Empire Rising

Trident Deception #2

by Rick Campbell

Xiang Li Cheng, the President of the People's Republic of China, has both a problem and a plan in Rick Campbell's thrilling Empire Rising. The problem is that the limited supply of oil available to China is threatening to derail his country's economic growth and prosperity. But to secure access to those resources, he must contend with powerful U.S. Navy and the Pacific Fleet.

After a decades-long largely secret military buildup, Cheng sets his plan in motion by suddenly invading Taiwan and drawing the Pacific Fleet into its defense. With a faster, larger fleet with more capable long range missiles, China is able to surprise and quickly overwhelm the American fast attack fleet, all but wiping out the U.S. forces on deployment. Then China turns to its real objective - invasion and expansion across Asia, starting with the four main Islands of Japan.

While the Atlantic Fleet surges westward to defend its allies and respond to the destruction of their counterparts, it falls to an unlikely alliance of three people to stop this incursion and prevent World War III. National Security Advisor Christine O'Connor has critical information, but she's trapped in Beijing; Captain Murray Wilson, C.O. of the submarine USS Georgia must somehow infiltrate the Chinese submarine blockade; and Navy SEAL Jake Harrison must lead a strike team into the most hostile of territories with only hours to implement the most daring plan ever.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Military Fiction, War, Military Thriller, Action, Suspense

414 pages, Hardcover

First published February 24, 2015

About the author

RICK CAMPBELL, a retired Navy Commander, served on four nuclear-powered submarines, finishing his career with tours in the Pentagon and the Washington Navy Yard. On his last submarine, he was one of the two men whose permission is required to launch the submarine's nuclear-warhead-armed missiles.

Upon retirement from the Navy, Rick was offered a two-book deal by Macmillan / St. Martin's Press for his novel The Trident Deception, which was hailed by Booklist as "The best submarine novel written in the last thirty years, since Tom Clancy's classic - The Hunt for Red October". His first six books were Barnes & Noble Top-10 and Amazon #1 bestsellers, and the 7th and 8th books in the series are scheduled for release in April 2024 and spring 2025.

To learn more, visit Rick Campbell's website and his "Submarine 101" page at www.rickcampbellauthor.com.

Reviews

[Pierre Tassé (Enjoying Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The two star rating is not a fair assessment of the book. I am not a "ship" person and this book was not for me. The story was good but dragged on in the ship (sub's) actions and reactions. Ergo, that is the last of this series.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE ART OF WAR

“Quantity has a quality of its own”.- Josef Stalin

"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."- Sun Tzu

The age of the classic military thriller ended during the Cold War and the rise of Vince Flynn’s creation, the counter-terrorist thriller genre. Authors like Clancy suffered a short metaphorical midlife crisis during the early years of the post 9/11 era. However, in this decade, we have the rise of “great powers”, countries which have utilized resources to be in a position to challenge the world’s only super power, the USA. The first of the “great powers” which has since been the most focused on is the People’s Republic of China. Awash with cash from the success of Deng Xiaoping’s original plan to turn the country into an economic super power in 2 decades, it has been putting large portions of that money to use, namely in conducting a massive modernization of the PLA service branches. This combined with actions annoying most of the ASEAN group has caused political tensions in the region to reach high levels as of 2015.

I first came to hear about Rick Campbell from the twitter feed of Dalton Fury, military thriller writer and friend of one of my favourite counter-terrorist thriller authors, Brad Taylor. His recommendation caught my eye, but after seeing the teaser for the second book, I decided to wait and instead check that one out instead. I’m a sucker for thrillers set in Asia, especially ones focusing on the most watched country in the region, and the description presented a fascinating worst case scenario which intrigued me greatly. After reading it, all I can say is this. Rick Campbell is the new Larry Bond, the navy veteran who got his start as the co-writer on Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising but leveraged that stature into writing some of the best classic military thrillers of the 1980’s, books with all the research but less bloat than the man he worked under. Mr Campbell’s second book “Empire Rising” is phenomenal. The author has blended an incredibly well researched cocktail of geopolitics, high tech-weapons systems, well rounded characters and one heck of a war plan. It’s the second best thriller focusing on China that I’ve read, easily displacing Tom Clancy’s Threat Vector, which is no mean feat. Now to the review. What are the dangers of driving a nation state to use extreme measures?

We start the story at a wedding. The Prime Minister of the PRC is watching his daughter get married. Suddenly, seconds before his security detail can get him out of the kill zone; a large bomb detonates, killing him. We then cut to the White House where National Security Advisor, Christine O’Connor is fighting a losing battle about a contentious diplomatic agreement. Said agreement, signed by multiple East Asian nations is aimed at securing America decent oil shipments in return for providing military protection against attempts by the PRC to enforce territorial claims. But a side effect of the agreement is that it actively intends to deprive the PRC of natural resources it needs to keep its economy humming along nicely. We then cut to China where President Xian Chenglei and the top brass of the PLA are putting the finishing touches to a war plan designed to save their country from total economic collapse. Anti-ship missiles are readied. The PLA’s cyberwarfare unit goes on war footing and other components, successfully primed over the span of several years in absolute secrecy go live. Finally concerned, the President sends O’Connor to Beijing to find out what is going on and stall for time. Unfortunately, the moment she arrives in the Great Hall of The People, the fireworks start and she’s taken into protective custody. Barely managing to escape with the help of a high ranking CIA asset, she’s just in time to watch the first Sino-American war commence, with a result that no one saw coming.

In terms of plot, “Empire Rising” is sublime. The pace in this book is simply perfect; the author knows how to prevent things going sluggish while keeping things interesting. He wisely doesn’t go down the route Clancy did in the 90’s, namely turning the story into a bloated paperback brick, but makes things understandable enough for us mere mortals, while at the same time showing off his expertise in naval warfare. From submarines stalking each other off the Chinese coast, to the PLA’s anti-ship missiles turning the Taiwan Strait into the ultimate killing ground, Campbell has written some of the best contemporary naval engagements in recent memory, and the first ones I have enjoyed in a very long time. The research Campbell is done (barring a few errors) is also pretty good. He’s clearly done his homework (or taken a trip to Beijing) and brings to life a plausible depiction of, the great hall of the people. And then there are the top notch descriptions on how cyber warfare can be plausibly applied in a conventional war, which were fascinating. There’s so much more to savor, but I suggest you read the book to check out this fantastic, narrative. Even the scenario the author has dreamed up is very sound. It takes into account the PRC’s known strengths, and weaknesses (no blue water capability so the battle has to be closer to home) for starters and then throws several other components which China could easily afford to purchase or build into the mix.

In terms of characters, “Empire Rising” was genuinely surprising. Most spy/military thrillers involving China have psychotic nationalists and hardline Maoists running as the opposition. My favourite spy thriller focusing on the PRC, (The Ghost War by Alex Berenson) is perhaps the only one, up until this book, which gave the Chinese “antagonist” incredibly sympathetic motivations. “Empire Rising” joins this group with the Chinese side stealing the show from the protagonists, with the author wisely avoiding dated tropes and caricature. Let’s start with Xiang Chenglei, the PRC President. A patriot, dedicated to serving his country, unlike PRC politicians in other books, he genuinely appreciates his underlings and the PLA grunts going into battle on his behalf. His personal motivations are also very understandable and in the second stage of his war plan, he makes the effort to explain to the troops what they’re fighting so they don’t repeat the past mistakes of China’s greatest historical enemy whom they’re about to invade. And unlike his equivalents, even the antagonist of Berenson’s “Ghost War”, he’s a smart leader who knows when to quit while he’s ahead, namely at the point when things start to go wrong, in order to prevent needless sacrifices. Then there’s the double-act of General Huan Zhixin and Admiral Tsou Deshi of the PLA. Huan, while power hungry due to pretty understandable reasons, is competent at his job while Tsou acts as the brains for their war effort, a proper, professional military man who effectively coordinates the assets they have to be used in an efficient manner. Next, on the American side, the people who stood out most were the crew of the USS Nimitz Aircraft carrier, especially their Captain Alex Harrow. In the section of the book they feature, they won my sympathy as what was supposed to be a simple dust-up, turns into a nightmarish, modern day “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”, and their efforts to survive for as long as possible have to be seen to be believed. In short, Campbell does not neglect the most important part of a genre dedicated to inanimate ordinance, the human factor. This is the mark of a good writer, and it’s safe to say Mr Campbell will soon be a great writer.

Now, let me be clear. I consider this book one of the finest military thrillers I’ve ever read. However, there were a few things which detracted from my reading experience. So here’s a little criticism. First, at one point in the novel, O’Connor is handling a subcompact Glock 26. It’s an excellent choice for someone like her, a civilian, with its decent size, stopping power and capacity (compared to the likes of a “ladies gun” like the Walther PPK or SIG-Sauer P232). However, the problem was, the G26 described……had a manual safety catch. As someone who has had a chance to fire the compact Glock 19 variant and knows that Glock has never made a model with a manual safety, this error was glaring. However, since it was in the climax and I had enjoyed myself up to that point; it was easy to brush aside. Also, the Heckler and Koch MP7 was labeled an "assault rifle". It isn't. It's a PDW/Submachine-gun.
Next, we have Christine O’Connor herself. Something Larry Bond was never able to do despite his undeniably good writing abilities was to make a well-rounded female character. It appears the author was positioning her as the female equivalent to Jack Ryan (he even occupied her job during Debt of Honour), but in my opinion, he did not succeed in making me connect with Christine. She came off as rather obnoxious and impulsive. I also don’t mind some suspension of disbelief but there are several situations, due to her own recklessness, bordering on foolishness that would have gotten her killed several times over if she wasn’t lucky. And then there are her interactions with an old flame, a Navy SEAL. Making a decent romance in the spy/military thriller genre is hard to do. Only a handful of authors know how to integrate one into plots that are about guns and warfare. Over the past few years, I’ve become increasingly cynical about romances in spy/military thrillers. The one in this book between O’Connor and her former boyfriend felt like it was shoehorned in and read like the arguments of two immature pubescent high schoolers and made me cringe with every paragraph they interacted in.

Despite these small issues, Rick Campbell has crafted one of the best military thrillers focusing on China, a story which distinguishes itself from Threat Vector and Brad Thor’s “Act of war”. The plotting seemed like it was done by a seasoned pro, rather than an author on his second book. The research (barring that glaring error with the Glock and some suspension of disbelief in the parts featuring O’Connor) is well done. Forget the Tom Clancy continuations; Mr Campbell has outclassed them with easy to follow but sufficiently epic large scale warfare in this book. And most of the characters are well rounded and on the Chinese side, sympathetic, rather than cardboard cut-outs who need to be blown off the face of the planet. Empire Rising is a relevant, complex and timely novel which proves that you don’t need to write something the size of war and peace to produce something which ranks with the classics.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first book in the series so much I decided to read book two. Christine O’Conner is the president’s national security advisor. She advises against signing the Maer Accord about the mutual access to environmental resources between the U.S. and her allies. The Accord severely limits China’s access to natural resources. O’Conner said this will lead to war with China; the Chief or Staff says it will not lead to war. O’Conner flies to China to attempt to offset a war but she is arrested and confined to a cell; as China goes to war. She escapes and eventually end up on the U.S. Michigan, a trident submarine.

Three American submarines are immediately destroyed as China launches war. China’s missiles and ships are more sophisticated than expected and she has many many more than does the Pacific Fleet. When China gets the Pacific Fleet exactly where they want it, they also launch cyberwarfare.
The book is well written and is non-stop action. The battle scenes are real nail biters. The book seems quite realistic. I could hardly put the book down. This is a great military action novel.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is about thirteen and a half hours long. Fred Berman does a great job narrating the book. Berman is an actor and award winning audiobook narrator.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

China is threatened by a U.S. trade accord that will restrict its access to necessary resources, and launches an attack on Taiwan in order to drag the Pacific Fleet into the strait there. Using malware, China devastates the U.S. naval forces. However, a National Security Advisor manages to escape with a critical thumb drive, setting the stage for a counterattack. A "popcorn" thriller, long on submarine warfare, with a predictable ending. Recommended for Clancy or Larry Bond fans.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. A good read with an intriguing premise of a conventional war with China over their share of the worlds limited oil supply. China needs a bigger oil percentage than a treaty of developed nations allotted them. Their response was similar to Japan's in 1941; destroy America's Pacific Fleet and take the oil they need by force. America's overconfident Pacific Fleet is destroyed defending a Chinese invasion of Taiwan which forces the need for a creative Plan B.

I found it somewhat difficult to stay on track with this book due mainly to it's heavy reliance on the tedious details of submarine weapon systems and overall capabilities. To employ a somewhat awkward analogy, is it necessary to read about the details of how a jet engine works to enjoy a book about a murder that takes place on an airplane? The late Tom Clancy developed this genre of military thriller that relies heavily on long detailed descriptions of military hardware. My opinion is that these tedious weapon system details drag the pace of plot to a point where reading the book becomes a chore. GR military fiction readers will no doubt disagree but I am much more interested in the story itself; why were the weapon systems deployed and what effect did they have on the enemy, not the arcane details of the weapon systems themselves.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the 1st entry of the "Trident Deception" series and I loved this 2nd in the series as well...Rick Campbell again gives us a Tom Clancy-ish page-turning thriller along the lines of geopolitical thrillers like "Red Storm Rising"...Very au courant in today's Cold War with China...China is threatened by a U.S. trade/environmental treaty that will restrict its access to energy resources along the lines of the pinch Japan was put in during the 30s & 40s...The PRC similarly launches an attack on Taiwan in order to make the US Pacific Fleet vulnerable. Using cyber attacks, China devastates the U.S. naval forces greatly shifting the balance of power in the Eastern Pacific...Campbell even left a few threads hanging that leaves the door open for more intrigue in a sequel...Good Stuff!!!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure- I am a Naval Academy classmate and personal friend of the author.

Well-paced, believable story. Page-turner, tough to put down.

Two things I didn't like:
1) My name was not used as one of the characters.
2) The ending was way too predictable.

Otherwise excellent.

[SteVen Hendricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review – In Rick Campbell’s “Empire Rising,” I found the premise of China out maneuvering America on the cyber level a definite and realistic possibility, maybe even a probability, but Campbell’s depiction of China’s military capabilities is far greater than the United States left me somewhat aggravated. I know the U.S. thinks of itself as superior in the cyber world and thinks of China as inferior. But many of us know that this is simply not so. Most of our military fighting machines are highly dependent on software programming and this novel does a good job of highlighting that we may be losing future conflicts based on our military software performance and the vulnerability of it being sabotaged. Just look at all the recent major companies that have been hacked, some of whom were defense contractors. Some of this hacking has been traced to China. In this nautical tale of the U.S. Pacific Fleet combating the Chinese Navy over their attack on Taiwan, the Chinese ultimately wipes out the U.S. Pacific Fleet leaving them free to invade and expand across Asia, particularly Japan! Empire Rising is compelling and the plot was good enough to hold my attention throughout. There was lots of maritime action and suspense that military marine buffs will enjoy, and the geo-political saga was engrossing. However, I was also annoyed by several technical errors that military enthusiasts like myself noticed - Glock pistols do not have a safety lever or switch and F-35 jet fighters have only one afterburner, not multiple afterburners. These were just a few technical issues that I picked up on, so no telling if there were more in the nautical speak of the submarines, ships, and other weaponry. Other than that, I enjoyed the reading. A very suspenseful and plausible story.

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the technical aspects of the book but the ending was too Clive Cussler-like for me. Totally ludicrous and it spoiled the storyline which was believable at some point in the near future.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Empire Rising” the second book in Rick Campbell’s gripping Trident Deception series opens with the assassination of China’s Prime Minister Bai Tao at his daughter’s wedding.

What follows is a political power struggle in the Chinese government as America signs an Environmental Accord aimed at the military protection of its Asian allies in exchange for oil shipments. In limiting China’s access to those oil reserves, China threatened by a decline in the country’s economic growth and prosperity hatches a 2-fold plan which includes the invasion of Taiwan and the elimination of the American’s Pacific Fleet. When their first objective bears fruit and America’s military power appears seriously weakened, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) begins its primary initiative to expand across Asia beginning with the invasion of Japan.

As the two powers clash, Christine O’Connor the President’s National Security Advisor on a mission to China is detained in Beijing where she’s given a memory stick with details of China’s military offensive. Escaping her captors with the help of a Chinese CIA operative, Christine is rescued by the determination of Captain Murray Wilson, Commanding Officer of submarine the USS George, and the efforts of the Seal team on board only to become involved in a suicide mission to implant a lethal virus in China’s command and control system in the Great Hall of the People before American forces implement their own daring plan in Japan.

Fast-paced with short chapters that build intensity and suspense as the two world powers clash the action builds especially with bullets flying and car chases as Christine O’Connor escapes her confinement in Beijing only to land herself in a seemingly impossible mission with Lieutenant Jake Harrison and a Seal team. Realistic and exciting as the violence escalates, both sides determined to win Rick Campbell builds a romance between Christine and Jake that began more than twenty years before and seems futile as he’s married and she’s still struggling from a crippling event in her past that’s left her fixated on her work.

With only glimpses of many of the characters, the personalities of Christine, Jake, Captain Murray Wilson, Huan Zhixin and Xiang Chenglei stand out. Christine haunted by mistakes in her past is a loner with a killer instinct who can be headstrong, impulsive and brash. Rising to the position of national security advisor she doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind, tenaciously tackling issues she feels strongly about. Lieutenant Jake Harrison a Seal Platoon Officer is calm under fire, logical and resolute in his decisions whether mission-oriented or personal, while Captain Murray Wilson is the strategic and bold Commanding Officer on the USS George whose tactical decisions fuel the story especially when his submarine tackles the Chinese blockade.

In China smart, well-informed Xiang Chenglei President and General Secretary of the Party is a patriot dedicated to the well-being of his country although some of his actions are plagued with his need for vengeance for past wrongs. In contrast Huan Zhixin, Chairman of the Central Military Commission is ambitious, manipulative and power-hungry, willing to do anything to become the new head of the government.

Weaving together various story-lines from military invasions and battles to hair-raising rescues and cyber attacks, “Empire Rising” is a military thriller that keeps you enthralled from beginning to end. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have already recommended it to other readers I know love this type of story.

[Mark Easter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the book. Love the series. I mean, come on. Did you ever read a submarine novel or see a submarine movie you didn't love? Books in this genre just seem to always be tight, fast, and exciting with protagonists we love to cheer and antagonists we love to see go down. And in submarine warfare, they definitely go down. Another win for Rick Campbell.

[Chris Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plenty of action in this non stop thriller from Rick Campbell! Everything from submarine battles, air to air and air to ground battles all while throwing in a long lost love and secondary motives! Nothing short of great and highly recommended!

[Martijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goed boek over een groot onderwerp, een nieuwe wereldoorlog. Heerlijk geschreven en lekker om te lezen als spannende afleiding van de dagelijkse realiteit. Genoeg diepe lagen om aantal plottwists te hebben en goede mix van legerjargon en gewone taal.

[Tim Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

War with China?

In this exciting story anyway. I enjoy this series for the action and maritime setting. I'm ready for the next one!

[Lawrence Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perhaps my third time reading this book (first time now with a Goodreads account) because it consistently remains as one of my favorite military fiction stories. The strength of this book is the core of military fiction: combat scenes. Even to this day, Hollywood has yet to pump out a decent modern day naval combat experience, but books have it in droves, and this one does it perhaps the best.

Campbell is primarily a submariner for sure but he is able to bring together all elements of naval warfare together on the pages and construct some of the most entertaining naval combat writing I've seen. You are not just beneath the waves confined to the dark and cramped quarters of a fast-attack submarine like so many other books have done. You are also on the bridge of an aircraft carrier that is caught in an ambush. You are also in the cockpit of an F-18 as it dodges anti-air missiles. The emotional lows and highs rock you as new technologies are revealed, ships are destroyed, and the two superpowers of the world collide in all out warfare.

This book obviously has its weaknesses. Most characters are one dimensional military or government types, so don't expect any fleshed out character arcs. The book's main character, Christine O'Connor is of course a little more developed but she is given an incredible amount of luck. In the end this is more of a fun read than a hyper-realistic think tank working paper on a Sino-American conflict so I don't really care about that.

Being written from the perspective of an American, the Chinese are cast as sinister, power-hungry conquerors, though they are given elements of wisdom and shrewdness in their grand strategic and political engagement with the world. Still, their strategic plans are a bit weird for anyone familiar with geopolitics (can't get into it without spoilers).

The book does one thing I am surprisingly pleased at: the conflict begins due to an economic reason, which is a much more satisfying spark to me than military fiction stories where full blown wars are started for ideological or "evil" purposes, which renders the enemy as an uninteresting caricature with cartoonish ambitions. Campbell is apparently aware of this, and I applaud his economic spark of the conflict.

This is book two of his Trident Deception series but frankly nothing has topped this one in my opinion. If you want a decent entry into the military fiction world, you can't go wrong with this one! Highly recommend it!

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book; it is about a conventional war between China and the United States. It was odd; while moving at a fast pace, parts of it seemed slow and monotonous (or unnecessary and could have been shortened a bit). The United States is arrogant and discounts any possibility of a military threat from the Chinese. The author did some nice character development amongst the Chinese - not all of them seemed to be the "yellow menace cardboard cutouts" that were often used in days past. I did enjoy it, and I wanted to see how it would be resolved by the novel's end I knew it was going to have to be some kind of doozy; turns out, I was kind-of wrong.

It kind of reminded me of Red Army, in some ways except for the fact that in Red Army, the Russians "win" at the end of the book. I am not saying that is a 'bad thing' but that is what this book reminded me of.

I do not know what to say; I actually feel like I am at a loss for words! hahahah! I liked parts of the book; parts of the book felt "forced" in order for the ending that occurred to take place. I thought it was an interesting look at what might happen if the United States and China were to engage in a conventional war; it was "entertaining" [as entertaining as it can be, reading a book where thousands of soldiers are killed]. The ending just felt so . . . anticlimactic. Of course the United States could not take "second place" to an ascendant China, despite China being able to eradicate the United States Pacific Fleet like it did. And if the USN had remained devastated, how could the United States remain a "super power" in an unstable world?

It would have been insane to try and replace four carriers, twenty-four submarines, and an assortment of support vessels that had been sunk during the fighting. It would have taken years for the US Navy to be rebuilt to its "former glory" with brand-spanking new vessels. So the author is going to have all twentysome submarines lifted from the ocean floor and repaired to make them seaworthy, as well as four carriers (provided their keels are undamaged)? On the one hand, it is a great idea, considering what happened in the days after Pearl Harbor, where the majority of the vessels sunk in shallow water were raised to the surface, repaired and/or rebuilt, and reused to continue fighting in the War. On the other hand, it just boggles the brain, yet this plan clearly "works" because in the next book the United States "is still" a "super power" and China is no longer a going concern [for the moment].

I think the thing that "annoyed" me the most about the book was the amount of disbelief I had to suspend, especially for the "happy ending" that takes place [i.e. - the war is over and things return "to normal", to the status quo before the war occurred but with China in a better place/position in world politics and the global economy]. I do not know how to put it into words, except that "bad things" after "bad things" happen to the Americans over and over and over and the reader cannot possibly see how anything "good" will happen, and then "little" things that are "too coincidental" to be anything but a type of "Dues ex Machina" occur in order for the United States to turn things around and "save the day." It was just . . . frustrating, that's all. It was kinda like Red Army, except that in Red Army NOTHING goes NATOs way and the Russians win in the end [that was hard to swallow, despite being believable! hahahah]. I do not know how to express it, but it got to be a little too much for me; maybe it was because of those "little events" that turned things around for the Americans. For want of a nail, right?

That, and I was kinda hoping Christine O'Connor would die. She was fine, at first, but then she got annoying. It's not that she was supposed to be a "strong female" with all sorts of mad skills who can hold her own [she doesn't all a lot of mad skills, but the ones she does have are lethal]; it's just that she got to be annoying. Her character did not really grow on me in this novel; all of the stuff she goes through "just to get inside the building" was ridiculously insane! It's really funny, 'cuz I liked her character a bit more in the third book [which I read before reading this one]. Ah, well.

The hubris of the Americans was almost pathetically funny, and is no doubt spot-on. We do tend to see ourselves as the greatest nation on Earth with the greatest military machine. I have been reading articles, though, that talk about potential weaknesses in the military, so this book was a bit of a crazy "wake-up call" about "what could happen", what with all of the "advanced tech" and foreplanning that China does before launching its wave of attacks. It was crazy how they sacrificed numerous men and equipment in order to suck the American Pacific Fleet into their "real" trap [as opposed to the "fake trap" that occurs earlier in the book], and then they devastated the American Pacific Fleet. That was absolutely sphincter-shrinking crazy! The author did a wickedly nice job of making it seem like some elements of the Pacific Fleet might survive just before he cruelly dashed the hopes of the reader on the rocks of despair as the Chinese destroyed the last remnants of the once-mighty armada. It was hard to read; the reader got to know some of the "very minor characters" and actually care about them just before they died. Harsh! Very harsh! But equally well-done! I did find myself wondering if the Chinese, or any other nation, had the abilities and technology the Chinese were described as having. Talk about battle-changers! It was some pretty crazy tech, that is for sure!

I did enjoy the book. It strongly reminded me of Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising or Larry Bond's Red Phoenix and/or Cauldron. Most of Campbell's story takes place on submarines, with some occasional elements elsewhere, but it works. I would say, though, that this book did Clancy and Bond "one better" in that it did a "better job" making the Chinese characters [villains?] somewhat sympathetic to the reader. I am not doing a good job explaining it, but I felt like this book did a better job, overall, in terms of character development of primary and secondary characters without necessarily sacrificing the "technothriller" aspect of the book or taking away from the flow of the narrative. At the same time, I think Clancy and Brown definitely helped "create/improve" the genre for this book to take place, and be as crazy/exciting/intense like it is despite occasional "miss-flows" where the intensity levels do seem to drop a little bit. I am glad that I found this book and read it [especially since I just finished the third book in the series!]. It was a fun, crazy, intense, wild read.

[Fred Svoboda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scores high on page-turning quotient once it gets going, low on characterization and, particularly, credibility. The idea that the U.S. could set up an unfavorable oil price to China in a world of open markets and fungible oil supplies just doesn't hold water. If you know the course of WWII in the Pacific, Campbell essentially has followed that for his China/US confrontation and war. It's entertaining, but not to be taken too seriously, I think. I could explain more about why this is so, but that would give away pretty much all the book's plot points, which seem often farfetched. (One small example: good guys' marksmanship excellent, Chinese guys' marksmanship not so great, even when Chinese guys are professional bodyguards.)

[Rich Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Clancyesque thriller wherein China engages the U S in a Pacific war in order to ensure their access to oil.This book does a good job of moving the action along even if in the battles at times I felt a bit lost.Overall a good read for those who enjoy military thrillers and are familiar with the vehicles involved in combat. #####I won this through goodreads in exchange for an unbiased review######

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved Trident Deception but this was a big disappointment. Too many repetitious segments (dogfights in the air and sea) and unbelievable escapes (Christine on the ledge - former gymnast or not!). Also, too much use of abbreviations, most of which were undefined, to describe missiles, subs, aircraft (I’m a pilot), and other weapons systems.

[EggSalad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, sometimes a bit silly, it was still engaging enough to draw me in. A good summer read.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Reminds me of Red Storm Rising.

[Lon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast passed fun read of potential conflict with China. Super submarine combat writing.

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What an excellent title in the genre! For a current day military fiction story you would be hard pressed to find anything better than Empire Rising. This is a story about a Chinese government that believes it has been deftly manipulated by the United States into a treaty that will decimate its economy and endanger its hegemony in the region for the foreseeable future. Their solution is to attack Taiwan, Japan and the surrounding area in the Pacific to secure its grip on resources it requires to secure its continued growth and prosperity. (Sound familiar?) The way to do this is to bait the US Pacific Fleet into a well crafted trap that would destroy it and allow Chinese expansionism to proceed.

In books like this I always appreciate when there is no clear cut good guy and bad guy in the story. Where you can sit back and look at events from both sides and understand their motivations. Rick Campbell does that here. The only caveat I would mention is that the treaty that is referenced is not expanded upon enough to enable us to understand why China was out-negotiated in order to sign such an unfortunate document, from their perspective. Once you get that out of the way however, hang on as it is an outstanding back and forth hairy ride of attack, counterattack, guile and cunning that will rivet you to your seat.

This is only my second Rick Campbell book but I have become a fan. His knowledge of military tactics and especially life onboard a submarine is well demonstrated. Importantly he as a talent for making the geography of a conflict very easy to follow. It does not matter if it is two hunter-killers squaring off or a fight in a room, he effortlessly describes the action in a manner that paints a vivid picture of who is where and doing what without detracting from the action. Mr. Campbell will be getting more of my money, that is for sure!

[Dazz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing to this formula is difficult.
Baddies attack the Good Guys, and catch them by surprise.
Baddies achieve unexpected early success, using surprise, tricks, or secret technology.
Good Guys suffer terrible losses
Yet Good Guys rebound and win one for the gipper.

The challenge is to make it plausible, and at least slightly believable.

I expected a lot better from Campbell as a former Navy Commander.

Setting China as the protagonist has its own set of challenges. There's no doubt China is an emerging power, is hungry for resources, and will bully it's neighbours to get them. However China's entire economy is built on trade, much of it maritime. A lot of that trade is with America and her allies. Hence a blatant war of aggression would be self-defeating.

You also can't have the necessary "surprise attack" being against Taiwan. It's the ONE scenario the USA is most prepared for, and Taiwan itself is prepared for it to happen at any time.

Furthermore the entire plot is based upon the USA doing the one thing they would never do, bringing it's navy within range of shore batteries.
In the event of hostilities, the USA will do what it does best. Sit back, and pummel the Chinese from a distance. Additionally it would cripple the Chinese by stifling their maritime trade.

[Greg Schloesser · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no doubt that author Rick Campbell is an expert on submarines, and also knows how to weave a tense, exciting thriller. This is the second book in his series and it is so reminiscent of Tom Clancy's novels. I really do enjoy the modern setting and how he weaves current events and politics into an exciting read.

I do have some complaints, however. The heroes are seemingly invincible. They get into extremely perilous situations and always come out alive; battered, but alive. I also found that the solution in this book was really, really far-fetched. SPOILER (Don't read further if you haven't read the book): I simply could not believe it would be that easy to break into the Chinese People's Great Hall. There is undoubtedly SO much more protection and security there that this aspect of the story was simply unbelievable. That's a shame, as it did tarnish my overall enjoyment of the book.

Still, I plan on proceeding to the next book of the series because the stories he weaves are so tense and exciting.

[Samyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot: The Trident Deception Series consists of several full-length novels in the military genrè. A retired Navy author provides page-turning excitement of near-miss disasters in American conflicts, primarily with Russia. Suggest starting at the beginning of the series, as several characters - like the President, Chief of Staff, a navy seal, and a strong female lead traverse all novels written to date - will be more.

Liked: If you are a fan of The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy - you'll love The Trident Deception Series. All are nail-biting, page-turning stories. Some graphic violence; if you're a victim of wartime PTSD, these might not be for you. Clean reads, no sex, no objectionable language. Learned a bit about submarine tactics.

Not so hot: Audio speed is a bit slow for my taste; I bumped the rate to 1.4 on the iPhone.

Written by Rick Campbell, and narration is fine; there are several, each book in the area of 10-15 hours of listening in audiobook format, released from March 2014 to date by Blackstone Audio.

Recommended.

[Warren Thoms · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me it was a bit slow at first but it picked up steam and kept moving the rest of the book. The story centers around the fact that the USA and other countries got together and decided to divvy up the remaining gas and oil and other products in the earth for the foreseeable future. China did not want to participate and are left on the outside. Their response to this is War. The book moves at a fast pace once you get into the story. There is a lot of death and destruction on both sides, especially in their navies. There is a lot of submarine jargon but not so much that you are lost. If you have not read the first in the series, read it as there are some minor things that relate back.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun and exciting story! The reader does not call out US Navy systems correctly sometimes. some US Navy systems are more commonly called by a nickname rather than their letter designations. For example, mk-48 torpedo is a "mark 48" not a 'm' 'k' 48. And the BYG-1 sonar system would be called the big one sonar. minor... but would make for a better audio experience.
as for the book, decent but the reason for the accord is implausible so ruins the first 4 chapters of the book. The rest is exciting and action packed.Still I'd prefer a more final ending.... but that probably will be built on in follow on booKs.

[Kursad Albayraktaroglu · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like military techno-thrillers, this is a relatively quick and fun read. The author has been a submarine officer for twenty years; and the submarine warfare sequences are well-written with lots of detail. Ultimately, though, the book suffers from a somewhat implausible story and plot devices that constantly induce eye rolls.

The author is touted to be the next Tom Clancy - I think this book was promising, but he is not quite there yet. I will keep reading his books primarily for the supposedly very accurate depiction of submarine warfare.

[Thierry Massihians · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has two facets:
The realistic drscription provided by a man who's been there and who knows how a submarine operates.
And the almost comically naive plot about everything else. It is but a pale shadow of Tom Clancy's intricate masterpieces.
Some of the main characters' past amorous affairs and awkwardly described libido are also completely irrelevant to the story.
I would read other novels by Rick Campbell for the pleasure of visualizimg a submarine hunt, but I know I'll have to roll my eyes reading the rest.