The Hooligans

Lt. Lincoln Anderson, the hero of this subpar WWII naval thriller from Deutermann (The Nugget), is stationed with the Navy Medical Corps on the island of Guadalcanal at the start of the Solomon Islands campaign in 1942. Though Anderson was only a third-year resident at Duke University when he enlisted after Pearl Harbor, a shortage of doctors and surplus of wounded requires him to assume greater responsibility. He’s assigned to be medical officer to a PT boat squadron known as the Hooligans, who are left to their own resources to attack the Japanese navy. Anderson’s surgical prowess and battle survival skills soon earn him the nickname Superman. Fans of James Jones and Herman Wouk will appreciate the author’s throwback writing style and authentic dialogue, but some readers may find the period-correct pejoratives objectionable. Perhaps it’s accurate to the chaotic nature of war, but characters and locations can feel quickly abandoned, a romantic subplot seems cursory and tacked on, and without a mission-type plot, the story ends limply. Deutermann has done better. Agent: Ed Maxwell, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (July)