What do you think?
Rate this book
The Steel Albatross
When hard-line Soviet elements build an underwater power plant that can paralyze the U.S. defense systems, scandal-plagued Navy pilot Rick Tallman is given command of the Albatross, an undetectable submarine, in order to destroy the system. Reprint.
384 pages, Paperback
First published December 8, 1990
About the author
Scott Carpenter
41 books7 followersMalcolm Scott Carpenter (May 1, 1925 – October 10, 2013) was an American test pilot, astronaut, and aquanaut. He was one of the original seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury in April 1959. Carpenter was the second American to orbit the Earth and the fourth American in space, following Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, and John Glenn.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 12, 2012
As good a techno thriller as I have read.
January 7, 2021
This goes down as one of the worst books I've ever read. The basic plot is acceptable. Elements within the USSR want to initiate WW3 with the US while making it appear that the US was the aggressor. So far so good.
Unfortunately almost all of the characters involved are unlikable and unbelievable. The coincidences involving the various characters are ludicrous. The 4-5 main American players are all experts in variety of different fields which turns out to be pretty darned convenient. How else could a handful of people save the world?
The dialog is what I would expect to see in a comic book. I've just never met people who communicate like these buffoons.
Then there's the preaching. The propaganda is Tom Clancyesque. If you care about the environment you're a whack job. If you're involved with military you're the greatest thing since sliced bread.
With techno thrillers it's occassionally necessary to suspend reality a bit. With this book you have to be brain dead to digest what the author is putting out there. Don't waste you time with this tripe.
Unfortunately almost all of the characters involved are unlikable and unbelievable. The coincidences involving the various characters are ludicrous. The 4-5 main American players are all experts in variety of different fields which turns out to be pretty darned convenient. How else could a handful of people save the world?
The dialog is what I would expect to see in a comic book. I've just never met people who communicate like these buffoons.
Then there's the preaching. The propaganda is Tom Clancyesque. If you care about the environment you're a whack job. If you're involved with military you're the greatest thing since sliced bread.
With techno thrillers it's occassionally necessary to suspend reality a bit. With this book you have to be brain dead to digest what the author is putting out there. Don't waste you time with this tripe.
June 28, 2024
What used to be called a rattling good yarn, this thriller has a highly improbable plot line, which becomes more and more believable as the author hooks you in with great dialogue and eloquent descriptive writing.
A highly imaginative, stimulating, and gripping read.
A highly imaginative, stimulating, and gripping read.
February 1, 2010
Good technical concept behind plot. Lousy teenage characters and character development. Good suspense throughout for the American Seal characters. The Russian sequences were a little disjointed, forced, too gloomy, and almost unrealistic.
The technology represented is probably feasible and some parts may have been implemented.
The book was published in 1991, so is terribly outdated from the standpoint of what may be currently technically available. Human deep diving has progressed more than is generally acknowledged in open press sources. Submersible boats may now exceed the capability as outlined by the Steel Albatross. Obviously the organized Russian presence and its ability to attack as a unified and coordinated naval force may have declined in the last 20 years, but individual elements of Russian forces still exist as possible opponents in this type of undersea warfare.
I would rate this as a solid 4-5 star for the technology theme. I wish that it had spent more time on the excitement, challenge, and stress surrounding deep water research rather than jumping off to a Tom Clancy-James Bond action plot involving a Russian subgroup out to destroy the US via the western seaboard and kidnap the pres ( who was alluded to be either Reagan or George the first).
I would have to rate the writing style as no more than a 3.0, as it is clearly directed at a macho type teenage male which lies buried the memory of most older escapists male readers.
The plot was probably fine in the 80's when conceived, but would need updating to a different bunch of bad guys with a different style of acting if this is re-written for a contemporary scenario.
As for the modified deep water divers - somebody put SOSUS stations very deep at some points, and some of that technology almost certainly involved human deep water activity. So while this book only uses fictional capabilities, they may have some remote basis in fact, or at least would have been discussed as a possibility.
The technology represented is probably feasible and some parts may have been implemented.
The book was published in 1991, so is terribly outdated from the standpoint of what may be currently technically available. Human deep diving has progressed more than is generally acknowledged in open press sources. Submersible boats may now exceed the capability as outlined by the Steel Albatross. Obviously the organized Russian presence and its ability to attack as a unified and coordinated naval force may have declined in the last 20 years, but individual elements of Russian forces still exist as possible opponents in this type of undersea warfare.
I would rate this as a solid 4-5 star for the technology theme. I wish that it had spent more time on the excitement, challenge, and stress surrounding deep water research rather than jumping off to a Tom Clancy-James Bond action plot involving a Russian subgroup out to destroy the US via the western seaboard and kidnap the pres ( who was alluded to be either Reagan or George the first).
I would have to rate the writing style as no more than a 3.0, as it is clearly directed at a macho type teenage male which lies buried the memory of most older escapists male readers.
The plot was probably fine in the 80's when conceived, but would need updating to a different bunch of bad guys with a different style of acting if this is re-written for a contemporary scenario.
As for the modified deep water divers - somebody put SOSUS stations very deep at some points, and some of that technology almost certainly involved human deep water activity. So while this book only uses fictional capabilities, they may have some remote basis in fact, or at least would have been discussed as a possibility.
July 14, 2008
The content is a little dated, but if you enjoyed "Hunt for Red October" then you will enjoy this too.
March 23, 2013
A fascinating exploration into submarine combat.
February 17, 2018
An ok military adventure novel with some sci-fi elements regarding deep sea diving.
The steel albatross is a undersea submersible that flies in water by a ascending or descending glide.
The protagonist is the typical military maverick who triumphs in the end
The steel albatross is a undersea submersible that flies in water by a ascending or descending glide.
The protagonist is the typical military maverick who triumphs in the end
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews