by Larry Bond
First published 2009
Commander Lowell Hardy expected to retire with honors when the USS Memphis was decommissioned. Instead, the newly elected president assigns his aging submarine one final mission. Hardy must guide the Memphis into Russian territorial waters to investigate leaking nuclear containers on the Arctic Ocean floor. The radioactive waste holds enough material to devastate America's largest cities. Hardy drives his crew mercilessly to prepare for the illegal operation. Weapons officer Jerry Mitchell, a former pilot new to submarine duty, struggles with his role despite his political connections. Dr. Joanna Patterson, the civilian nuclear expert reporting directly to the president, clashes with Hardy's authoritarian command style. The crew resents their captain, the demanding scientist, and the inexperienced Mitchell. They feel trapped aboard an obsolete vessel on a mission that could end their careers or lives. As the Memphis descends into the frigid, contaminated waters, the team discovers the operation conceals something far more dangerous than nuclear waste. Russian naval forces mobilize to destroy the submarine and eliminate all witnesses to their deadly secret.
Genres: science-fiction, military-fiction, adventure, action, political-thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: America, Arctic Ocean, Russia
Period: Cold War
472 pages · Paperback · Rebis
Content warnings: graphic-violence