As a reader of the complete series of DiMercurio book's, I could not wait to get my hands on a copy and I must say it did not dissapoint. I just could'nt put it down, in fact I read it in just two nights. I have reread it twice since then. I have always longed to be on a nuclear submarine and find Michael's books put you right on the deck. The plot was great and the book flowed nicely. All I have to say is Michael, keep them rolling out!

I am a big fan of this series, and Mr. DiMercurio has not failed to keep me hooked with his latest installment. "Terminal Run" is a highly character driven and action packed novel that doesn't let you go until the last page. The twist that he throws at the end is unpredictable, and innovative for a book of this genre.

There are a few authors, like John Sandford with his "Prey" novels, that can keep continuing characters, and the situations that they face, fresh and unique to the prior books in their series. Mr. DiMercurio is one of those who able to accomplish this difficult task. His main characters age and have careers that are realistic. They are also not omnipotent and without flaws.

He is also able to tweak your imagination with the potential capabilities of future military hardware. The hardware is not perfect, and goes through a real-world evolutionary growth process. It truly makes you wonder what equipment the Navy is carrying on our new Seawolf class and upcoming Virginia class submarines.

My only disappointment in reading "Terminal Run" is that I have to wait for his next installment. As with all of this novels, this book is a stand alone. There are brief mentions to storylines in his previous books, but they are not spoilers. Once you give this book a read, you will find yourself ordering the prior six books in this series.

As a former submariner, I find Mr. DiMercurio's novels to be better written and more exciting than the rest of the genre!
Patch Pacino (the Older and Younger) are believeable and true to form to all my "counter parts" that I was associated with! The lives of submariners (PROTAGANISTS AND ANTAGONISTS)that Mr. DiMercurio describes is "true to life" i.e. marriages "come and go" , relations with children strained, familygrams, the whole gambit.
I have read every book Mr. Dimercurio has written and relived my "old life" in his words. I can hardly wait for his next project!
CDR. Jay M. Roth, USNR (Ret)

Attack of the Seawolf is possibly the best of Michael DiMercurio's series of submarine novels (tied with Terminal Run) in which the USS Tampa is caught on a special spying mission in Chinese waters with NSA spooks on board and the crew is taken prisoner by the communists. The Seawolf, under the command of series character Captain Pacino, with a team of Navy SEALs on board, is sent to free the crew. My only complaint is that the author does not really describe the ordeal the captured Tampa crew goes through, aside from one major scene but that does little to detract from this great story. This is a fast paced and action packed book with some very well written battle scenes. Far superior to Patrick Robinson's USS Seawolf, which follows an almost exact storyline.

Cheers to Michael DiMercurio! 'Attack of the Seawolf' is everything a naval/sub/techno/thriller ought to be. It reads almost like an 'on scene' report from those caught in the middle of this amazing tale of action, heroism and suspense. There can be nothing at all like the feeling of being inside a sub trying to escape the enemy. DiMercurio does a fantastic job of putting us right in the middle of all the action and supreme suspense.

What if an American sub was caught INSIDE Chinese waters spying? Would we distance ourselves and pretend it never happened, or play it off as a rogue sub captain acting on his own? Good question, but that is exactly what DiMercurio does with 'Seawolf' and boy does he give us a frighteningly realistic version of 'what if' here. I view Pacino as and extension of the author himself. A character that is more than 2-dimensional. Very realisitic, and one not without his problems, too. Struggling between problems at home, and duty to his country Pacino is faced with an amazing situation where he must rescue a sub in enemy territory under impossible conditions. Some of the scenes read as way too impossible to believe, but you know what? DiMercurio is doing such a good job at creating the suspense so thick you just don't care. You suspend your belief just long enough for him to pull you along for the fantastic ride that is 'Attack of the Seawolf'. I have long considered this his best book, and it was interesting to note that DiMercurio feels the same, as evidenced in his comments at the top of the page. Good stuff from a first-rate author, and heir to the crown originated by Clancy in 'Red October'. Give this a shot and enjoy, and come back for more, DiMercurio has written many other great sub novels.

"Attack of the Seawolf" is the second DiMercurio book I read, and if anything it's even better than his first, the awesome "Voyage of the Devilfish." As always, his descriptions of undersea and surface warfare carry a great deal of credibility because DiMercurio is a former USN submariner. Also, the involvment of the SEALs in the novel was excellent, Richard Marcinko providing an insider's viewpoint on SEAL operations for the book, as indicated in the Acknowledgments section at the front.

For anyone who enjoys sub thrillers who has not discovered Michael DiMercurio is missing out on something.

Threat Vector takes place in the future, in the 2010s. Technology certainly has advanced in DiMercurio's world. There are driverless cars that go 140 miles per hour and instead of resignation letters, we have resignation emails. At times, the future technology does seem outlandish, however it provides an interesting setting for the story, and I think it is benefitical to the book.

I won't go and explain the plot, but the plot does provide many twists and turns, although I found the ending a bit predictable. The characters are well developed and unlike other novels in this genre, the bad guys aren't 1-dimesionally evil.

Overall, this is fine book and most of you will find this a treat to read.

Well, Michael DiMercurio has done it again! Not only that, he topped his last achievement (PIRANHA FIRING POINT) with THREAT VECTOR, a novel that shows that DiMercurio can keep a series alive, fresh and full of new ideas. In addition, it could almost be said that THREAT VECTOR is the "logical" extension of PIRANHA FIRING POINT, especially when it becomes known to the reader early on, that the President has appointed Patch Pacino as CNO (Chief of Naval Operations).

This novel also has some bittersweet elements as well. When the Ukrainians sink an American cruise ship carrying the Navy's senior officers, many characters we know from previous installments become casualties. I was sorry to read that many of the characters I liked were gone. About 1/3 of the way through, DiMercurio shows that he also has a sense of humor, too. He has named one of the escorting destroyers the TOM CLANCY; read the novel and find out what he does with this ship.

Another thoroughly enjoyable aspect of this book was the way in which Michael DiMercurio combines plausible future developments with what we know is possible today. The explanations and descriptions of future technological advancements are masterful in their simplicity. The "Devilfish" as a weapons platform is something that may not be available right now, but given the dramatic technological leaps being made every day, it is not difficult to conceive its existence 18-20 years from now.

Michael DiMercurio also pays a subtle tribute to the naval traditions of the past. If I didn't read incorrectly, he re-introduces an officer uniform that the Navy did away with in the early 1970s. I'm speaking specifically of the service dress khaki officer uniform. It had a khaki coat and instead of the officer insignia on the sleeve cuff, the rank was carried on shoulder boards. I always thought that was a sharp uniform and it was a nice tribute to the USN of the past. That was a nice segue, Michael and I liked the sneaky little way you brought the uniform back.

To be sure, this is a submarine story but it also has all the elements of really good science fiction, too. With much of the technology future based, the reader is catapulted into a world that isn't here yet, but could very well be in the near future. Another aspect is that the author has left certain little clues as to where he might go with the next installment in this series. Without giving too much away, suffice it to say, that the reader will still have questions when he finishes with this story. They are good questions, though and the kind that will leave the reader waiting to read TERMINAL RUN (which is the working title of the next book in this series).

As I have said in my reviews of previous DiMercurio novels, this author is the master of this genre. If anyone cares to debate it, I'll meet them anytime, anywhere. Tom Clancy's "Hunt for Red October" was written by a lucky and gifted amateur. The Michael DiMercurio novels are thrillers but they're also a tibute to the men of the Silent Service, the same men that DiMercurio served with from 1980-88. Tom Clancy can't make that claim, because he never served in ANY of the armed forces.

There is an injustice associated with Micahel DiMercurio's books, however and it is not the author's fault. I really believe that if Penguin Putnam marketed these books differently (starting with hardcover and a much bigger advertising budget) that Michael DiMercurio could have been (and still could be) as big as Clancy or any of the other popular and best selling authors. There is no reason for this and in fact, more than one of the DiMercurio novels should have ben made into a movie. After all, if CRIMSON TIDE, a movie that came out 4-5 years ago could be a hit, ALL of DiMercurio's books should have been considered for production. IF the rest are still ignored, Hollywood should not ignore THREAT VECTOR. The plot premises are plausible and foreseeable and the storyline would adapt well to the screen if for no other reason than there would be a lot of action with believeable and likeable characters.

One other thing readers may find interesting about this book. The antagonists do some despicable things but by themselves, they are not all that despicable as people. The reader will find himself feeling a certain amount of sympathy for the Ukrainian sub captain. To me, he was a worthy opponent for both Karen Petri and later, Kelly McKee. He was a captain placed in an extrememly awkward and delicate position by an unscrupulous President. How he leads his men, fights his ship and makes his decisions all contribute to the make-up of a fascinating character. And once again, the critics are wrong; Michael DiMercurio writes action filled sub stories but he also gives his readers well developed characters.

I apologize to the critics for my comments. I really do. I just can't find anything NOT TO LIKE about this series and the writer who created it. If Michael DiMercurio is guilty of anything, stories and hours of reading enjoyment.

BZ Michael, you've done it again! I'm looking forward to TERMINAL RUN and to your mainstream fiction when that hits the bookstores. Thanks for another great read!

THREAT VECTOR is a great read! DiMercurio always offers far more than a mere techie treat. His novels are real novels, with a sound story line, with characters who come off the pages and with a special kind of vision about future weaponry that makes sense. His plots are intricate, twists are frequent and in this book he writes sypathetically of a Ukrainian "enemy" sub commander. Along with Adm. Pacino and other DiMerurio regulars, there is a mysterious Russian ex-admiral, who, I hope shows up in other stories. Pick this one up--you won't put it down.

Once again, author and former submariner Michael DiMercurio has provided me with hours of reading enjoyment and once again, I have but one regret--that the book ended too quickly. I had bought this book only a few days after hearing that THREAT VECTOR was out and I wanted to read this one first, to keep the continuity of the series intact. As I said previously in my review of BARRACUDA FINAL BEARING, Mr. DiMercurio knows his subject matter and unlike other technically trained people, he ACTUALLY HAS THE ABILITY to write! Michael DiMercurio has written a very plausible and believable story about the break-up of China (through a civil war) into two distinctly separate entities. One is the old but familiar Red China. The other is Free China, a country more western in philosophy and outlook. However, the losers in the civil war can't stand the fact that they've lost and want to regain that part of the country which has successfully seceded. The author provides a very well developed antagonist for this book, as well. Chinese Admiral Chu Hua-Feng is a person to be reckoned with. He is in many ways the ideal literary enemy. DiMercurio imbues him with qualities that make him detestable but at the same time, understandable. He provides the focal point for keeping the reader's interest in what the Red Chinese are doing and unfortunately for our American hero, VADM Michael Pacino, he is also the perfect military match. But as anyone can guess, Michael DiMercurio has something else up his author's sleeve and he deals those cards just when they are needed most. I have read all of the Michael DiMercurio books to date (in the order written and released) and what I really enjoy most is that the author continues to keep the story lines fresh and me wanting more. As I said above, I just wish I didn't get through them so quickly because then, I would be able to savor the tension a little bit longer. Speaking of tension, that's something I have noticed that Michael DiMercurio is excellent at. In fact, I'd say he's an expert. From what I've read of the art of writing, that's a very valuable skill to be able to employ. Michael DiMercurio has done that well in ALL of the Michael Pacino stories to date and yet, each new encounter is as fresh and interesting as the ones that came before. In my reader's mind, that is the sign of an accomplished writer. Another aspect of these novels that is also handled well are the technical details of submarine warfare, powerplants, navigation and "fighting the ship." Although Mr. DiMercurio has two engineering degrees (one from the Naval Academy and one from MIT), he has the great skill to be able to write for the lay reader who does not possess his technical education. That ability, in someone so technically educated and trained, is a gifr not to be overlooked.

Mr. DiMercurio's description of America's latest submarine, the SSNX is actually brilliant in its simplicity and yet it is the simplicity that makes the inner workings that much easier for us "non-techies" to imagine. When I read this book, I actually felt and believed that I was in the control room with Admiral Pacino. I felt his tension, I knew what he had in the way of resources and knew that he knew that failure was not only "not an option," but that failure could have the gravest ramifications for the United States as a whole.

I read somewhere that Michael DiMercurio has more mainstream writing in the pipeline for his publisher(s) and readers. I do not know what genre or type of story line he has in store, nor do I know who his new characters will be. You know what? I don't care. This author has already captured my attention and loyalty. In essence, I'm actually looking forward to the trip because I'd like to see where this really skilled writer will be taking us.

As a loyal reader, I also have a couple of other comments I'd like to leave here as well. The first is a rhetorical question. Why haven't any of these books been optioned as movies? Secondly, why were the schematics at the front of the books deleted? I never understood why those valuable descriptive tools were eliminated.

I'd also like to make a comparison here, as well. If Michael DiMercurio's "mainstream" fiction is as good as his undersea warfare novels are, I truly believe that we will be hearing more from this very talented author. And Michael, if you need someone to read your draft(s), let me know. I volunteer.

DiMercurio takes us into the near future with another suspenseful novel featuring Admiral Pacino. I read the first 70 odd pages the first night, and was hooked. I could not put it down the next night, and so I finished the rest in one sitting!

His characters are brought to life with both humor and sentiment. They could be people we work with every day.

DiMercurio's take on the future is very believable, especially on technology. His novels are not as far fetched and unbeliveable as Tom Clancys have become of late. If you like Dale Brown's novels, you'll really enjoy Michael DiMercurio's latest thriller.

I'm looking forward to the further adventures of Admiral Pacino & his crew .

Another winner from DiMercurio! This is his best novel yet of the ones I've read so far, and contains some great action scenes and imaginative technology of the future, which doesn't always run as planned, note the SSNX, a brand new high-tech sub in a combat situation. The description of the new supersub is so highly detailed yet easy to understand, even for non-military readers. The story concerns a war between divided states in a new China escalating, and US navy units sent to deal with the Chinese's latest acquisitions, a Japanese Rising Sun-class sub, are attacked with plasma explosive torpedoes and sunk. So enter our hero Admiral Michael Pacino and a host of ongoing characters with the very latest weaponry and subs available to try to avert a major world war! This book is so entertaining and action-packed you won't want to put it down. What more can one say, buy this book now!

I'll admit -- when I first saw the book I have no idea who Micheal Dimercurio was. The only thing that drew my attention was my love for military-type thrillers. I fully expected to end up saying, "Yeah.... OK. Nice Book. But Tom Clancy still kicks butt." Well.... after reading the book. I couldn't wait for the next to come out. A serious Tom Clancy rival. If you like military-type thrillers (especially when it involves the Navy), You'll love this book.

Basically, Michael Pacino, the main character, is a hot-shot submarine commander with the Navy in his blood. His father was a sub commander who died "on patrol" in the '70s -- his father's best friend happens to be Pacino's godfather & commanding officer.

When the "whole god-damn Russian Atlantic fleet" goes to sea, Pacino is sent to investigate and "it just so happens" that the Russian sub commander that he goes up against is the same one who is believed to have sunk Pacino's father in the 70s. As you can imagine, this makes Micheal Pacino all the more determined in his task. There are several parts where you will not be able to put the book down -- even for a minute.

There are a few things where it's "a bit of a stretch of the imagination" but very, very few. It's a very good book & I'd recommend it -- along with the rest of Micheal Dimercurio's books to anyone.

OK, I'll admit, when I first picked up the book I wasn't expecting something exceptional, expecting to have "Sub A Vs. Sub B, US Sub sinks Russian sub, sails victoriously into port, and that's that." This book had a nuclear-tipped battle that went far, far, beyond the average sub thriller (I would love to go into specifics, but then I'd spoil the many unexpected and awesome plot twists :-). The descriptions, being from a former SSN officer, are very vivid and realistic, their level of detail rivaling Tom Clancy himself. I also liked that along with the extensive descriptions of things often down the subatomic (which I enjoyed greatly), there was also a deeply personal story that is not neglected or forgotten in the book. Unlike some novels, you don't feel that you're reading the book as much as it feels as though you're being pulled along by the novel, and you sit back and enjoy the powerful ride! One thing this novel reminded me was of a Dale Brown novel (except underwater!) in that it had a fictional super-weapon based on current and theoretical capabilities, and is used in the most action-packed manner possible. Sure, as was discussed there's the "problems" with the name of the 637-class sub, the Mk-49s and Mk-50s, etc., but as the author has pointed out that was just artistic license so I didn't have any problem with that. The best sub thriller I've seen in a long, long time. I've been hooked on DiMercurio novels! READ "VOYAGE OF THE DEVIFILSH"!!!

This book does so many things right, itis hard to know where to begin.

The story centers on an agreement between America and Russia to dismantle Russia's remaining land attack cruise missiles which can be launched from AKULA II class fast attack subs. But not everyone is onboard, including one Admiral Alexi Novskoyy who plots to preemptively strike. He sets sail aboard the Kaliningrad (best described as an underwater battleship), and orders 80 AKULA II subs to take up station along the eastern seaboard.

Commander Mike Pacino stand between the Kaliningrad and nuclear war. In a desperate race to battle beneath the arctic icecap where Pacino's sub is out gunned and out matched. But there is a personal side to this as well. Novskoyy is the man who killed Pacinoo's father 20 years earlier, and the tenseion regarding Pacino's true motives continues through out the book.

This is a great great read.

DiMercurio's Barracuda attempts to follow in the vein of Clancy and Bond but poor research and improbable science ultimately sink his ship.

An attempted naval blockade of Japan by the U.S. provides the backdrop for this high tech novel of sub vs. sub combat. For a techno-thriller to be truely effective, however, it must combine excitement with accurate technical details and it is in this last area things go badly awry. When attacked by dogs, an infiltrator uses a nerve gas, "... active only on animals, not humans..." to kill them in mid jump. Fast acting indeed. Also, since when did humans stop being animals? To eliminate some hostile nuclear weapons, the Japanese contaminate them with a plutonium "glue". Yes, as stated in the book, plutonium has one of the smallest lethal doses of any substance. But this is for lingering death. This wouldn't prevent someone from launching the missiles and facing the consequences. Ten fifty foot solid fuel rockets are taken from a moth-balled R&D program, attached to a submarine in days, and of course, not only work perfectly every time but save the day for the U.S. fleet. These rockets carry seven tons of "PlasticPac" high explosives capable of killing subs 2 miles from the blast, a somewhat greater distance than the nuclear depth charges of the 1950's could kill the less capable subs of that era. These are just some of the distracting technical details that mar this book. Without these faults the novel might rate a 6 at best being simplistic and without the tension or detail of an early Clancy novel

Loved this book! I like techo thrillers that are realistic, "hard" type sci fi, and Dimercurio's Barracuda Final Bearing is on target (almost a pun, but non intended). If you like Clancy you'll love this book...but what you'll like even better about DeMercurio over Clancy is this author is more economical with words, shoots cleanly at the goal of keeping you in page turning suspense as he thrills you (certainly thrilled me) with a simple but very real and frighteningly possible outcome. Clancy has gotten too wordy (for me) and forget those collaborative "Net Force" books. Not good, shame on you T.C. DeMurcurio seems to keep in mind - for the reader's benefit -what Clancy seems to have lost. Don't get me wrong, I still admire Clancy's plots and work; he's had some great, classic stuff. "Hunt for Red October" was perhaps one of the best submarine thrillers ever but see if you don't agree: I think DeMercurio might have surpassed Clancy's "Red October" classic on this one. Am now anxious to read this author's newest: "Threat Vector," about a cruise ship and a sub. Try this guy. You'll love the way he plots and writes. Funny Hollywood hasn't picked up a couple of these. In my opinion, they're "missing the boat," again: no pun intended. Barracuda Final Bearing would be an excellent movie if they can make it half as good as the book.

The absolute unchallenged King of the underwater submarine adventure has DONE IT AGAIN! I almost want to join the Navy after reading his exciting stories (...ALMOST...). Trying to avert WWIII...a daunting task, but thank heavens our Sub force is up to the task. I echo another reviewers praise of Mr. DiMercurio's talent for getting TO the point without unnecessary literary mumbo-jumbo that serves no purpose other than to make the book bigger and ultimately less entertaining (a trap that Clancy has been falling into since 'The Sum of All Fears'). Always a few years ahead, DiMercurio's stories give us descriptions of weapons that just MIGHT be invented and implemented on subs in the near future (if they actually haven't already). I also appreciate the insight into the minds of those manning these incredible weapons of war, very interesting to say the least.

On a side note, recently I visited Portland, Oregon and floating on the Willammette River at the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry is the decommissioned sub, USS Bluefish (remember the sub that came shooting out of the water in 'The Hunt For Red October' the movie? Well THAT is the same sub). I took a tour on this, the smallest American sub on active duty for many many years, and it was absolutely thrilling and amazing to walk the decks of a ship that had actually trailed Russian subs during the Cold War. It reminded me very much of reading Mr. DiMercurio's novels (ALL of which are awesome). If you ever get the chance to tour a sub, I suggest you do NOT pass it up--it was an incredible adventure to see first hand a little of what life was like on board one of these ships. 'Barracuda Final Bearing' is easily one of the best sub stories available in print today. A MUST read for any submariner or anyone interested IN subs.

I've read the excerpt "Water in the people tank" and it seems to be very well written and informative with one exception. A submarine hull is not 32 inches in diameter (that equates to 2 feet 8 inches, pretty small) it is 32 FEET in diameter, to allow for the 3 decks of living/operational and engineering space inside the submarine.

In general terms de book is excellent rigarding the stuff is talking (technology, weapons, accidents and so on). The book is not for beginners because has a poor introduction, few drawings explaining the layout of a submarine, machinery arrengements (specially items like: What for the MS-1 valve?), nothing about optics, how the obtain a fire solution is not well explained and there is no diagraman in orden to explain the faced problems, etc. For a person who has never heard about a submarine this is not your book though for people who is very enthusiat about the subjet this is definitely your book.

Even though I am not engineering-qualified, I understood every bit. As usual, DiMercurio succeeds in humanizing an area of technology (submarines) so everyone can understand. A nice stop-gap til the next novel. Which can't come a moment too soon!

"Phoenix" is sort of like a submarine version of a story that combines "Sink the Bismark" and the story behind the 9-11 attacks. Though it brings back Captain Pacino, commander of the cutting edge nuclear sub "Seawolf" amd hero of other Michael DiMercurio novels, the plot sets the book apart from his other books, and also keeps Pacino on the sidelines for most of the story.

The Plot: The Islamic world has united and formed a massive powerful union (UIF) that wars against the west. The war itself is already old news when "Phoenix" starts. The UIF, led by the enigmatic General Sihoud and slowly realizing that the tide has turned against them, crafts a deadly weapon - a "dirty" radiological bomb that can coat a major american city with a sticky film of plutonium. Unfortunately (for them) the UIF have only figured out how to mount these bombs on short-range cruise missiles, and the UIF has no territory or assets anywhere near mainland America. When a US strike at Sihoud's command narrowly fails to kill Sihoud himself, the general escapes and rendezvous at sea with the "Hegira", a high-tech UIF submarine supplied (like most of the UIF's cutting edge weaponry) by Japan, and already armed with the deadly missiles. Knowing the situation desperate, Sihoud presses the sub to break out of the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic, where they will launch atleast one of their missiles on Washington. Complicating things is the experience and numerical superiority of the Americans, the fact that none of Hegira's torpedo tubes are designed to be re-loaded at sea (like the VLS tubes on latter models of the Los Angeles Class SSN), and that Hegira's hi-tech makes the sub's capabilities almost as mysterious to its crew as it does its enemies. On the other side, 3 of the USN's nuclear subs stand between Hegira and the US - Seawolf, Augusta and Phoenix. Seawolf begins the book in dry-dock, where the Navy had been working feverishly to install tubes for the "Vortex", a revolutionary type of torpedo. When a test for the new torp (a rocket-propelled wonder obviously influenced by the real-life Soviet "Shkval") goes disastrously wrong (both the test target and shooter are destroyed), the USN works feverishly to remove the tubes. The hunt for the Hegira puts a crimp on those plans as well, and Pacino is forced to go to sea with the hated Vortex. Augusta is a latter model Los Angeles Class SSN, almost a match for Seawolf, and commanded by a fearless master of submarine warfare. Between the two subs is Phoenix, an aging "Flight I" Los Angeles Class boat, commanded by the very competent if less-than-stellar commander Kane.

This was a very good submarine thriller (considering "Shark Mutiny" was my last one) which, like the vortex missile packs a punch and a misfire in the same shot. What goes wrong is the basic premise - a pitched war with the UIF (and even the UIF idea) seem pretty far-fetched. Dimercurio goes to a lot of trouble creating Sihoud and getting him to Hegira - but since he doesn't do anything once he's on board (not being experienced or even informed on the dynamics of sub-war), there's no real reason for him to be there at all. The idea that the US will give in after it's been hit by one of the UIF's dirty bombs (in an attack they know can't really be repeated) is also a big stretch. Isn't there an at least as strong possibility that we'd just hit back harder? Other stretches are the Vortex torpedoes - it's clear that they're hazardous from day-one (the Navy test fires them from unmanned drone subs) - but the Navy still guts their top attack sub just to install the unproven weapon aboard. (That Pacinio works up a solution to the problem that otherwise eludes its designers doesn't make that twist any more acceptable) The UIF are largely generic bad guys and (outside of the war situation) they're not really that bad (Dimercurio gives the Islamic crewmen a conscience that's reviled by the suffering they're about to unleash). The book is pretty short on surprises (including an ocean map that charts the course of all subs in the book). The biggest flaw of the book is that it's not really about anybody, so with all of the action going on, we never really know who we're supposed to pay attention to or care about. Though Pacino is supposed to be the hero, the guy Dimercurio really should have headlined was Kane. With his less than stellar credentials and his creaky old submarine, Kane's life expectancy is excitingly low, and the story does place a lot of emphasis on him, without ever showing it cares about what's going through his mind. Dimercurio introduces his characters with a fairly detailed description (unlike Dale Brown, he manages to keep this from interrupting the action) that never otherwise affects how they act or interrlate throughout the rest of the book (Kane's insecurity allows his XO to become a rival figure on the boat, an intriguing idea that disappears once they confront Hegira).

On the plus side, "Phoenix" survives its implausible premise, and the action guarantees that you won't put it down half-finished. The technology of military subs is too complex to be satisfyingly synthesized for landlubbers like us, so Dimercurio does a bang-up job making it as clear as he does and further by conveying the tension each crew faces despite the techno-speak. The compact plot keeps your attentions even if it makes clear why we won't have a sub-thriller as enjoyable as "Red October" or "Sink the Potemkin".

After reading Phoenix Sub zero I found myself in a deja vu' situation. I have read Voyage of the Devilfish and this book seems a little bit like it. It has a good plot and a believable scenario but it threads together like Devilfish. A hunt for a super-sub. A super torpedo, both boats blowing up.

I am hoping for a turn around with Barracuda Final Bearing the next book in the Pacino saga

This book kept me gripped until the last pages. Certainly one of the best inside looks at how submariners conduct the business of war deep under the surface. Dimercurio has a very good insight into what takes place aboard a nuclear sub. If you are a Tom Clancy fan, you'll enjoy this one.