipper class 8-inch cruiser, one of the strongest German cruisers. The action takes place in 1944. The book is written mostly from a German point of view. The hero of the book is the captain of the German cruiser, Kapitan zur See Dieter Hechler. As Douglas Reeman writes: “In war it is inevitable that only one side can triumph, but honour and self-sacrifice are not the sole attributes of the victors”. The Iron Pirate is a respectful thriller which shows exactly this.

The German heavy cruiser Prinz Luitpold had always been lucky in battle. To the beleaguered army on the Baltic coast she was their one remaining symbol of hope. But now it is the summer of 1944, and on every front the war is going badly for Germany.

When the order comes to leave the Baltic to attack and destroy enemy shipping in the Atlantic, Kapitan zur See Dieter Hechler knows that once out in the vast killing ground it will only be a matter of time before the hunter becomes the hunted.

Douglas Reeman’s expertise shows through every page. His description of life in Nazi Germany after four years of total war is also very convincing. To me this was an exciting, enlightening, and good book .Very entertaining, well written and easy to read as well.

Links to books by Douglas Reeman at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN