Larry LaswellThe Marathon Watch: Ross

]] I was a young naval officer in the early 70's aboard a similar destroyer like the USS Farnley in Larry Laswell's book. The book captures the real relationships between Admirals, Commodores and ship Commanding Officers, down to the new Division Officer and his relationship with the experienced Master Chief Petty Officer in his division. This book is more in line with "Mr. Roberts", not a shoot 'em up, it tells the story of a ship at war with it's own destructive navy Admiral. This is a book about leadership and how to overcome adversity while keeping a sense of humor. This book should be on the bookshelf of every new Naval Officer. It's difficult to put down until you finish it. Caution, you may lose sleep reading this book when you have a full day of work ahead of you!

Where do I start? First let me say that I'm an avid reader. I have read over a thousand books in 10 years. I say that not to brag, but to give you a measurement of my sense of comparison when I say that this book was very very good. Military fiction has not been my favorite genre. Tom Clancy goes into way too much detail. Somehow Laswell goes into a lot of detail, but he does it in a way that keeps your interest. His character construct was excellent. I feel as though I personally met and knew each individual in this book. His knowledge of the Navy is thorough and complete. Laswell has complete mastery of the English language. His sentences are perfectly constructed and punctuated. What I enjoyed most of all is his colorful scene descriptions. Here is a quote from a night scene aboard the Farnley:" The hot humid day had followed the sun westward, leaving a cool midnight breeze. The sky, God’s special gift to the sailor, was free of city lights and urban pollution. Placed on display, all of creation was set on the night’s canopy of blue-black velvet adorned with the glistening diamond dust of billions of lesser stars and the sparkling one-point diamonds of the major stars.A deep golden harvest moon hung low on the eastern horizon. Its glow cut a pewter path from moon to ship across shifting liquid swells rolling forward to meet the Farnley’s bow. The bow, rocking gently, rose, then floated gently down to embrace the next swell."Wow, I wish I could write like that.This is a book about power, control, military politics, friendship, loyalty, hard work, seamanship, all held together by the writing skills and imagination of Larry Laswell.Great Read.

I read this book to learn more about the Navy life of my sons (and grandson) we love to hear their Navy stories. I loved this book. It's very much in the spirit of what the Navy meant to them. It was well written and kept you on the edge of your chair about what was coming next. No one can write a story better than someone who has lived it. I tried to get the authors newsletter to keep up to date with his books, but the links didn't work. I'm sad about that as I enjoy newsletters from my favorite authors. Larry, if you read this, please fix it. I still would like to get it. I Wii follow you on Amazon. I think anyone who was in the "old navy" will enjoy it. I hope the "new navy" will teach my grandson the same values. Keep writing.

I knew someday I would find a gripping contemporary book about the United States Navy. I’ve been searching for one on par with the plethora of Army Fiction-that is not set in the 1700’s. This book is set in the 1970’s and does a fabulous job showing the political environment the Navy was in during the Vietnam war and the real life danger and adventure sailors encounter out at sea. I am also a big fan of any book that can make me laugh out loud-and The Marathon Watch has all kinds of funny moments. The cast of characters Laswell put together is fun and a breath of fresh air. A big departure from the stereotypical officer and enlisted characters you run across in the military fiction genre. Lieutenant Lee was my favorite officer. His character was stunning and so real. It was so refreshing to see a character I think anyone who has been in the military long enough has had the pleasure to work with. The actions he takes and doesn’t take in a remarkably difficult situation were right on target and made the outcomes believable.Watching the leadership evolution of Master Chief Ross and his eventual epiphany was great. I think he showed how even as leaders we still learn new things and uncover situations we could have handled better. Even in a rut, Ross was relatable, human, and always worried about his men. I think his scene at the port in Greece was one of the most hilarious parts of the book.I also liked the layering of motivations behind the different officers in the book. Why they did the work they did. How actions by one Captain verses another displayed the qualities and abilities an officer imbued with such responsibilities is required to have. I was celebrating the successes of sailors on one ship while mourning with sailors on another.It was great to read a book able to make the traditions and culture of the US Navy come to life and have meaning. It was relevant and fascinating to read about the capabilities of the different ships-and then watch the sailors push their limits in real world situations. An action packed book I think anyone-civilian or service member could pick up and enjoy. I envision Captain O’Toole might have praised, “Laswell did a very adequate job.” And I agree-outstanding book, I look forward to reading Laswell’s future works.

I really enjoyed this novel.It seemed to strike just the right balance between action and description. And what started out as several seemingly unrelated strands as they were introduced, were all tied up in a neat seaman's knot at the end.For my part, I would have liked a little more in depth description of the characters. That said, it is probably appropriate that it was not so, the armed forces notorious for producing clones of servicemen - all of whom are trained to think and act alike! There were one or two stereotypes amongst the characters. One in particular who reminded me a lot of Lee Marvin's character in "The Dirty Dozen" and another who I thought reminiscent of Clint Eastwood's "Harry Callaghan".It was fairly clear from early on that the author was an experienced seaman. The "sailor-speak" language struck the right chord and came across as authentic and adds to the enjoyment of the story.What I particularly liked about the book was the gritty truthfulness and authenticity about the life of seafarers and the need to "get home safely". Far too many pieces of military fiction set in this era go gung-ho glorifying the activities in Viet Nam Rambo-style. I was more than pleasantly surprised that Mr Laswell didn't follow the same vein.

I read a lot of books, but I don't often write reviews. However I will make an exception for this book as I have hardly been able to put it down.The plot follows an elderly US destroyer on its last commission in 1971. The enemy it's crew face is an admiral obsessed with political advancement and the sea. The author's personal experience in similar vessels creates a real authenticity to the writing, reminiscent of Douglas Reeman and David Poyer. The main story is counterbalanced by short often humerus vignettes which can only be the product of real life. I look forward to the publication of the sequel next year.

Absolutely 5 stars, no hesitation!A truly great novel, interesting and believable plot.The characters were well written and mostly true to life, but Mr Laswell's true writing skills really come to the fore in his engine room scenes, I could almost feel the thunderous power of the steam turbines coming out of my Kindle when they finally got to jam the throttles wide open and go 'screaming steaming'.At the end of the book the authors says this is the first of a trilogy, and from this man 3 is definitely better than one, but don't sell yourself short Larry, believe these reviews and give us a whole series

Real characters. Believable situations. Very hard book to put down.I look forward to reading his other works. Will definitely recommend this book.

Not like anything I have read beforeBut it is well written, clearly knowledgeable about navy life. And procedure and with very few editing errors (unusual for self published)Definitely worth a read