Phoenix Sub Zero

From Publishers WeeklyIn the near-future imagined in this brisk, hardware-packed techno-thriller, the United Islamic Front of God, comprised of 30 Islamic nations, is losing its world war with the Western Coalition, comprised of European countries and the U.S. To turn the tide, the Front resorts to its ultimate weapon: a plutonium bomb to be launched at Washington, D.C., from the Hegira , a Japanese-designed sub seemingly superior to any other under the high seas. As the Hegira breaks into the Atlantic in order to close in on its target, one American sub is sunk and another is crippled, leaving the fate of the West in the hands of Mike Pacino, captain of the American sub Seawolf , and the badly damaged USS Phoenix , whose commander, David "Sugar" Kane, refuses to abandon the hunt. Former submariner DiMercurio ( Attack of the Seawolf ) conveys without melodrama the horror of undersea warfare, with death in a hundred forms always a hand's-breadth away. He is also a master of submarine technology, rivaling Tom Clancy in his ability to make technical details comprehensible to general readers. Here, in true techno-thriller fashion, the computers, torpedoes and propulsion systems carry the exciting story from first pages to last, where Seawolf and Hegira engage to decide the future of the world. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalCapt. Mike Pacino is back in command of the submarine U.S.S. Seawolf. General Sihoud, leader of the United Islamic Front of God, has overrun Chad and Ethiopia on his way to invading India. The United Nations, led by the United States, has determined that the only way to stop Sihoud is to assassinate him. The missile attack on Sihoud's headquarters fails, and Sihoud escapes aboard a Japanese-built sub. He then procedes to launch special nuclear weapons on Washington, D.C. Armed with superior torpedoes, Sihoud's sub sinks two of the best U.S. subs on its way to its launch site. Armed with defective but devastating Vortex torpedoes, Seawolf is dispatched to save the day. Though the writing is sketchy in spots, DiMercurio's work offers readers an action-packed drama that seafaring buffs and general readers alike will enjoy. Public librarians will want to raise their purchasing periscopes and target this one.Grant A. Fredericksen, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., MetamoraCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.