by Larry Bond
First published 2009
Jerry Mitchell has risen from pilot to navigator aboard the USS Seawolf, now prowling the frigid depths of the Barents Sea. The American submarine conducts reconnaissance on Russian naval exercises from international waters when Captain Alexi Petrov's newest boat, Severodvinsk, attacks without warning. Petrov makes reckless high-speed passes at the American vessel, playing a deadly game of underwater chicken. The harassment escalates until both submarines collide in the black depths. Severodvinsk lies crippled on the seafloor, her crew trapped and dying. Only Seawolf knows the Russian boat's location, but the collision damaged her own systems. Mitchell and his crewmates face an impossible choice. The Russian fleet above refuses to listen to American radio calls, convinced the collision was an act of war. Time runs short for the trapped sailors below. Mitchell must find a way to save enemy submariners while keeping his own boat from sinking, all while tensions between two nuclear powers threaten to explode into open conflict.
Genres: military-fiction, adventure, thriller, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Barents Sea, Russia, United States
Period: Cold War
480 pages · Hardcover · Forge Books
Content warnings: violence