In truth these books get better the further in you get. Whereas the first book spent quite some time dealing with 'the fall' of civilization, this one spends a great deal of time on the growth and cultivation of a new one. A wolf civilization.
It is also less about action than the previous and more about how Faith (She Wolf) and Sophia (Sea Wolf) grow in this brave new world. At the beginning their father becomes LantFleet (commander of all US naval forces in the Atlantic Ocean). Shortly thereafter Sophia is made an ensign in the navy and Faith is made a 3rd Lieutenant in the Marines. It is a difficult transition for both of them, yet Faith clearly has further to go. Yet, their willingness to just keep on trucking, to do jobs designed for people half again their ages, only adds to their legends.
And Papa Wolf shows his value several times in this book with his unconventional ability to get selfish people to work to the greater good of humanity. Without pitching them overboard, as I'd have done.
At this point Wolf Squadron has reached a critical mass point. They have enough people that they're not always on the short threads, but those people are rarely trained for the jobs they are doing. As Wolf points out the net is larger than the loss. When every hour means more people dead in isolation the gains of rescuing them first outweigh the losses due to lack of training.
The book also introduces several new people (mostly marines) rescued from the escort carrier Iwo Jima. Most notable of these are Staff Sergeant Januscheitis and Gunny Sands, who both slot themselves into current operations with little issue, and even adapt to the idea of a thirteen year old lieutenant in the marines quite well.
Another good addition later in the book is Thomas Walker, a man (as he puts it) of many hats.
Overall I found this book quite enjoyable to read. It skips the slow start of the first book, and still has quite an emotional impact at the end. I give this book an 88%.