Go Deep

Devotees of World War II, the Royal Navy and submarines may take to this tale by Wingate (Submarine), but it is marred by sluggishness and overly technical exposition that often dilutes the tension of critical moments. In May 1942, Lt. John Carbis joins HMS Urgent, based on besieged Malta and skippered by the cool and harsh ""Hammer'' Hawke. Their mission: to disrupt Germany's provisioning of Rommel's Afrika Korps since, unless the Allies stop Rommel's eastward advance, they may lose the war. Urgent is in the thick of it, in a mixture of fact and fiction that contains real and imaginary characters. The best parts of the book focus on Urgent's moments of dire perilnot all underwaterand on a historical overview of the war. But Wingate's writing palls in describing Carbis's romanticized affair and the plight of the uniformly brave and loyal Maltese. The book's glossary is not much help to landlubbers. Illustrations not seen by PW. January 25