Beneath the Silent Sea

by Richard P. Henrick, Richard P. Henrick

The Chinese have launched their most lethal submarine in a clandestine attack on both the U.S. and the Soviet Union--just as peace talks between these two nations have begun. Now, to stop the Maoist fanatics, two world powers about to come together in peace must join forces in war. As they race toward a showdown in the perilous ocean depths, the ultimate thermonuclear endgame is about to be played for the highest stakes of all.

Genres: Military Fiction, Fiction

Paperback

First published August 1, 1988

Reviews

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was...not good. Having recently seen Jurassic Park, allow me to badly quote: "Eventually, do you plan on having submarines in your submarine novel?"

We barely see and/or spend any time aboard the enemy Chinese submarine, which is supposedly the main threat. We are introduced to a Russian submarine, that due to a poorly functioning radio, becomes the main enemy for our protagonist submarine. And, as for our protagonist submarine: well, it gets taken out of the climactic battle pretty much right away, being forced to surface, and sitting as a spectator to the duel between the Russians and the Chinese, which pretty much just turns into a "Ramming Speed!" type of situation.

If you like books about side characters who have absolutely nothing to do with the main story - or even are tangentially aware of and/or involved in the events of the main story (the side adventure of an American actor and his Chinese girlfriend take up a LOT of this book, and incidentally are the final scene) - and you really like graphic depictions of sex from the male perspective, where penises solve all problems - then this is the book for you.

If you like submarines, Cold War intrigue, high-stakes threats of nuclear war, or just any kind of naval action...yah, no - don't read this.

[Kili · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dumb premise, amateur writing, almost 1 star