The Last Paladin by P.T. Deutermann

Published by St. Martin's Press on July 19, 2022

P.T. Deutermann writes novels about naval warfare during World War II. I’m a particular fan of his submarine stories. The Last Paladin is set on a destroyer escort rather than a submarine, but the shhip is tasked with sinking Japanese submarines. The story is loosely based on an actual ship.

Mariono de Tomasi relies on his Sicilian heritage to explain his single-minded quest for vengeance after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor — an attack that nearly killed him and that took the lives of men under his command as Japanese airplanes strafed sailors who were swimming for their lives. Tomasi is the commanding officer of the USS Holland, a destroyer escort that is geared out for detecting and sinking submarines.

The CO’s executive officer is a bright young electrical engineer named Ephraim Enright. While Tomasi has experience, Enright is full of knowledge and good sense.

Having worked alongside the British to hunt German submarines in the Atlantic, the Holland is ordered to join the fleet in the Pacific. Tomasi’s arrival is delayed by circumstances beyond his control. The commodore running the show at Tulagi is displeased with Tomasi’s tardiness. The commodore is expecting 800 ships in the Pacific Fleet to show up and doesn’t have much use for the Holland. Tomasi receives ambiguous orders that amount to “get lost.” Tomasi decides to use his talent at hunting submarines to look for a rumored picket of Japanese subs that might be awaiting the arrival of the Pacific Fleet so that advance warning can be given to Japan.

Operating pretty much on its own, the Holland enjoys unprecedented success in locating and destroying Japanese submarines. The job almost feels too easy. Although the story moves quickly and is always interesting, the tension that Deutermann brings to his other novels is absent for much of The Last Paladin.

Deutermann redeems himself in the later chapters. The Holland is attacked by torpedoes and later by Japanese aircraft, giving the story the kind of suspense that makes me eager to read Deutermann’s novels.

Tomasi and Enright are a bit one-dimensional, but this isn’t a character driven novel. As was true in Deutermann’s last novel, the intense hatred and stereotyping of Japanese culture is discomforting. I recognize that people felt that way during the war, so Tomasi’s attitude is historically accurate even if it is cringeworthy. The stereotype of Sicilians as creatures of vengeance adds to the sense that Tomasi is not a particularly likable man. Still, he doesn’t pretend to be. And even unlikeable heroes can tell a good war story.

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