Tidal Rip

Jeffrey Fuller #4

by Joe Buff

A new world war has begun. It is the year 2012, and extremists in Germany and South Africa have succeeded in staging simultaneous coups to forge the Berlin-Boer Axis, a cabal determined to take over the world. The key instrument of this war is tactical nuclear weaponry, where a single torpedo or cruise missile can destroy an entire ship or city. And while the war will be fought with high-tech weapons, it will be won or lost by the men who command them... Commander Jeffrey Fuller is America's newest hero. Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his victories in battle as captain of America's most sophisticated and deadly fast-attack nuclear submarine, the USS Challenger, Fuller takes grim satisfaction in the honor, knowing at what cost it came. But he has barely enough time to receive the decoration before he is tasked with a new mission. An Allied convoy is steaming toward Africa, hoping to establish a beachhead on the continent that would enable a D-day type of invasion. The enemy has dispatched its most lethal submarine, the SMS Admiral von Scheer, a ceramic-hulled sub virtually undetectable by even the most advanced sonar technology, to ensure that the convoy never reaches its destination. Fuller's mission is to protect the convoy at all costs, even if it means battling the phantom sub to do it. Then a nearly impossible mission gets even more difficult. Fuller discovers from intelligence sources that agents of the Berlin-Boer Axis are attempting to gain a foothold in South America, a development that would force the United States to fight the war on yet another front, an escalating conflict they can't possibly win. Now Fuller must make a no-win deploy his team of Navy SEALs to South America to destroy the nuclear-armed enemy insurgents or patrol the depths of the Atlantic, seeking threats to the convoy? Even Fuller cannot be in two places at once, and the failure of either mission will mean defeat for the Allied cause. Fuller's opponents have every technological advantage of modern nuclear-tipped torpedoes, high-velocity flechette projectiles, and hyper-accurate targeting computers. But a weapon is only as powerful as the man who wields it, and Fuller possesses the intellect, the nerve, and the guts that earned him victories over the most dangerous warriors in the Axis Navy. Stalking his prey beneath the waves where the pressure alone can kill, Commander Jeffrey Fuller knows that while one man's life may be meaningless, one man's death could change the course of the war.

Genres: Fiction, Military Fiction, War, Thriller, Alternate History, Science Fiction

464 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 2003

Reviews

[Ronnie Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Torpedoes in the water

This was an awesome page turner ,great sub action,since I've only been inside a WW2 era sub,this shows you a possible sub war of the future ,being a naval brat and spouse,who doesn't love a great sea chase and battle

[Pete · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overblown. The story gets more implausible and illogical as the novel progresses. A shorter more focused novel without the Rambo antics would have worked better. Character development was adequate but could have been better. On the plus side, Buff has a writing style that creates excitement and tension so other entries in the series may be more satisfying.

[Skip Hagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine action and characters

Overall, a good read. Plenty of action and suspense. Certainly a thriller. Those with naval, particularly submarine, experience will find it somewhat disappointing in the technical details. E.g.

Red lighting during GQ. Unnecessary unless surfacing in darkness. Those going topside are more likely to prepare by wearing red goggles.

The profligate use of nuclear weapons is unbelievable.

Technical details aside, it was a fun ride. Well worth the time to read..

[Kenn Triebelhorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping storyline to the very end.

Mr. Buff delivered a masterful story line with plenty of military and technical detail to satisfy any military story buff. Even though cast in the near future, every bit of detail and action were believable. I'm looking forward to reading another of his books.

[Faron · Rating 5 out of 5]

War scenario literature to keep anyone reading and reading

For a fictional war scenario, it kepr my interest to where you wanted to keep on reading. For those of you that really enjoy war scenarios, it will definitely hold your interest.

[John W Mohr Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cost of war and the endurance required of personnel

This story describes exceedingly well how the knowledge of their equipment brought about ony by practise is required by personnel to survive as an effective fighting unit.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Emotional Tightrope

A very good thriller that used both land and we adventures to propagate the story. As in the previous book, there were a number of unexpected twists and turns with a surprising ending.

[John Arrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed Reaction

Overall the book was enhanced by the submarine combat but slowed by all the land based action. The political action was necessary to provide a strategic view and the status of various land based conflict helped set the stage.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like a western the subs never run out of torpedoes! Characters were super human and not believable. The plot was not credible overall. Not recommended!

[jsk6039 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible story line

Sensational read in every way.. held my attention to the last word.. learned a lot about submarines, strategy, tactics.. brilliantly told

[Rudy DeVeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book has a great concept of a world gone mad over the use of Atomic/Nuclear bombs, and super subs. The story weaves a great continuation 0f the story of Capt Fuller.

[Jim Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story and action. No one does SEAL or sub action scenes better. Intense. Thanks.

[William F Kimpflein · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review

Love this author. Have the complete series, to date. Hoping he will start another series for me to read. Fingers 🤞

[Walt · Rating 1 out of 5]

waste of time

[Bill Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have really mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it's a gripping thriller about a protracted undersea duel between two submarine captains. On the other, it's about a rather preposterous war scenario - it's 2012 and the Germans and white South Africans have formed an alliance and are fighting the Americans in Africa, and a relief convoy is on its way there. It's a tactical nuclear war, with submarines shooting off nuke torpedoes and missiles at each other, but all the nuclear war is at sea. There are so many implausible things about this scenario I don't know where to begin. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I don't think I'd recommend it unless you were already a big fan of this kind of story. I bought it because I wanted to broaden my horizons of authors and genres, but I don't think this is a direction I wish to further explore.

[R Gerard Park · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Sub adventure

Really enjoyed this! Buff has captured the stress, fear and emotions associated with undersea warfare. One of the best submarine novels I’ve read in quite a while.

[Juliezs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty good nuclear submarine thriller set in 2012. Lots and lots of jargon and details that don't necessarily move the story forward but show off how much the author knows about the Navy and submarines (which seems to be a lot!). I didn't find the characters very compelling but some of the situations they were in were quite exciting. The political intrigue was more interesting to me, with tactical nukes being used in a war how much that would change things.

[Mike Jones]

****

[Susanna]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14824752