Dive in the Sun

Author: Douglas Reeman

First Published: 1961

Pages: 258

Dive in the Sun is the first Douglas Reeman novel I have read. However it is not the first book by the same author as he also penned many books under the name of Alexander Kent. I'm sure some of you will recognise that name as the author of the Richard Bolitho series of books about naval warfare during the eighteenth century. What may not be so well known is that the Kent pen name originated from his boyhood friend and naval officer who was killed during the war.

Reeman was born in 1924 into an army family living in Surrey, UK. He served as a young man in the Royal Navy during the last few years of the Second World War and saw action in both destroyers and motor torpedo boats in the North Sea, the Arctic as well as the Mediterranean. He experienced being sunk and blown up on more than one occasion by the enemy. He also served in action during the Korean War. Clearly the man had the experience to back up his talent for writing war fiction. He begun writing in the late fifties, and was rewarded with a three book deal with Hutchinson & Company beginning with A Prayer for the Ship.

Reeman wrote twenty-eight Bolitho books and almost forty other novels of modern naval action and adventure under his own name. All these books are still in print, and are extensively available in eBook format across the world. Publishers estimate around 34 million copies have been bought.


All of this introduction goes to prove that Reeman/Kent novels are enormously popular, and I'm sure have a massive following. There is a great website run with the full cooperation of his family at www.douglasreeman.com where you can find out much more about the man and his legacy. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy Dive in the Sun as much as I was expecting I would.

Arrow edition, 1973

The Second World War plot follows the small crew of a midget submarine 'XE.51', who are tasked with the destruction of a floating dock and the warships moored therein, in the waters near Rimini, Italy. The tiny vessel is required to sneak into the dock avoiding the anti-submarine defences (steel netting) and planting explosive devices, before escaping undetected and rendezvousing with their mother-submarine again to be towed back to friendly waters.

The crew consists of Lieutenant Ralph Curtis, the skipper; Lieutenant Steve Duncan, a larger than life outspoken Australian; Petty Officer George Taylor, the chirpy cockney pilot; and Sub-Lieutenant Ian Jervis, the new diver. As we are introduced to the crew it becomes apparent that Curtis is experiencing a crisis in his wartime career. Their previous operation had resulted in the death of the former diver - Curtis having to make the terrible decision to drive the midget sub through a steel mesh whilst his crew member was still anchored to the outside of the vessel. Jervis's introduction to the crew for this new operation is giving Curtis many doubts about his ability to command, and his relationship with the rest of the crew is tainted.

The book begins very well. The set up of the operation, the introductions to the main cast, and the execution of the plan to infiltrate the floating port are great, filled with tension, and deliver nicely. I felt that the Taylor character suffered slightly as a stereotypical Londoner, but it didn't spoil the fun.

Inevitably you know something will not go quite to plan. In fact there is a fronts piece to the novel which is written as an Admiralty Communique informing you of the loss of the XE.51 with all hands, so you are forewarned. The sub is damaged in the escape, and the crew have to abandon it and head for the closest shore. They head towards Italy and a small town where they hope to gather themselves before they make their way towards the Allied army who have begun an invasion.

Despite my disappointment that the action had moved from the midget sub to the mainland, the plot was still relatively fast, and the promise of some face to face action kept me engaged. The crew are separated, Jervis going missing, and Curtis blaming himself for losing his new diver. By this time, Curtis was starting to get a bit annoying, and a bit too depressing to read about.

eBook edition, 2015

Eventually the remaining three come across a small Italian town, where they are surprised to see British prisoners of war being transferred to a schooner. The soldiers are in very bad shape, wounded and poorly, with no water or food being provided by the Italians and Germans. They decide to do something about it.

Meanwhile we are reacquainted with young Jervis, who is interrogated, and then sentenced to death in the morning. His only hope of escape being the beautiful daughter of the local Major, who himself is a devoted Fascist.

This all sounds very exciting and promising - and that is exactly what I thought too. However, without giving too much away, the promise of action and adventure doesn't get delivered by Reeman. What we end up with is more tale of a brooding sailor, constantly doubting his abilities and the abilities of his crew. There is a lot of introspection in this book. A but too much for my tastes. I just wanted the characters to get on with it, and whop some Fascist ass.

There is a long segment of the book (basically the whole second half) set aboard the schooner that the prisoners are held captive on, that slowed the pace down and allowed Reeman to spend too much time on character building - normally  good thing, but in this case I felt it took away from the adventuring. The plot does liven up a bit by the end, but it felt a bit tagged on by that point. And when I say liven up, I don't mean a protracted gun battle or some juicy fisticuffs - the action is brief and unfulfilling.

So all in all, not quite there for me. As I said at the start, Reeman is clearly very well placed to write about war and is an expert in naval life. If there had been less time spent navel gazing (just couldn't resist that!) I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more. His writing is top notch barring a bit of stereotypical dialogue. I would recommend mainly to those who like a good sea faring tale.