Deep under the sea, U.S. submarine captain Jeffrey Fuller is still at it, dodging depth charges, launching torpedoes and otherwise foiling a reinvigorated Nazi Germany from taking over the world. Buff's latest breathlessly paced thriller, set in the year 2011, starts out where last year's Deep Sound Channel
left off. The world has been overtaken by a Germany–South Africa alliance. France has fallen. Great Britain is starving. It's up to the United States to prevent nuclear destruction and restore order. Fuller, fresh off victorious duty in the South Atlantic, has now taken over command of the Challenger, the most advanced American sub. His mission is to rescue a disabled sub on the ocean floor near the Azores, then proceed to the Baltic, where he is to lead a secret strike force and destroy a German missile laboratory. Never one to fail, Fuller has only one worry. He knows Germany's high-tech supersub, the Deutschland, is lurking out there. And his arch rival, the ruthless Kurt Eberhard, is at the controls, eager to send Fuller and the Challenger
to the bottom of the sea. Long-winded at points and weakened by a silly love affair, the second in the Fuller line nonetheless provides satisfying action for battle lovers. Buff's admiration for submarines and their crews comes across from the start. His meticulous attention to the details of life aboard the Challenger
and the obstacles it faces help heighten the drama, particularly during the final fight scene in the Norwegian Sea. The jargon flies fast and heavy, but even readers unfamiliar with the terminology will be able to catch its drift after awhile. (Aug. 7)
