U.S.S. Seawolf

July 3, 2000
Robinson's gripping followup to HMS Unseen pits bellowing National Security Advisor Arnold Morgan against an increasingly brazen People's Republic of China, which has been flexing its military muscle by shooting missiles over Taiwan and threatening a nuclear strike on Los Angeles. In response to this last threat, stalwart Capt. Judd Crocker of the submarine Seawolf is sent on a secret mission to assess the nuclear strike capability of China's new Xia-class sub. When nervous executive officer Linus Clarke inadvertently cripples the Seawolf, the crew is taken prisoner, and the submarine falls into the hands of Chinese Admiral Zhang Yushu, who hides behind diplomacy while using torture and physical abuse to ferret out the Seawolf's secrets. What Zhang doesn't know is that one of the submariners is even more valuable than the sub itself--a fact that sends Admiral Morgan into a desperate race against time to destroy the Seawolf before its secrets can be revealed, and to effect a seemingly impossible rescue. As usual, Robinson makes the impossible look easy and ratchets the tension higher and higher, until at last a team of SEALS assaults the prison where the Seawolf's crew is housed. But that's not the end of the story. In the novel's final few pages, several well-planted political hints blossom into a series of plot explosions. Given their potential importance to both the story and the life of Robinson's hero, Arnold Morgan, these developments are jarringly abrupt. While this finale is devastating, it feels rushed compared to the rest of this well-paced naval techno-thriller.

Robinson sets this saga of naval misadventure in the South China Seas within the near future of the year 2004; the futurism is evident only in the arsenal employed. Otherwise, this is a straightforward spy-and-action tale, replete with detail. Events evolve in the form of reports (date and time heading each occasion with fine military precision); their starkness is contrasted with the excellent characterizations for which George Guidall is known. He animates the profane intensity and casual bigotry of men "in charge" in ways that are often achingly funny. From action at sea to the desires for action in Washington, Guidall performs a tour de force of vocal gymnastics. Long, detailed, and brutal, this becomes a "good read." S.B.S. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine