Three Miles Down

Hugo Award winner Turtledove (Or Even Eagle Flew) delivers a 1970s-set first-contact tale, told by a rational skeptic who believes in humanity ahead of ideology. Jerry Stieglitz, a budding sci-fi writer and marine biology graduate student, is recruited by the U.S. government for a trip on the notorious “research” vessel the Glomar Explorer, allegedly to help recover a sunken Soviet submarine. But Jerry soon learns that the Explorer is actually working to recover the object that sank the sub: a crashed UFO. Jerry adds value to the expedition with his sci-fi imagination (“I’m the designated weirdo,” he muses), never more so than when he figures out how to enter the saucer by taking a cue from The Lord of the Rings. But loose lips make spies nervous, and Jerry is forced to go on the run after rumors of the saucer hit the news, sparking threats from both the U.S. and the Russian governments. Readers longing for a deep dive into the 1970s will enjoy this agreeable piece of Cold War nostalgia. There’s clearly more to come, but this makes for a satisfying start. (Aug.)