Barracuda: Final Bearing

Michael Pacino #4

by Michael DiMercurio

A volatile new state calling itself Greater Manchuria emerges out of the political and military strife of Asia. Thanks to the connections of its brash leader, it boasts an atomic arsenal. Japan, threatened by its proximity to nuclear disaster, shocks the world by launching a sophisticated preemptive strike against its new neighbor.

Worldwide outrage at this aggression provokes the U.N. to blockade the trade-dependent nation. But Japan is ready—its sub fleet is armed to the teeth and thoroughly equipped to destroy the blockade. With the world now at the boiling point of all-out war, Admiral Michael Pacino gives his captain a "mission impossible" order to sink the Japanese submarine fleet. The gamble is desperate. The gamesmanship razor-edged. The warfare awesome …

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Military Fiction

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Michael DiMercurio is an honors graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and has served as a paratrooper, Navy diver, and as a lieutenant and Chief Propulsion Officer aboard the U.S.S. Hammerhead.

Reviews

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, of the four that I've read, I'd say that this is actually one of the better, if not best ones - although, that's like saying stale bread is the best kind of bread when all you have to compare it to is moldy bread.

However, I don't think Mr. DiMercurio knows what the hell he is doing with this story. Presumably, this occurs just a year or two after "Phoenix Sub Zero" with Admiral Pacino now ComSubLant (Commander Submarine, Atlantic), although, he and the former Admiral Donchez, now Director of the NSA Donchez, have combined that position with ComSubPac into a Combined Submarine Commander - so, I'm guessing he's in charge of all the submarines now. Personally, my biggest issue with this is that prior to his illustrious elevation, Pacino has only ever commanded a single submarine. He was never in command of even a single squadron of submarines, let alone multiple squadrons...and now he's in charge of all of them - which seems to fly in the face of the author's obvious love of meritocracies. And, he remarks about how he's in his early 40's now...and then the monkey-wrench comes in. For you see, the Japanese are now the enemy, and there's a whole little history of how Japan rose to become a prominent economic power after the fall of the Soviet Union, then they tried to essentially buy their way in to dominating the American economy, who embargoed Japan, causing their economy to crash (a "Fair Trade Act" was passed in the USA which made illegal any product consisting of more than 10% Japanese origins - so, kiss all your Toyotas, Nissans, and Super Mario Brothers goodbye)...and this all took place during "the first decade of the 21st century" as the book says...so, one would guess that this novel then must take place in 2011...2012...maybe 2013...but the "Muslim War," as the book calls it, took place 5 years after the fall of the Soviet Union?!?!? And the sub commanders all talk about how they had to be personally approved by Admiral Rickover before they were allowed to be in the sub service...and he retired in 1983...so, like...Admiral Pacino would have been 13 (at the oldest) when he got approved (assuming he's 42 in 2012) ?!?!?!

Also, a little niggle, but Pacino (at 42) waxes nostalgic about how submarine command is a "young man's game" as he meets with his various submarine commanders who are in their late 30s...must be a rough 4 to 5 years....

Okay, so, the war in this novel is between Japan and the USA. For, you see, in the wake of the Chinese Civil War in Book 2, China has now been divided between Red China, White China, and Greater Manchuria - which has also swallowed large swaths of the Russian Far East. And, of course, Japan goes on the warpath against Greater Manchuria because suddenly they are faced with a potentially hostile land-based enemy who possesses nuclear weapons - which is completely unacceptable to Japan, apparently - I guess North Korea, which is essentially the same thing, has escaped the author's notice. However, in the interests of "we can't let anyone else climb higher on the heap than ourselves" the USA gets involved to save Greater Manchuria after a Japanese airstrike by declaring a blockade against Japan.

The Japanese maintain a fleet of their super-subs from the previous book, that are either still brand new and amazing, or approaching 20-years in service depending on how Mr. DiMercurio feels in this particular chapter. As the blockade gets in place, these submarines sink three American aircraft carriers and their escorts, leaving only the American subs to enforce the blockade. In a moment that seems like an epiphany, a young Commander impresses Admiral Pacino, by proposing that we use an old tactic, the Wolf Pack, instead of single subs, since ours are outclassed by the Japanese ones. So, we do...and they are just picked off even more easily as the Japanese sink them in groups instead of singly...so, I have no idea why this was a thing in the book. Usually epiphanies matter?!?!

So, then one submarine, a Seawolf-class, armed with the super submarine missiles from the previous book, which have been strapped to the outside of the submarine (because sonar acoustics be damned), arrives and essentially acts like a jet fighter, swooping in, shooting missiles, and blowing up Japanese subs, saving the day. The Japanese end their war and surrender on like the literal last page after spending the previous 420 essentially winning...but, a single set back over like a two-day period causes them to throw in the towel.

I will say that, I seriously thought he was going to try a romance angle with the female President and Admiral Pacino, but, I forgot, this is a man book for men, so no equal partners...as we meet the presumably new love interest...a young Nurse, a lieutenant in fact...half his age...(ostensibly under his command, and he takes over as head of the Pacific Fleets when that Admiral is killed)...because of course she is. Hooray for inappropriate and coercive relationships!

I will say that I thought the author was attempting to try a little humorous dialogue, as Admiral Pacino meets a young pilot (who he gets killed for no reason) with the callsign of "Tubesteak" - he asks if he has to do with romantic encounters, and the response is nope, he just really likes hot dogs. Now see...if this were a character we had known for a bit, who we had seen have like no sense of humor, this might actually be fun. But, it's played straight, with no build-up, and no follow-up...so, why?!?! Why give him a potentially comical name, have it shot down, and then do nothing with it? Maybe he could have been walking up to meet the Admiral eating a hot dog? Or, like, maybe he offers the Admiral one? I don't know, something...the only "humor" in this book is that one of the Captains apparently brought a whole trunk of costumes with him because he keeps changing into them to walk around the ship - to help people solve problems - like what? Why?!?!

Also, in the previous book, the author split that up into "books" ala the Lord of the Rings, which kind of worked, because each "book" focused on the action on a different sub. He does that in this book too, and I have no idea why because the story isn't compartmentalized like that...

Oh, oh, and everyone...and I mean everyone...smokes cigars...

Oh well, on the Book 5...if I can find it... :)

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay book. I felt it had more “problems” to it than the previous books in the series. The character development (what there is of it) is so-so. The plot is a bit flimsy. It does move at a decent pace, so it had that going for it. Granted, the ending is a bit anti-climactic, which was a bit of a disappointment. It took the book a while to really “get up any steam” and then it all comes to crashing down to a “weak” ending. I had a hard time with my suspension of disbelief with this one, sadly.

Some of the problems for me entailed a mix of the following (in no particular order):
1. I thought it was amusing (in a negative sort-of-way) that in the prior book, the Destiny-class submarine was a generation or two ahead of the US Navy’s best submarines (the Improved-Los Angeles-class and the Seawolf-class submarines) but in this book the first generation Destiny-class is said to be barely better than both the Improved Los Angeles-class submarine and Seawolf-class submarine. One gets the impression the Destiny in the 3rd book was “easily beaten” by the Americans when that was clearly not the case in the Phoenix Sub Zero (what actually happened was a single Destiny I submarine sank two Los Angeles-class submarines and one Seawolf-class submarine before it was itself sunk). The Americans won by the skin of their teeth and dumb luck (“won” meaning the dirty bomb was not exploded over Washington, DC). The Destiny II is implied to be “marginally better” (my interpretation; not necessarily the author’s words) than the Seawolf-class but it is believed the Destiny-III has the ability to kick everybody’s collective teeth in (fortunately, the author did make the III-class unable to do more than fire at surface ships; the ones that were used to sink the various American carrier battle groups were themselves sunk because of some inherent weaknesses in their total reliance upon a computer).
2. As a follow-up, I thought it was hilariously stupid that the US Navy is still so far behind the Japanese in terms of technology and abilities when it comes to military weapons. How is it the Japanese submarine can travel so much faster than any American subs or that their torpedoes are nearly twice as fast as American torpedoes? Granted, in Clancy’s Red Storm Rising, the Brits have torpedoes that can also do about seventy knots, so one cannot help but wonder what is up with the Americans having such lousy weapons for their submarines? Also, one would think that a single Japanese submarine “easily sinking” three American submarines should have rocked the political and military establishments and thus encouraged some kind of improvements in America’s underseas fighting capability.
3. Not only that, but there were only THREE Seawolf-class submarines that were built before the class was canceled (in the book). (Well, in "real life," too.) Really? Really? Only three submarines were built, one of which was sunk, and the US Navy as well as politicians really believe a Los Angeles-class submarine (even if it is an “Improved”-model) can survive against a Destiny-class after three submarines were sunk by one? It was really stupid, and it showed (especially when one Destiny-II class sank, what? nine Los Angeles-class submarines on its own? So, of course, the much-maligned Vortex missile system is brought back into play and is used to sink seven Destiny-II submarines before the Barracuda runs out of missiles.
4. I found it hard to believe that the Japanese “ventriloquist” Sonar Defense System was able to successfully fool eight incoming MK. 50 torpedoes. Even the Japanese captain did not think it was possible. Granted, I am not very techno-minded, so perhaps in a discussion with the author (who would have the experience and knowledge to extrapolate such a device) I might change my mind, but it did not come across as a believable system.
5. This really annoyed me. Why is it that Michael Pacino’s wife divorced him? I do not recall any signs of such a thing happening in the third book. Nor were there any rumblings of problems in their marriage. Yes, she was unhappy that he had to leave when he did because of the emergency caused by the Hegira, but with his promotion to Rear Admiral and no longer being able to command a submarine at sea, one would think he would have been home, more, and that things should have worked out in that respect with his wife. The prior implications had been they had had a happy marriage, but BOOM, he’s suddenly divorced and now available for a relationship with a younger, sexier woman! Plus, this guy is able to compartmentalize his emotions to an unreal extent. His divorce does not affect him at all while he’s at sea! He is able to function without any problems or distractions. One of the dumbest moments in the series and this book.
6. What happens to Greater Manchuria? Is that going to be explained in the next book? This new, fledgling country is now left wide-open to being swallowed up by either of the two Chinas or Russia. Nothing is mentioned of it after the whole stupid mess with the Japanese attacking like they did (which did not make any sense, either, despite the attempts to explain it in the book. It still came off as a weak plot-device and very forced). I guess we shall see if anything is said about it in the fifth book of the series, but I thought something should have been said about it, even if it was nothing more than that the U.S. promised to support this fledgling nation by nuking any Chinese or Russian armies threatening to invade.
7. Apparently “five years” take place between the 2nd book and this book. I kinda found that hard to believe, especially in light of the various “global events” that have transpired, at first, but then as I thought about it, the amount of “global unrest” would have allowed some of the various events that transpired to take place. Still, though, it seemed like more than five years had passed.
8. The captain of the Barracuda, Bruce Phillips, was a weird character. He dresses up in different costumes while in command, he threatens and cajoles various officers to get done what he wants done. He seemed too immature to me to be in command of one of the US Navy’s “most modern class of” submarines. Also, as sophisticated and advanced and sensitive as the Japanese sonar devices were, it seemed hard to believe that his clomping around in cowboy boots would not be heard by the Japanese. Also, the Japanese sonar and computers were able to detect the Seawolf pretty easily in the prior novel, so it seemed hard to believe they could not do the same this time around, either, but the author has the Barracuda sneaking up on seven Destiny submarines and sinking them pretty easily.
9. I could not believe how anti-climatic the book was! It. Just. Ends. There is a brief “epilogue” of sorts in which everything is supposedly “wrapped up” and tied together. I am pretty sure with the remaining two Destiny-II class submarines the Japanese could have taken on the oncoming US submarines. Perhaps the case could be make that it had to do with the surviving submarine captains not being as aggressive, but the Second Captain was able to aggressively fight and defeat various attacks in the prior book as well as some in this book. AND, if the Japanese sonar “ventriloquist” defense was able to defeat eight American torpedoes, it seems far-fetched that the two surviving submarines could not have caused some pretty significant damage.
10. It was crazy. Pacino “gets” seven (to nine) submarines sunk, the carrier and then sub he is riding in shot out from under him, and he is promoted to Rear Admiral! It is kinda funny how reckless and insubordinate this guy is and yet he keeps getting promoted!
11. I still cannot get over the US Navy knowing how far ahead the Japanese Destiny-class submarines are as well as their Firestar fighters and the powers-that-be still do not do anything about it.
12. President Warner’s comment about how military officers are always decrying “how much more advanced” the other guy’s weapon are (i.e. – specifically the Russians) and it turns out that the “bad guy’s” weapons really weren’t as advanced as was claimed. It was a pretty weak argument to use in this book, as she could have been made aware of how advanced the Japanese technology was, especially in light of the three submarines being sunk in the third book. Actually, if she was not in office at the time, she should have been made aware of that mission and how it ended as a part of bringing her up to speed on how far behind the US was in relation to Japanese technology and military hardware.
13. The way the author “red-shirted” some of the American submarines like he did, introducing various characters on the doomed submarines and then expanding on them to give them some background before killing them, also felt pretty weak and forced. More like some kind of poor attempt at “emotional manipulation” than anything else, and it really did not work for me. I know “real people” serve aboard submarines for extended periods of time, but the characters introduced in the book did not feel real at all; more like caricatures.
There were other “issues” I had with the book, but these were probably the most prominent for me.

I did appreciate his including elements from the prior book in this one and expanding on the former “Moslem super-nation” like he did. Still, though, I would think the dissolution of this “super-nation” would have had more consequences than it did. There really did not seem to be any “long-term repercussions” to the world at large despite a “Third World War” having been fought across three continents. It was good to learn that Russia was involved in the fighting in Asia, as the prior book made it sound like the countries opposing the Muslims were the US, Britain, and Germany.

Once a design was discovered to allow the Vortex system to work, it was pretty cool to read about it working. There was a “humorous” moment in the book, when Captain Phillips orders one of the missiles to be used to clear a path under the Arctic ice pack so the Barracuda could break into the Pacific Ocean. I know I “mocked” the Vortex-system earlier, but I did like the idea behind it.

It was an okay book. Probably the “best thing going for it” was that it was a relatively fast read for me (considering I did not have any problems putting it down when something came up that needed to be done). It may be a bit before I read the fifth book in the series as I am not sure I have a copy of it or not. In any case, I am glad that I did read this, despite it being a bit of a disappointment.

[Alfonso D'agostino · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quando cerchi qualcosa con cui combattere la nostalgia di Tom Clancy e trovi DiMercurio. Come avere necessità di un cremoso gelato artigianale e trovare nel freezer un ghiacciolo già morsicato.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are very entertaining books. This one was a little far-fetched but ultimately still very entertaining. The lead character is maybe a little too much of the larger-than-life type and one thing in this genre I am starting to get tired of is the anti-authority, born to be a rebel, never follow orders without any consequences characters. Sounds like I'm griping doesn't it? Maybe a little but this book kept me moving along and I have to confess I wanted to know how it ended. At the end of the day I will keep reading these books and have to recommend them to anyone interested in military fiction or naval fiction for sure. Even if you think that's not your cup of tea you might be surprised!

[Ken Mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far fetched yarn

If you treat this book as a fast moving unrealistic work of fiction you will be okay. The US navy is portrayed as being vastly inferior in competence and technology, which is bizarre. The military had known about the Destiny subs for a long time yet had not developed any countermeasures to defeat them or defend against their torpedos. Crazy. Incompetent senior leadership who will not listen causes the loss of an entire battle group and multiple US navy subs. Again, bizarre. As for Pacino, well he can never die, whereas all those around him do.
Not my favourite book and I probably will stop reading this authors works.

[Thomas J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Submarine War between nations.

Japan is flexing its growing economic and political power. Finding a break away country from Russia and China has a batch of nuclear weapons. The Japanese launch an unprovoked attack, forces the United States to punish Japan. The Japanese have highly advanced submarines, better than the United States. The blockade war is not going well. It is up In Adm. Pacino to develop a strategy to defeat this threat. It is a fun book and though a little dated.

[Ian Birtwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit more political than the previous Pacino books, there's still lots of technical stuff but the background to what was going on was more 'visible'; I guess that's the way of things - As you rise higher up the Ranks, more politics becomes involved and a less hands-on position has to be taken. Let's see where the next one goes! On with Piranha -Firing Point

[Paul Horstmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit formulaic, but I enjoyed the submarine details and actions. The text could have used a bit more editing. Mr. Dimercurio captured the Adm. Rickover anecdotes nicely. Having been on the “build” team for the USS Connecticut, I enjoyed the prominence the Seawolf class plays in the story.

[William F Kimpflein · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review

Another great read completed. Can't wait for the next installment of this series. This is one excellent author. Will be looking forward for further books in this series.

[Michael Goulette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book. Lots of action and sea battles. I love submarine books for the most part and this one was a winner. Some corny parts but overall good writing.

[Randy Huffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael DiMecurio, you did it again!

This is another book written so well you didn't want to put it down. You keep writing I'll keep reading.

[D.B. Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read reviews on this book series that say they are formulaic. That is true, but if the formula works why change it. Another great read.

[Peter Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good read but a bit slow going in places

[Meryl Bullpitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading and suspense. Interesting technical data

Good read. High level of technical data. Interesting global relationship between Japan and China ad The United States of Americe.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fascinating Book

The book keeps you focused as plenty of plots. The book continues patchs career through the Navy and the submarine force it is it excellent read with a good plot keeps you guessing till the end.

[Nick Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

A 'near future' novel written back in the late 90's….

So the main bad guys here are the Japanese, they try a sneaky corporate take-over of a couple of iconic US corporations, get caught out and have all sort of economic sanctions slung at them by the US and the West. So the Japanese are not happy bunnies.

At the same time we have the new country of Manchuria, an ex Soviet State which discovered a hidden cache of Nukes and uses them as a deterrent to anyone thinking of trying to take Manchuria back…..
For some reason Japan feels threatened by these nukes (although there is no indication of animosity between the two countries) and launches a dirty bomb at the nuke site, but gets caught out and things escalate into war. Because of political dithering by the US they lose most of their fleet and it is up to the mavericks of the Submarine fleet to defeat Japanese robot subs and save what remains of the day.
There are some interesting ideas in this but the delivery leaves something to be desired (much like the Vortex missiles in the story), the author concentrates too much on framing the background to his story and not enough on the tension and the action elements of the story. Yep the author is an experienced sub-mariner himself and this is reflected in the (almost too much) detail but falls into the trap of being comfortable with the technology and not spending enough time on the story and the characters. Once we get to the action elements, things are over far too quickly and without the tension you would expect from a novel dealing with submarine warfare. It's a massive anti-climax after the time invested in the novel to arrive at the point where you think it will explode into action, only to find it fizzles out.
So not an awful book but a weak one, I did have to think a lot about two or three stars but I am pushing this down to two I am afraid,

[Charles Azar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

Excellent read riveting non stop thriller. ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... . .. ... ... .. .. ,..

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost gave this book 1 star, it was extremely disappointing.
Basically this book is incredibly formulaic (to the other DiMercurio books), has a slow start, and has a ludicrous plot that is so unrealistic that it's hard to suspend disbelief. A very sub-standard thriller. Pun intended.

I was going to end there, but I wanted to include a passage that sort of typifies the utter rediculousness of the story:

"...with the use of biological DNA soup processors. The soup processors were composed of genetic material taken from the brain stems of small animals and cultured into the liquid soup that functioned as a biological process- control module."

DiMercurio is talking here about how a Japanese submarine's computer processors are actually made up of the brain stems of "small animals". What the fuck man.

[Lis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dimercurio ha scritto decisamente di meglio: in questo capitolo ha decisamente esagerato, tra sommergibili completamente computerizzati, personaggi stereotipati e un Pacino più immortale di Highlander.
Si puo' leggere come passatempo leggero, come guardare distrattamente un film con Steven Segal (che non sopporto, ma il paragone mi sembra azzeccato)

[Harry Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Technothriller, a la Tom Clancy, third of a series. Quite a good evening's entertainment.

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the last Michael DiMercurio book I will ever read. The story is bad. The characters are poorly written. This is just a bad book!

[Stefan Vucak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love every one of DiMercurio's books!