Official Review: Chameleons by Marcus A. Nannini

Scerakor · Post by **Scerakor** » 28 Mar 2017, 08:43

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Chameleons" by Marcus A. Nannini.]

4 out of 4 stars

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At the depths of Pearl Harbor, on the morning of December 7th, 1941, Imperial Japanese Naval Lieutenant Masaharu Yokoyama and his engineer Sadamu Kamita await with bated breath aboard their midget submarine. In present day Kailua, Oahu, a skeleton is dug up in Auntie Lee’s backyard, launching not only a full blown naval investigation, but also a race against the clock to beat the media to the punch. Thus begins Chameleons by Marcus A. Nannini, a breathtaking historical fiction novel that has one foot planted firmly in the actions surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbor and the other around a present day investigation that could shed new light on those very events.

One stream in the novel follows Lt. Yokoyama, an elite Japanese naval officer hand-picked to be one of the Japanese empire’s secret midget submarine commanders who will attack the United States in 1941. Upon successfully delivering a crippling blow to the USS Oklahoma, he and his engineer are unable to make it back to their rendezvous point on the submarine from which they launched. They must put into action their contingency plan: slip ashore, meet up with Japanese/American sympathisers, and blend in with the surrounding population as would a chameleon. Lt. Yokoyama is given a new identity, a new job on the island, and a new family history. When the Japanese are gathered up and placed in internment camps, he is sure that he will have the power to motivate his fellow internees to rebel against the American guards and eventually make it back to his Emperor’s navy. However, Lt. Yokoyama quickly realises that there may not be as much animosity towards their incarcerators as he would hope. In fact, he soon finds himself at a crossroads that will challenge the balance between his previous loyalties and his adopted persona.

The second, concurrent stream in the novel follows Lieutenant Commander Christopher Pastwa and his team who are investigating a skeleton that was unearthed during a routine swimming pool construction. Alarm bells immediately ring in everyone’s head when the artifacts found with the skeleton appear to be of Japanese descent and tentatively date back to the Second World War. A notebook found with the artifacts is recovered, translated, and revealed to be that of a midget submarine commander in the Imperial Japanese Navy. The logbook describes his attack on Pearl Harbor and how he and his engineer slipped ashore. Although often hypothesized, the actions of midget submarine commanders during and after the December 7th attacks never had hard evidence to back them up. To make things worse, Lieutenant Commander Pastwa’s team is on a race against the clock to verify the authenticity of these documents and their potential implications, as the local media has caught wind of the investigation. Between the media’s pilfering of Top Secret documents from the investigation and the realisation that Lt. Yokoyama may still be alive, the team rushes to tie up all the loose ends. Admiral Reardon hates loose ends.

The cornerstone of an excellent historical fiction novel is research and it is extremely evident that Marcus A. Nannini has spent countless hours researching his subject. He has gone to painstaking depths to make as many elements of his story as real as possible and has done an amazing job. His descriptions of the training undergone by the submarine commanders, the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the landscapes of Hawaii, and the conflicts later on in the book are nothing short of exemplary. I loved how this book mixed elements from both the past and the present. Either of the storylines could have made an excellent book on their own, but together they add another dimension entirely. The mix of different characters in the present day timeline is also fantastic. There is a refreshing mix of hard-working naval officers, sleazy reporters, traitorous informants, and even a pudgy Petty Officer who lends a smidge of humor (not to mention a few donuts) to the plot. The thing I enjoyed the most about this book is how the concept of loyalty is addressed. In Lt. Yokoyama’s timeline, he has some tough decisions to make on where his loyalties lie. He needs to determine how to live his life during and after his time in the Japanese internment camps. In the modern timeline, the naval investigation team needs to decide whether their loyalty lies in doing the right thing or doing their job regardless of the consequences.

The only part of this book that I had issues with was the ending. There was a lot of build up toward the end of the book and I feel that some of the major conflicts which persisted throughout the novel were resolved a bit too quickly. To be clear, I liked how it ended, but I feel that it could have contained a bit more detail and depth for it to be realistic. As well, I felt that in the last couple of chapters Mr. Nannini was introducing new and irrelevant information to the story (new characters, conflict, etc.) I realise now that this is likely as a build up for future books with the same characters, but I found myself wondering how this fit into our current storyline.

I thoroughly enjoyed Chameleons by Marcus A. Nannini and therefore have no problem giving it 4 out of 4 stars. The quality and complexity of this book, along with how much I enjoyed the subject matter, swayed me from giving it a lower score. I would particularly recommend this book to anyone that has a soft-side for historical fiction, those that enjoy military history, or those that are interested in WWII/Pearl Harbour. If historical fiction really isn’t your cup-of-tea and you have no interest in books focused around military campaigns or investigations, this book won’t be for you. Mr. Nannini’s blend of real life events, a compelling modern day mystery, and vibrant characters has resulted in a first-class novel which could easily become a lasting gem in its genre.

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Chameleons
View: on Bookshelves | on Publisher's Website (BlackRoseWriting)

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Post by **kandscreeley** » 29 Mar 2017, 08:37

I understand exactly what you mean about the ending. It sometimes feels like it's building up so much that you want a good long resolution. But then it just feels like the author ran out of time or energy or something. Nevertheless, it sounds like a really intriguing take on an interesting time in history! Thanks for the review.

Scerakor · Post by **Scerakor** » 29 Mar 2017, 08:41

kandscreeley wrote:I understand exactly what you mean about the ending. It sometimes feels like it's building up so much that you want a good long resolution. But then it just feels like the author ran out of time or energy or something. Nevertheless, it sounds like a really intriguing take on an interesting time in history! Thanks for the review.

I may be nitpicking when mentioning it as it is. When put against the wall to think of something I didn't like about the story, I think that was the most significant. It didn't take away too much from the story, but was definitely noticed.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 29 Mar 2017, 09:55

Thank you for this lovely review! This book is right up my alley!

Scerakor · Post by **Scerakor** » 29 Mar 2017, 10:15

My pleasure, thanks for the comment! I hope you take the opportunity to read it.

Donnavila Marie01 · Post by **Donnavila Marie01** » 31 Mar 2017, 01:49

I like to engage myself to this book because it talks about what happened during the second world war. I recommend this book to everyone.

Scerakor · Post by **Scerakor** » 31 Mar 2017, 06:12

Donnavila Marie01 wrote:I like to engage myself to this book because it talks about what happened during the second world war. I recommend this book to everyone.

This book is so much more than a simple WWII story. In fact, actual WWII "footage" really takes a back burner to much of the main story. That being said, it is a great addition to one's knowledge repertoire of the events that have taken place. It was a unique read as I hadn't heard/studies much on the midget submarine commanders. Thank you for your comments.

Katherine Smith · Post by **Katherine Smith** » 13 Apr 2017, 16:26

I loved your review and the story sounded very interesting. I could see a story like that fitting into our time and the historical backdrop to the story adds depth. I also like that the author used the beauty of Hawaii and the realities of the Japanese internment camps.

Kamal Pasha · Post by **Kamal Pasha** » 14 Apr 2017, 04:01

Very well done

Scerakor · Post by **Scerakor** » 14 Apr 2017, 08:39

Katherine Smith wrote:I loved your review and the story sounded very interesting. I could see a story like that fitting into our time and the historical backdrop to the story adds depth. I also like that the author used the beauty of Hawaii and the realities of the Japanese internment camps.

I get the feeling that this is a bit more than just using Hawaii and the internment camps; the story itself is based on real events/people. The innate knowledge of these areas definitely helps though!

-- 14 Apr 2017, 09:40 --

Kamal Pasha wrote:Very well done

Thanks! I enjoyed reading it and writing about it!

Psychology · Post by **Psychology** » 14 Apr 2017, 17:24

Thank you for your review. I was drawn in with the intensity on the first page. It continued to draw my interest as the story jumped to present day Hawaii and back and forth. Interesting story, very well researched and a lovely backdrop. The characters that were introduced late in the book make me want to read the next book. I loved the ending. The characters appeared to have grown out of their comfort zones. Always a good ending.

Donnavila Marie01 · Post by **Donnavila Marie01** » 14 Apr 2017, 18:27

Excellent review! Maybe the quick resolution of issues towards the ending of this book can be given as challenge to the readers to give their own hypotheses. A thoroughly explained historical-fiction does not compel the reader to think which must be the heart of it.

Scerakor · Post by **Scerakor** » 15 Apr 2017, 13:54

Psychology wrote:Thank you for your review. I was drawn in with the intensity on the first page. It continued to draw my interest as the story jumped to present day Hawaii and back and forth. Interesting story, very well researched and a lovely backdrop. The characters that were introduced late in the book make me want to read the next book. I loved the ending. The characters appeared to have grown out of their comfort zones. Always a good ending.

I agree with almost everything you mentioned here. I didn't want to seem in my review that it was a bad ending, but rather made me wonder how things could be resolved so succinctly in a short period of time (realistically). It definitely left me with intrigue about what would come in a later book. I simply hope that the realism, based on the historical fiction post of this novel, is preserved in future sequels.

-- 15 Apr 2017, 14:57 --

Donnavila Marie01 wrote:Excellent review! Maybe the quick resolution of issues towards the ending of this book can be given as challenge to the readers to give their own hypotheses. A thoroughly explained historical-fiction does not compel the reader to think which must be the heart of it.

Very true. I had no issues with the conclusions per se, but rather that it felt awkward to be resolved so quickly. An amazing job had been performed by the author throughout the rest of the book (descriptions, details, etc) and it simply felt that the ending wasn't written with the same fervour. I completely understand your point and don't want to shoot down the ending at all, it just felt different.

godreaujea · Post by **godreaujea** » 11 May 2017, 15:30

Wow, this book sounds like an awesome read, and I am very interested in reading more about this historical event. Great review!

PassingGrade · Post by **PassingGrade** » 20 Jun 2017, 18:09

I just finished Chameleons and have to go back and read some of it again just for the way it took me to places I have never been. Loved the character development and how they all intertwined and the newspaper reporter! I am glad the author put in a bit about her background as it made me feel less disgusting about her. The ending caught me off-guard, but loved it.