Review: The Commander by Dan E. Hendrickson

Author Dan E. Hendrickson unleashes a wild and exhilarating ride with The Commander, an unpredictable high seas thriller in the Gulf of Mexico. Armed with enough action to satisfy those seeking a fictional adventure, but also plenty of rich character development and well-penned relationships, this is an unexpectedly complex read.

At the helm of this novel is Commander Jacob Edwards, a tough-as-nails captain of the First Responder, who suddenly finds himself deadheading into an international crisis. Juggling loyalties, national secrecy, and the lives of his men, this Coast Guard captain has a full plate of action that never seems to leave him alone for very long. In a story where enemies are pressing in from every side, one needs a dauntless hero to handle the strain, and Commander Edwards is that rugged warrior.

Hendrickson’s protagonist is far from a stereotypical jarhead always looking for a fight. The opening scenes may show him single-handedly taking down a Mexican cartel drug yacht, but the relationship he has with his daughter and wife are delicately written, imbued with sincerity. Showing such flexibility within a lead character is impressive, particularly in a niche where the heroes often fit a rather predictable profile.

The author’s obvious expertise in the realm of the American military gives the book a sense of authenticity and immersion, and while procedural military novels can be plodding in the amount of detail, the pace rarely slows. Moreover, this novel is as much about human nature as it is about lawless pirates, human trafficking, organized crime, and the drug trade. Characters are written with their flaws on their sleeves — addiction, dishonesty, cowardice, and cruelty — and Hendrickson artfully weaves these very real variables into the larger plot. These are the imperfections and reflections of humanity to which readers can relate, regardless of the genre, and these features make the novel hum with relatable detail.

The plot itself is an undeniably entertaining and jaw-dropping tale, with bizarre enemy bedfellows and more simultaneous crises than might seem possible for one small Coast Guard crew. While some of the coincidences and close calls stretch the boundaries of believable, the payoff requires a fair bit of suspended disbelief, though it’s exciting nonetheless.

On the technical side, the writing has a tendency to be heavy-handed, making points more explicitly than needed. The action scenes, at times, feel quite mechanical, rather than emotional or dramatic. A fight scene on film where someone eviscerates the enemies with military discipline can be fun to watch, but reading an action-packed scene requires more than pure physical descriptions. Similarly, the dialogue is often used to explain what is happening in a given scene, even if the context should already be clear to readers through the narration, or basic inference. In such a high-stakes novel, with ever-spiraling chaos, the language should reflect that suspense and intensity, even if the protagonist is a rock in any storm.

While some of the rigidity in the writing could be lessened, the winding plot is well-drawn and engrossing, and Commander Edwards is a riveting focus for the novel. Dan E. Hendrickson proves that he knows his subject matter, knows his audience, and certainly knows how to tell a good story.