Deep Flight: Deep Flight

Torn between becoming a Top Gun flyer or a SEAL diver, Navy Commander Rick Tallman welcomes the timely diversion of a secret government mission piloting the revolutionary stealth submarine, the SA-12 (``The Steel Albatross''), off the coast of Guam. As he tries to determine whether a deep-sea mining ship's malfunctioning is due to routine error or sabotage, Tallman unexpectedly crosses wires with a deadly terrorist environmental cult deceptively known as The Ocean Friends. In his second techno-thriller after The Steel Albatross , former astronaut and SEALAB aquanaut Carpenter blends smooth writing and suspense--with a touch of romance as Tallman tries to decide between his love for a female Navy colleague and the pleasures and freedom of the single life. This is highly technical writing, though, and is likely to lose all but the most devoted lay readers. (Aug.)