Welshrogue

<RANT>

One of my favourite blogs to read is Girl with a One Track Mind, a funny tale of one girl in search of sex. I find it very well written and brutally honest. The blog has a huge following, so much so that the author ‘Abby Lee’ has released a book. This book is selling like hot cakes.

Unfortunately, because ‘Abby’ lives in the UK where journalists tend to care more about celebrities than real news, The Times (hey, remember when The Times used to be a real newspaper), tracked ‘Abby’ down and wrote an article on her, and who she really is. Why did they do this? Does anyone really want to know?

After reading the article, its pretty obvious that the journalist involved has some serious issues when it comes to sex. The article reads as if it was written in the 1800′s not 2006. It sounds as if the journalist stalked ‘Abby’ by looking to see if her phone number was listed, or even if she was on the election roll. Perhaps the journalist in question hasn’t had much luck with men, or women, and perhaps her batteries died just before she sat down to write, whatever the reason, the journalist (I am not naming her so no one can go search her name and then read the article she wrote) sounds like she has a knickers in a twist for no good reason.

‘Abby’ is well on her way to becoming a best selling author with her first book, and all some people seem to want to do is expose her to the world and make it seem as if a girl wanting sex is abnormal. Perhaps the journalist should buy some new batteries or maybe log on to one of the many dating services online.

Good luck ‘Abby’, the fact that someone went to such lengths to discover your true identity should be a compliment. Just don’t turn into posh spice!

</RANT>

A south American country makes a challenge for ownership of a British station in Antarctic and leading the way to stop them is America’s first stealth warship, the USS Cunningham. At the helm is an untried female leader, commanding a crew on their ships first action.

This is the first of four books to feature Commander Amanda Lee Garrett, a new age heroine in a mans Navy. Set slightly in the future, the USS Cunningham and the weapons are not so much futuristic as just not available today. This isn’t a book that deals with the fantastic, rather this is real life, just in a few years or so. From the first few pages, you are drawn into the crews lives. You buy into what they are doing, and why they are doing it. As the plot progresses, you get caught up with what the USS Cunningham is going through.

This is an excellently written book. Similar to a Tom Clancy but without the overkill of techno babble. This is a story about the crew first and foremost and the situation they find themselves in. The crew act like people, they have fears, worries, anger. The battle scenes are wonderfully written and don’t confuse the reader, which can often happen with the high tech battle field of today/tomorrow.

Mixed in amongst the battle is a simmering attraction between Commander Garrett and their new helicopter pilot. This is almost as good as the action, as these two try to fence around what they are both feeling aware of their place aboard ship.

As previously mentioned, this is the first of four books by James H. Cobb. For some reason after his last book, no more have appeared although I did find a short story by him in a Stephen Coonts edited book about a futuristic APV that was as good as his nautical books. Here’s hoping he writes some more.