Goliath: A Thriller

What a great read. First and foremost, Goliath is a fast-paced, riveting page-turner that keeps its foot on the gas, all the way to the exciting and satisfying conclusion. This is a story about men and women who have made the sea their life and it was written by men who know that world inside and out and whose own love of the sea is apparent in the writing. Corridan and Waid have successfully captured the constantly-changing “landscape” of the sea from its calm beauty to its unforgiving power.You don’t become a successful commercial salvage operator if you aren’t prepared for the absolute worst the ocean can throw at you. In Goliath, Captain Sonny Wade has everything from bad weather, to a mutinous crew, to an environmental disaster of epic proportions tossed his way. In Sonny, Corridan and Waid have created an ocean-going everyman whom you cannot resist rooting for. He is a quintessential American character: hard working, stubborn, indefatigable, and honorable. Sonny Wade can be irascible and over-demanding of those around him but at the end of the day, he is incapable of doing the wrong thing, the dishonorable thing.Corridan and Waid have brought a world I knew little about — the incredibly dangerous world of open sea salvage operations — to vivid life. The vessels themselves, particularly Goliath, the world’s biggest oil tanker, and Skeleton, Sonny Wade’s salvage tug, read more like characters than they do inanimate objects. The technical descriptions are fastidious but never boring, the plotting is well-paced, and the characters are all well drawn, from Mary, Sonny’s headstrong daughter who can more than hold her own with any of the guys, to the blue collar, hard-partying, harder working crew of the Skeleton, to Dal Sharpe, Sonny’s rapacious, unscrupulous rival.Hard to believe this is Corridan’s and Waid’s debut novel. I highly recommend Goliath.

As a Merchant Mariner with 45 years working on Tugs I can say that this book is one of the few that maintain a realism throughout the story.Waid and Corridan have wriiten a story that I could get into because it felt real and I hope they do more along the same line.Its a great read and the only let down was when it ended .They did bring it to a good conclusion but the mark of a good bookis wishing it wouldn't end and this book did that and more.

This is one of the most high-octane, super-suspenseful thrillers I’ve ever read. For openers, the Russian ship Bennkah (which means “Goliath”), perhaps the world’s largest oil tanker, suffers a Titanic-like series of disasters, except with fire instead of ice, that runs it aground near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and turns it into a blazing inferno that kills all on board. The David hoping to claim this Goliath is the little salvage vessel Skeleton, captained by Sonny Wade—known for his seafaring skills, but with an initially unspecified cloud over his past. His crew consists primarily of his daughter, Mary, and five men, including Matt, a rather mysterious newcomer. The Bennkah doesn’t actively oppose their efforts, but they do face a challenge from another Goliath, a larger salvage company with a bigger and better-equipped boat that races them to the wreck. They win that race, but that is only the first of many perils involved in freeing the giant ship without releasing its precious cargo. Disagreements and even fights also break out among the crew, as their back-stories and Sonny’s are slowly revealed.I didn’t know some of the nautical terms the book used, but that didn’t slow the pace, and I appreciated the detail: I could practically feel the wind and rain in my face. I also liked the characters and rooted for them every hard-fought inch of the way. In addition to the suspenseful physical action, the story unraveled several mysteries relating to Sonny, other crew members, and the Bennkah itself. People who like the TV series The Deadliest Catch will love this, as will anyone who likes a rousing sea story or a first class, hold-your-breath thriller of any kind. I certainly hope that the authors will do more such books.

I enjoyed this book very much. It's not a rehash of some tired plot of the hero saves the world. It's about the salvage by a somewhat down on their luck salvage company of the biggest oil tanker ever built. And there is competition with the very well too do salvage company. There is some romance but not sex. There is some profanity, of the sort you would expect from such a crew. The characters are well developed and the editing is good. And I think I learned some things about this type of salvage operation. It's a worthwhile read.

Some really fascinating stuff about salvage operations on the High Seas. Otherwise, largely predictable, with some unsatisfactorily-resolved character issues (one central "mystery man" character was a largely unexplained disappointment). Got it on BookBub special; ok at the price. Would not recommend spending much on this, or trying to read in depth. Casual entertainment at best.

Well plotted with lots of believable action and emotion. The technical aspects were very well done, understandable, and an important part of the story. A lot of research about sea salvage operations and the Aleutian Islands appears to have been put into this novel. The plot is simple and very straightforward with mostly likeable characters, a really genuine and dislikeable villain, good dialogue and plenty going on that kept my attention. What romance there is never gets in the way of the story. That readability is the reason for my 5th star.

... as I held my breath. While most people slave behind a desk pushing paper, there are those men and women out there accomplishing the seemingly impossible. The authors bring those stalwarts to the fore as they disregard the danger for life and limb; the suspense mounts and the reader prays for a good outcome. But when you deal with nature and Man's insatiable greed, anything is possible.