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Tempest Down
From the New York Times bestselling writer of Tom Clancy's Op-Center series, a relentlessly paced techno-thriller that plunges readers into the icy depths of the Antarctic.
An experimental U.S. Submarine, the Tempest D, with a propulsion system five-times-faster than traditional drives is to be tested in the remote South Polar waters. Chinese intelligence learns of the test and sends their own submarine to observe. When an underwater collision causes the sumarines to become trapped under the Antarctic ice, they need each other to survive. Meanwhile, a U.S. military team codenamed L.A.S.E.R.-- Land Air Sea Emergency Rescue-- is sent on an unprecedented rescue mission . . . under the Polar cap, every minute matters.
Combining inernational political intrigue, exotic locales and insider details, Tempest Down delivers the same high-tech edge that Jeff Rovin brings to Tom Clancy's Op-Center books.
An experimental U.S. Submarine, the Tempest D, with a propulsion system five-times-faster than traditional drives is to be tested in the remote South Polar waters. Chinese intelligence learns of the test and sends their own submarine to observe. When an underwater collision causes the sumarines to become trapped under the Antarctic ice, they need each other to survive. Meanwhile, a U.S. military team codenamed L.A.S.E.R.-- Land Air Sea Emergency Rescue-- is sent on an unprecedented rescue mission . . . under the Polar cap, every minute matters.
Combining inernational political intrigue, exotic locales and insider details, Tempest Down delivers the same high-tech edge that Jeff Rovin brings to Tom Clancy's Op-Center books.
356 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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July 27, 2011submarine thrills
May 5, 2020
True Rating: 3.5/5
Good characterization, a bit heavy on acronyms and idle pondering, and the habit of ending every chapter with a dramatic button gets surprisingly annoying when chapters get as short as 2 pages. That the short chapters are punctuated so strongly disrupts the flow when the pace is already being slowed by random navel - (no pun intended) gazing. However, it's accelerated by ever-worsening (but believably so) circumstances, and the characters' reactions and re-planning (notwithstanding wondering about the nature of life) is the book's strength. The "tech ex machina" isn't too strong; the only times the technical parts get overbearing is during yet another lengthy description of a five-letter acronym - the description is good when it's utilitarian and serves the reader's awareness of the situation, but the precise technical terminology gets a little academic at times. The strength is in the causation: X leads to Y lead to Z, which has been built up in multiple perspectives and then unfolds as such - which is sometimes hard to follow, but usually has markers common to all perspectives to align the reader.
Overall, a well-fleshed-out adventure, which, between lengthy internal monologues, is entertaining and engaging.
Good characterization, a bit heavy on acronyms and idle pondering, and the habit of ending every chapter with a dramatic button gets surprisingly annoying when chapters get as short as 2 pages. That the short chapters are punctuated so strongly disrupts the flow when the pace is already being slowed by random navel - (no pun intended) gazing. However, it's accelerated by ever-worsening (but believably so) circumstances, and the characters' reactions and re-planning (notwithstanding wondering about the nature of life) is the book's strength. The "tech ex machina" isn't too strong; the only times the technical parts get overbearing is during yet another lengthy description of a five-letter acronym - the description is good when it's utilitarian and serves the reader's awareness of the situation, but the precise technical terminology gets a little academic at times. The strength is in the causation: X leads to Y lead to Z, which has been built up in multiple perspectives and then unfolds as such - which is sometimes hard to follow, but usually has markers common to all perspectives to align the reader.
Overall, a well-fleshed-out adventure, which, between lengthy internal monologues, is entertaining and engaging.
March 3, 2018
Wasn't sure what to expect from this author but this novel was a very entertaining naval thriller, particularly during the second half of the book when the submarine test mission suddenly became a rescue operation. Interesting characters are faced with the decision of how much should be sacrificed to preserve 'National Security' secrets.
March 22, 2024
Dense in the early chapters but accelerates to wind thoroughly exciting
August 31, 2016
I accidentally purchased this one-star book at a library book sale and found myself trying to rid myself of the literary abomination before it infected my other books.
I considered throwing it onto the road, but as icy as the roads are, it would probably just slide around without being thoroughly destroyed. I thought, instead, that I might tie it to the railroad tracks a la early 1900's silent movies. The problem with that is, it might take a while for a train to come and until it did, this book would be just sitting there emitting noxious fumes into the environment. I thought of perhaps using it for toilet paper and ridding myself of it that way, but the paper is a bit too abrasive. (On a side note, it did efficiently dispatch the cellar spider that was running around my bathroom to the little web in the sky.) With no other outlet left to rid myself of this monstrous creation, I donated it.
Why the other star you ask? Unlike other bad books, this one might actually be useful. Recidivism in the criminal justice system is really high. If criminals were forced to read this book while behind bars, crime rates in this country would drop drastically.
What about the other two stars? Because this review is actually a joke (I got bored) and the book isn't that bad. Though it's not the kind of book I normally read, the characters in this novel were quite original yet largely believable. Mr. Rovin is a good writer, though he isn't as knowledgeable about some of the stuff he writes about as he could be, and the book is well-written and easy to understand. This isn't one of those same-old-story-with-different-characters, formulaic novels that are so common nowadays. It's actually quite unique. I would not be hesitant to read more of the author's works, especially if I thought they sounded interesting (and didn't defy the laws of physics).
I considered throwing it onto the road, but as icy as the roads are, it would probably just slide around without being thoroughly destroyed. I thought, instead, that I might tie it to the railroad tracks a la early 1900's silent movies. The problem with that is, it might take a while for a train to come and until it did, this book would be just sitting there emitting noxious fumes into the environment. I thought of perhaps using it for toilet paper and ridding myself of it that way, but the paper is a bit too abrasive. (On a side note, it did efficiently dispatch the cellar spider that was running around my bathroom to the little web in the sky.) With no other outlet left to rid myself of this monstrous creation, I donated it.
Why the other star you ask? Unlike other bad books, this one might actually be useful. Recidivism in the criminal justice system is really high. If criminals were forced to read this book while behind bars, crime rates in this country would drop drastically.
What about the other two stars? Because this review is actually a joke (I got bored) and the book isn't that bad. Though it's not the kind of book I normally read, the characters in this novel were quite original yet largely believable. Mr. Rovin is a good writer, though he isn't as knowledgeable about some of the stuff he writes about as he could be, and the book is well-written and easy to understand. This isn't one of those same-old-story-with-different-characters, formulaic novels that are so common nowadays. It's actually quite unique. I would not be hesitant to read more of the author's works, especially if I thought they sounded interesting (and didn't defy the laws of physics).
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June 26, 2015GREAT MILITARY ACTION!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews