Shortly after finishing Richard Woodman's novel Endangered Species, I grabbed a copy of Douglas Reeman's Path of the Storm, and I was immediately struck at the similarities between storylines. Both books feature a naval captain with traumatic war-time experience (Woodman's during World War II, Reeman's in Vietnam) who is now serving on a ship nearing the end of its useful service life in the vicinity of Hong Kong. Both also run afoul of some seriously bad weather.

Otherwise, the books are very different. Reeman, unusually, in this book spotlights a U.S. Navy ship and crew -- a former submarine-chaser, the USS Hibiscus, commanded by Captain Mark Gunnar -- instead of his usual focus on the Royal British Navy. (He does an admirable job of writing for Americans, although he did allow a few British colloquialisms and spellings to slip through.)

The crew expects to be paid off and sent home but, instead, they greet their new captain and are ordered to the remote island of Payenhau, which has potential use as a military base but is also coveted by the Communist Chinese. Local interests, as well as a minor British presence, might also have different intentions in mind.

Gunnar, although a seasoned officer, is only now getting back into active duty after a long recovery from torture at the hands of the Viet Cong. Those memories will haunt him a great deal through these pages. With him is a mixed crew, including several memorable characters such as the Maddox brothers, Robert and Pip, as well as the ship's doctor, Connell, and seamen Pirelli and Bella. There are also a variety of locals -- some savory, some less so -- to contend with, as well as the arrogant marine of Jago and the disgraced British officer Burgess ... oh, and his daughter, who is of course young, beautiful and single.

The book is slow-paced, with a lot of time spent waiting for things to happen. When things do happen, they often are abrupt and unexpected, such as the murder of several crewmen on a beach by hidden Communist sympathizers or a sudden riot by unruly natives. Gunnar is at times uncertain how to handle the situations, and he is opposed at almost every turn by the elder Maddox, Jago or both.

This is not Reeman's best work, by far, but it's still a very enjoyable read and will keep you guessing right to the end.