Bookmonger: Epic tale of ‘next’ Pacific war
Published 5:31 am Thursday, December 11, 2025
The Pacific Ocean bears an aspirational name, but history says otherwise. Catastrophic storms, tsunamis and wars have been spawned here. Surely none of us living along the coastline of the world’s largest body of water thinks that tranquility is this ocean’s predominant attribute.
Now best-selling Washington State author M.P. Woodward has written “Red Tide,” a geopolitical thriller that draws on concerning current realities and projects a near-future scenario that could make the Pacific the theatre of the next terrible war.
Contributing factors include:
• America’s heavy dependence on Taiwan for its highly advanced semiconductors,
• China’s aggressive build-up of artificial islands hosting military installations in the South
China Sea,
• the long-term struggles of the U.S. naval shipyards to repair ships in dry dock in a timely fashion, much less meet the demand for new vessels, and a U.S. Navy stretched thin by relinquished bases and ill-considered priorities.
“Red Tide” may be fiction, but the reader will realize that all of these conditions exist in the present moment.
In oceanography, red tides are biological events that occur when a rapid algal bloom is brought on by a combination of conditions including excess nutrients, water salinity and warmer temperatures. These can be toxic to fish and other ocean-dwelling life forms. The dominance of one species – the algae – chokes out the success of all others.
Keep that in mind as you read Woodward’s “Red Tide,” which extrapolates from China’s desire to expand military and economic power throughout the Pacific and assert sovereignty over Taiwan.
The plot ignites when China launches a commando operation seizing Taiwan’s most important semiconductor factory. The Chinese military backs up those actions with multipronged aggressive maneuvers that sink American naval ships, cripple communications systems, and block South Pacific shipping lanes.
On the verge of retirement from his posting in Hawaii as the operations officer of the Pacific Fleet, Rear Admiral Will Cole instead is called upon to rush to the mainland – first to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, then the Bay Area, then Washington D.C. – and light a fire under the folks who need to gear up and meet this challenge.
Meanwhile, we see other members of the Cole family jump in to deploy their own skill sets. One of Will’s sons is an F-18 fighter pilot, the other a merchant marine officer – both are called up for this fight. Although stranded in Australia, Will’s wife Kelly establishes support systems for the families of Australian soldiers who suddenly have been deployed. Daughter Lucy, who has just graduated from college, puts her tech skills to work.
The author also presents unfolding events from the points of view of Taiwanese high-tech leaders, Australian tourists, and more – including Chinese undercover operatives.
For such a sprawling plot, the multiple perspectives are helpful. The adversaries, however, are treated only as one-dimensional villains. Given the complexity of the story (and of our world), this is a disappointment.
But whether you consider it overly opinionated or incisively informed, “Red Tide” does present an adrenaline-fueled read.
The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly column focusing on the books, authors and publishers of the Pacific Northwest. Contact her at [email protected]
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