In the Shadows of Guadalcanal (Casemate Fiction)
Tony Colombo survives a torpedo on a commercial vessel in 1939 and decides to activate his U.S. Naval Reserve status so that he will be in a position to serve once the U.S. enters the war. He is appointed to the command of PC-450, a well-armed “torpedo chaser” patrol craft.
PC-450 patrols the U.S. east coast for a time, with a near miss from a German U-boat, then gets assigned to the South Pacific, based in Brisbane, Australia. While on leave, Tony foils a pickpocket in a department store, and the intended victim turns out to be a stranded British woman, Marcia Clifton, who was visiting relatives in Australia when the war broke out. They quickly become an item; he picks her up for dinner when the ship is in port, and asks her to fix up his fellow officers with dates.
But there are more stretches away at sea than in port. PC-450 performs frequent escort duty, protecting ships with supplies for troops fighting on various islands, including Guadalcanal. While it may not be directly involved in invasions, the PC-450 crew sees plenty of action, protecting its escorts from Japanese submarines, firing its anti-sub rockets, and dodging air attacks. Then PC-450 receives orders for a near-suicidal mission to stop the Japanese from landing barges with reinforcement troops at night among a maze of reefs.
The story provides insight on what it was like in units that supported the front-line troops—they by no means had a soft job. The plot’s conflict is mostly restricted to Allies vs. Axis, and not much takes place among the characters except for a couple of instances where Tony briefly runs afoul of a difficult superior officer. If you prefer war action to complex characters, then this novel will satisfy.
