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The USS Memphis, a dilapidated submarine that should have been mothballed decades ago, has been given one last mission by the newly elected president. The task: To sneak illegally into Russia's coastal waters and recon the leaking nuclear fuel containers hidden on the floor of the Arctic Ocean. More than just an environmental nightmare, this radioactive burial ground houses enough nuclear capability to destroy most of America's major cities. The Memphis's commander, Lowell Hardy, had been looking forward to flag rank and pleasant duty upon the sub's decommissioning. Now he is trapped in an inconceivably dangerous and illegal mission that could easily end his career, if not his life and the lives of his crew. And it's the crew who feel Hardy's tension as he tyrannizes over everyone onboard in an effort to ensure they'll be ready for anything: Jerry Mitchell: A former naval pilot with political connections, he is a novice submariner, unprepared for his demanding job as a weapons officer. Central to the Memphis's mission, Mitchell may be its greatest liability...or its ultimate salvation. Dr. Joanna Patterson: The senior civilian scientist, appointed by and reporting to the president, she is a world-class expert on nuclear fuel contamination - and every bit as demanding as Hardy. Patterson and her partner, Dr. Emily Davis, soon find themselves battling flaring tempers, faulty machinery, lethal radioactivity, and the raging Arctic seas. The submariners: Seething with rage at their Captain Bligh-like commander and the equally domineering Joanna Patterson, they are also at war with Jerry Mitchell and one another. Like the captain, they feel they deserve better, not this antiquated relic of a sub, not this hostile scientist, not this novice weapons officer, and definitely not this disastrously dangerous mission. Nor is the mission what it seems. Lurking beneath the frigid, black, radioactive waters is a secret far more deadly than anything naval command could imagine - a secret so menacing the Russian fleet is hell-bent on destroying the Memphis and all who sail in her.… (more)
User reviews
Jerry is assigned to Memphis, a US submarine that – instead of being decommissioned as has been the plan over the past year – is sent out on a final mission to ensure the President’s political legacy as a strong environmentalist. That final mission takes the boat and the crew to the coast of Russia and into very dangerous territorial waters.
For those of you following my reviews, you know that I like character-driven stories – characters that you love, characters that you cheer for and characters that you despise (in a good way, of course) and this story had that. You have Jerry, who you root for when many on the sub are against him for using his political pull and getting a second chance that others may not have gotten; you have Captain Hardy, hard, demanding and irascible; there’s Lenny Berg, the drama major turned submariner and the list goes on.
The story was interesting, the people engaging and the crisis points tension filled. All of these, as well as my general liking for military stories, worked to get me through the very technical details of life on a submarine and the qualification process. And the acronyms…the military does love its acronyms…
Overall rating: 3.75
Started slowly and for a while it seemed like a rookie submariner 101 course and it took a while to get past that stage. The action in the latter stages of the book is more of a simmer than explosion but superb and seemingly ultra realistic.
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