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Deep Black #8
Sea of Terror
THE ENEMY IS ON BOARD. Two massive ships are on a dual path to destruction. One is a freighter carrying nuclear materials to Japan; the other, a cruise ship heading for the Mediterranean. Neither will reach their destinations. Two factions―Japanese eco-terrorists and Middle East extremists―have joined forces to infiltrate the ships, incapacitate the crew, and change course toward a common the United States of America. DETONATION HOUR IS APPROACHING. In Washington, Charlie Dean and a team of commandos are dispatched on a life-or-death mission to blow the hijackers’ plot out of the water. Their board the ship unnoticed, pose as ordinary passengers, and overtake the terrorists. But time is running out. The seized ships are crossing the Atlantic with the combined strength of a full-scale nuclear torpedo. And New York City is just on the horizon.… “Coonts knows how to write and build suspense. . . a natural storyteller.” ― The New York Times Book Review “The master of the techno-thriller.” ― Publishers Weekly
MP3 CD
First published February 2, 2010
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About the author
Stephen Coonts
180 books755 followersStephen Coonts (born July 19, 1946) is an American thriller and suspense novelist.
Coonts grew up in Buckhannon, West Virginia, a small coal-mining town and earned an B.A. degree in political science at West Virginia University in 1968. He entered the Navy the following year and flew an A-6 Intruder medium attack plane during the Vietnam War, where he served on two combat cruises aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). He accumulated 1600 hours in the A-6 Intruder and earned a number of Navy commendations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war he served as a flight instructor on A-6 aircraft for two years, then did a tour as an assistant catapult and arresting gear officer aboard USS Nimitz (CVN-68). His navigator-bombardier was LTjg Stanley W. Bryant who later became a Rear Admiral and deputy commander-in-chief of the US naval forces in Europe.
After being honorably discharged from duty as a lieutenant in 1977, Coonts pursued a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree at the University of Colorado, graduating in 1979. He then worked as an oil and gas lawyer for several companies, entertaining his writing interests in his free time.
He published short stories in a number of publications before writing Flight of the Intruder in 1986 (made into a movie in 1991). Intruder, based in part on his experiences as a bomber pilot, spent 28 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists in hardcover and launched his career as a novelist. From there he continued writing adventure-mysteries using the character from his first book, Jake Grafton. He has written several other series and stand-alone novels since then, but is most notable for the Grafton books.
Today Coonts continues to write, having had seventeen New York Times bestsellers (out of 20 books), and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife and son.
Taken from Wikipedia
Learn more about Stephen Coonts on the Macmillan website.
Coonts grew up in Buckhannon, West Virginia, a small coal-mining town and earned an B.A. degree in political science at West Virginia University in 1968. He entered the Navy the following year and flew an A-6 Intruder medium attack plane during the Vietnam War, where he served on two combat cruises aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). He accumulated 1600 hours in the A-6 Intruder and earned a number of Navy commendations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war he served as a flight instructor on A-6 aircraft for two years, then did a tour as an assistant catapult and arresting gear officer aboard USS Nimitz (CVN-68). His navigator-bombardier was LTjg Stanley W. Bryant who later became a Rear Admiral and deputy commander-in-chief of the US naval forces in Europe.
After being honorably discharged from duty as a lieutenant in 1977, Coonts pursued a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree at the University of Colorado, graduating in 1979. He then worked as an oil and gas lawyer for several companies, entertaining his writing interests in his free time.
He published short stories in a number of publications before writing Flight of the Intruder in 1986 (made into a movie in 1991). Intruder, based in part on his experiences as a bomber pilot, spent 28 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists in hardcover and launched his career as a novelist. From there he continued writing adventure-mysteries using the character from his first book, Jake Grafton. He has written several other series and stand-alone novels since then, but is most notable for the Grafton books.
Today Coonts continues to write, having had seventeen New York Times bestsellers (out of 20 books), and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife and son.
Taken from Wikipedia
Learn more about Stephen Coonts on the Macmillan website.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 15, 2023
An audiobook. The same cast appears but the book mostly deals with the seizure and hijacking of a luxury cruise ship and a ship carrying enriched plutonium. Hijacked by Middle Eastern Jihadi terrorists, the plot thickens when their intent is revealed: explode the cargo in NY harbor as a dirty bomb. Of course Charlie Dean is in the thick of it. I listened to the first three stories in this series and was surprised that the narrator changed. I was used to him and it felt odd to hear the characters speak in a different voice.
The series seem to have lost some of it's steam, but since I went from book 3 to book 8 (with none in between) I am probably missing some of the information presented in books 4-7. Nevertheless, it was an interesting storyline with a satisfying ending.
The series seem to have lost some of it's steam, but since I went from book 3 to book 8 (with none in between) I am probably missing some of the information presented in books 4-7. Nevertheless, it was an interesting storyline with a satisfying ending.
May 2, 2018
Excellent story concept but this one wasn't as good as many of Mr. Coonts books. Wordy to the point I was skipping and scanning pages just to get past them. I finished it last night but cannot tell you who the protagonist was or name one of the (too)many characters. The story was compelling enough I needed to find out how it ended but it was often a struggle to keep plowing through it.
March 8, 2012
I thought overall it was a good book. The one problem i had is there was no clear hero to root for. So not bad not great.
September 1, 2017
Deep Black: Sea of Terror ● by Stephen Coonts & William H. Keith Jr.
Two massive ships are on a dual path to destruction. One is a freighter carrying nuclear materials (hazmat) to Japan; the other, a cruise ship (Atlantis Queen) heading for the Mediterranean. Neither will reach their destinations. Two factions—Japanese eco-terrorists and Middle East extremists—have joined forces to infiltrate the ships, incapacitate the crew, and change course toward a common target:
The United States of America.
In Washington, Charlie Dean and a team of commandos are dispatched on a life-or-death mission to blow the hijackers’ plot out of the water. Their plan: board the ship unnoticed, pose as ordinary passengers, and overtake the terrorists. But time is running out. The seized ships are crossing the Atlantic with the combined strength of a full-scale nuclear torpedo. And New York City is just on the horizon...
It's to be a week-long trip to New York where the explosion will kill the cruise ship passengers, about 3000 and spread a toxic cloud of nuclear radiation over New York and other parts of the East Coast.
The premise isn't believable since US forces would never let the ships get close to the coastline, let alone a major city. With the terrorists having no intention of releasing the passengers and the US having no intention of allowing the ships near the coast, the worst that could happen is the death of the passengers and the ships exploding out at sea--a toxic freighter sinking Mid-Atlantic.
Fortunately the assault team saves the day.
The story has some good pro and con debate on X-ray security scanners--passengers being briefly observed in naked detail.
The story bogs down with too many characters and details, in addition to the unbelievable premise.
The authors are very good on firearms facts.
Two massive ships are on a dual path to destruction. One is a freighter carrying nuclear materials (hazmat) to Japan; the other, a cruise ship (Atlantis Queen) heading for the Mediterranean. Neither will reach their destinations. Two factions—Japanese eco-terrorists and Middle East extremists—have joined forces to infiltrate the ships, incapacitate the crew, and change course toward a common target:
The United States of America.
In Washington, Charlie Dean and a team of commandos are dispatched on a life-or-death mission to blow the hijackers’ plot out of the water. Their plan: board the ship unnoticed, pose as ordinary passengers, and overtake the terrorists. But time is running out. The seized ships are crossing the Atlantic with the combined strength of a full-scale nuclear torpedo. And New York City is just on the horizon...
It's to be a week-long trip to New York where the explosion will kill the cruise ship passengers, about 3000 and spread a toxic cloud of nuclear radiation over New York and other parts of the East Coast.
The premise isn't believable since US forces would never let the ships get close to the coastline, let alone a major city. With the terrorists having no intention of releasing the passengers and the US having no intention of allowing the ships near the coast, the worst that could happen is the death of the passengers and the ships exploding out at sea--a toxic freighter sinking Mid-Atlantic.
Fortunately the assault team saves the day.
The story has some good pro and con debate on X-ray security scanners--passengers being briefly observed in naked detail.
The story bogs down with too many characters and details, in addition to the unbelievable premise.
The authors are very good on firearms facts.
February 16, 2022
Interesting book….. just not realistic.
Not necessarily related to this book as the pirates were Arab and Japanese not the typical Somali pirates Although I have to ask myself why anyone would sail in those waters with pirates, and why have governments not just gone scorched earth on pirates?!
Not necessarily related to this book as the pirates were Arab and Japanese not the typical Somali pirates Although I have to ask myself why anyone would sail in those waters with pirates, and why have governments not just gone scorched earth on pirates?!
April 6, 2020
A well written and interesting read. This is at times more detail driven than action packed but it has plenty of action and suspense to keep it intriguing and is well worth the time!
November 28, 2020
Another good one in the Deep Black series, but not the best
April 5, 2021
I've never been a big fan of this genre, however this book kept me engaged throughout. I'd recommend it as an excellent read.
March 21, 2024
Entertaining read, reminded me of Pirate Alley another Coonts book about terrorist/cruise ship hijacking. I’d say Pirate Alley is the better choice to read. This book had too many characters.
Read
July 19, 2015
Review
THE ASSASSIN
The action moves swiftly to its Hollywood ending.” —_Publishers Weekly_
THE TRAITOR
“In bestseller Coonts’s assured new international thriller, Tommy Carmellini, the sardonic, laid-back CIA agent who became a star in 2004’s Liars and Thieves gets a shot at the big time.”
_—Publishers Weekly _LIARS & THIEVES
“Vintage Coonts...plenty of action and intrigue, with the added benefit of a new lead character.”
—_Dallas__ Morning News_
Excellent.”—_Publishers Weekly_ (starred review)
LIBERTY
Frighteningly realistic.”—_Maxim_
“Gripping…Coonts’s naval background and his legal education bring considerable authority to the story, and the narrative is loaded with detailed information about terrorist networks, modern weaponry, and international intrigue…the action is slam-bang.”—_Publishers Weekly_
Product DescriptionTwo massive ships are on a dual path to destruction. One is a freighter carrying nuclear materials to Japan; the other, a cruise ship heading for the Mediterranean. Neither will reach their destinations. Two factions—Japanese eco-terrorists and Middle East extremists—have joined forces to infiltrate the ships, incapacitate the crew, and change course toward a common target:
The United States of America.
In Washington, Charlie Dean and a team of commandos are dispatched on a life-or-death mission to blow the hijackers’ plot out of the water. Their plan: board the ship unnoticed, pose as ordinary passengers, and overtake the terrorists. But time is running out. The seized ships are crossing the Atlantic with the combined strength of a full-scale nuclear torpedo. And New York City is just on the horizon.…
April 2, 2011
A group of Middle Easterns are smuggling something into a cruise ship full of three thousand passengers. They threaten a security guard to let thme in or else they will rape and kill his wife and daughter. The material they are smuggling in is plutonium, one of the deadliest substances known to man (one of its isostopes; if Reactor four in Fukushima explodes it will release plutonium into the atmosphere). There are a few NSA agents working on the ship, but they act as CIA agents because nobody has ever heard of NSA (no such agency).
The cruise ship's company is abouit to go broke but right before the night the ship is going to sail in the Medditarrainen a guard was killed by the terrorists. Another group of terrorists decide to hijack the Pacific Sandpiper carrying MOX plutonium and they also blow up its escorts with C4. On the Atlantis Queen (cruise ship), the people are having fun with a electric woman adult gambling machine while the terrorists are producing fake electronic tags.
The Atlantis Queens, unaware that terrorists are onboard,r ecieve a SOS call from the Ishikari, the escort ship that has been blown apart by terrorist who escaped and hijacked the Pacific Sandpiper. The crew of the Pacific Sandpiper tried to fire back but a civilian helecopter flew past and strafed the ship. All the crew are tied together and hidden from the Atlantis Queen. The two ships were tied together so they can transport the injured, but when the NSA saw the satellite photos of the two ships traveling at 15 knots away from the area of the sinking Ishikari and her drowing men, they got suspicious. (Recently I also learned the Pacific Sandpiper is a real ship, and it is really a nuclear transport that takes nuclear fuel between Japan and Britain.)
The cruise ship's company is abouit to go broke but right before the night the ship is going to sail in the Medditarrainen a guard was killed by the terrorists. Another group of terrorists decide to hijack the Pacific Sandpiper carrying MOX plutonium and they also blow up its escorts with C4. On the Atlantis Queen (cruise ship), the people are having fun with a electric woman adult gambling machine while the terrorists are producing fake electronic tags.
The Atlantis Queens, unaware that terrorists are onboard,r ecieve a SOS call from the Ishikari, the escort ship that has been blown apart by terrorist who escaped and hijacked the Pacific Sandpiper. The crew of the Pacific Sandpiper tried to fire back but a civilian helecopter flew past and strafed the ship. All the crew are tied together and hidden from the Atlantis Queen. The two ships were tied together so they can transport the injured, but when the NSA saw the satellite photos of the two ships traveling at 15 knots away from the area of the sinking Ishikari and her drowing men, they got suspicious. (Recently I also learned the Pacific Sandpiper is a real ship, and it is really a nuclear transport that takes nuclear fuel between Japan and Britain.)
July 12, 2010
I love stories of how hi-tech gizmos solve crimes and this one, as well as all of Stephen Coonts' Deep Black series, does that. But, I've become attached to Deep Black's key characters, Lia and Charlie. They show up at the beginning wrapping up other jobs they're on, sporadically throughout for reasons almost unrelated to the main plot, and then Charlie arrives at the end to save the day. As a result, the brilliance of the plot suffers. It is Charlie and Lia who usually come up with creative solutions to impossible problems and in Sea of Terror, the bad guys win too often. I'm quite sure if Coonts had allowed Lia and Charlie to be more involved, the cruise ship would have been rescued much sooner.
The other issue that bothered me was that Coonts spent too much time on political machinations. I don't like political thrillers (with the exception of Advise and Consent). We have enough in the real world.
Despite all of this, I still gave it a 4 out of 5. A big reason is that there aren't that many good techno-thrillers on the market, so I saver each one. But my recommendation to Coonts is, stick with the characters you've developed in this series. They are why we buy the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2016
This novel is in that genre of techno-thriller where good eventually prevails over evil. So in some respects, the authors just follow the norm for plot development of this sort. However, the use of and detailing of how government agencies may have developed electronic and human resources to combat evil is more chilling in its implications than the plot of "1984."
All in all, this novel, much like others of the genre, is a fast paced, unpredictable roller coaster of a ride. I became so engrossed in the final fifty pages that I was unable to put the book aside until I had completed the reading in the early hours of the next morning.
All in all, this novel, much like others of the genre, is a fast paced, unpredictable roller coaster of a ride. I became so engrossed in the final fifty pages that I was unable to put the book aside until I had completed the reading in the early hours of the next morning.
March 30, 2013
3/30/13 6 of 10 two ships are hijacked, exotic technology is subverted, lot of British & American agencies with three letter acronyms are involved, bad people kill several good people, the good guys prevail in the end. The action at the end is good, the plot logic less so. Not a bad read but not Coonts at his best either.
October 1, 2012
Desk Three intervenes in a terrorist plot to take over both a passenger liner and a ship carrying plutonium to Japan...AQ and Japanese radicals seemingly succeed until the intrepid heroes arrive..Desk Three must battle both on the sea and within the beltway...decent read!!!
May 20, 2014
book on tape.
I enjoy the Charlie Dean and other ops and the desk people but they were not as prominent in this story. In the audio presentation the chapter ID by time, location, etc got very distracting, and turned irritating.
but I liked the finale.
I enjoy the Charlie Dean and other ops and the desk people but they were not as prominent in this story. In the audio presentation the chapter ID by time, location, etc got very distracting, and turned irritating.
but I liked the finale.
September 24, 2016
A nice change
This, the latest in the series that I have read, was excellent. It also seemed a bit different from the earlier books, although it is hard to describe why, but it was a welcome change. Time to get the next book!
This, the latest in the series that I have read, was excellent. It also seemed a bit different from the earlier books, although it is hard to describe why, but it was a welcome change. Time to get the next book!
April 24, 2015
One of the weaker entries in the series. Too much time is spent introducing passengers and crew on the cruise ship. The focus is more spread out than usual, with less focus on the Art Room team.
July 25, 2011
There. I think this is the last so far of this series. I enjoyed them, quick reads, usually predictable but fun for what they are.
Read
August 7, 2011Not the best in the Deep Black series but still a good read.
August 6, 2014
Had trouble getting into this one as a little slow to start. But it got better at the end.
February 13, 2016
Did the audiobook. It was excellent. Great story for traveling.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews