Arctic Gambit

Jerry Mitchell #6

by Larry Bond

Jerry Mitchell, now the commodore of submarine Development Squadron Five, is dismayed when USS Toledo is reported missing in Arctic waters, close to Russian territory. The vessel is captained by his former shipmate and close friend, Lenny Berg. Eager to investigate, Jerry convinces the Navy to redirect one of his squadron’s boats to find out what happened.

It turns out Toledo was sunk just outside of Russian territorial waters by a torpedo launched from a naval mine. Even more disturbing is the discovery that Russia is building a deadly weapon. Engineers have modified the STATUS-6, a strategic nuclear-propelled, nuclear armed torpedo that is already operational, into a stealthy first strike weapon: Drakon. This new tool would allow the Russians to launch a completely covert nuclear decapitation strike on the USA.

The new Russian president has plans for Europe, and is more than willing to use nuclear blackmail—or an actual attack—to keep the Americans from interfering. To avoid a Russian war in Europe, and a nuclear catastrophe at home, Mitchell must find a way to destroy the Drakon launcher before it’s too late.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Military Fiction, Military Thriller, Audiobook, Espionage

331 pages, Hardcover

First published May 29, 2018

About the author

Larry Bond is the author of several bestselling military thrillers, including Crash Dive, Cold Choices, Dangerous Ground, Red Phoenix and the Larry Bond’s First Team and Larry Bond’s Red Dragon Rising series. He was a naval officer for six years, serving four on a destroyer and two on shore duty in the Washington DC area. He's also worked as a warfare analyst and antisubmarine technology expert, and he now writes and designs computer games, including Harpoon and Command at Sea. He makes his home in Springfield, Virginia.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/larrybond

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent yarn involving cold war participants USA/U.S.S.R. The end could have been better. 7 of 10 stars

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 21st century WW III submarine thriller

Readers who enjoy submarine thrillers will fondly recall the palpable, stomach-churning frisson of suspense that Tom Clancy generated when he created the genre with THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER almost four decades ago. Competing against that kind of a standard is obviously not a problem for Larry Bond. His scenario in which the USSR has crafted the technology to break the deadlock of Mutually Assured Destruction and execute a crippling, decisive, and unanswerable pre-emptive nuclear first strike on Washington DC and other mainland cities is convincing. Bond uses the scenario as a canvas on which to paint scenes of submarine warfare, innovative technology and political statecraft in broad, decisive strokes. ARCTIC GAMBIT is a page-turner. No doubt about it!

On a marginally related side note, my impressions of Hardy Lowell as a fictional president (by comparison to the reality of dearly departed Mr Trump), were all over the map. In short, Lowell was everything that Trump was not – decisive, intelligent, strong, informed, a powerful leader, a loving husband, courageous … The USA can be very grateful that Mr Bond’s novel, published in 2018 during Trump’s presidency, occurred strictly in his imagination. If it were based in reality, I’m convinced that you and I would not be here reading today.

Paul Weiss

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last book in the Jerry Mitchell series. Russia's new president is a megalomaniac who wants to get the band back together and take back all of the former USSR countries into a new Greater Russia.

So while he's positioning troops on their borders and massing huge cyber attacks he's also commissioned a nuclear first attack facility to distract the US from meddling in "his" war.

America first gets an idea of what's going on when of their subs is sunk while in position spying on what the Russians are up to.

A very good submarine adventure with Mitchell on site yet again.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, Arctic Gambit is a thriller that has a creative yet realistic premise which follows through with a taut ending.  Good depictions of underwater high-tension situations make this one a solid pick for those who like the genre. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor, and Forge Books, and Larry Bonds for the advanced copy for review.

Full review can be found here: https://paulspicks.blog/2018/05/22/ar...

Please check out all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the ending, but it was a lot of detail to get there. I thought all the technical specs got in the way, but again there aren't enough books out there with good endings. So kudos. Really a 3.5.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Russia is creating a superweapon on a remote island. A cruising American submarine is sunk, hitting a mine the Russians put around the island.

From there, there's a lot of troop movements, and drama in the White House that doesn't add to anything.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book from Larry Bond Story well detailed and played out well.

[David Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best of the series

This was the best book yet, a mature Jerry Mitchell is one hell of a character. All I can say is there better be another, I never get tired of the story lines or this character. Fantastic book, all should read the series. As always great detail and a well developed story, I do admit this book should have been longer there were very good possible side stories that should have been developed. Over all outstanding.

[Craig Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larry Bond is a great military suspense writer. His stories are well thought out and technically accurate. The personal relationships are a little unrealistic and the end result was never in doubt.

[Larry Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I like to read submarine fiction. This book did not disappoint. Lots of action and a good story. Highly recommended

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read the previous five Jerry Mitchell novels, finding the first four very good and the fifth mediocre. In the author notes of the fifth book, Larry Bond points out that it was originally a four book project that was stretched to five. This explains my surprise when I saw this book on the shelf at the local library.

It is better than the previous book. More political thriller along the lines of later Tom Clancy than pure submarine action. This time around the submarine of choice is SSN-23, the Jimmy Carter. This is a very cool Seawolf class sub, with a special forces section added in the middle. (For a bit of trivia of why this president got his name on an SSN instead of a CV like other presidents. It is very cool) The UUVs are back in action, with the author plausibly using the special section of the Jimmy Carter for their use.

Overall the action and possible direction of a potential Russia-NATO conflict work. The economic decimation of the Pacific Rim in the fourth book doesn't factor into what is happening here. It is Russia against NATO.

It helps a lot to have read the previous books to understand the interplay between returning characters. The submarine parts are good, just not enough of them. The Russian boats are represented only by how they are seen through the eyes of the Jimmy Carter. We are taken for a ride in a Russian helicopter ASW pair on the hunt. Also demonstrates why it is part art and science to find submarines.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quality technothriller, with PLENTY of useful details that truly flesh out the way the hunter can become the hunted without realizing it. The extreme patience it takes to get into position for attack or evasion, the courage displayed while matching wits against another or setting traps for the unwary are all facets of the "Silent Service" that to the uninitiated are just extraneious details or even boring...

Larry Bond writes accurate examples of events & tech that COULD happen instead of making up some super stealth "Top Secret" hardware that makes the rest of the world unable to compete. Instead he shows the high degree of training, drive & proffessionalism our Navy men & women selflessly give to us. How they sacrifice time with family for long periods away from home while being unable to share or even communicate at all. It is truly humbling once you begin to understand what these men & women give up in defense of our freedoms...

[Richard Gullickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larry Bond has written a great series of submarine warfare thrillers. He follows the same set of characters through half a dozen novels centered around former aviator Jerry Mitchell who switches to the submarine service after crashing his Navy fighter on take off. In this novel, Mitchell has advanced from Ensign to Commodore and commands the submarine services on a mission to Russia to take out an undersea weapons system at the request of President Hardy, the former captain of his first boat. This is a fast paced and interesting techno-thriller for those of you interested in submarines, our continuing struggle with Russia, and undersea warfare arcana. Unlike so many mystery novels, the characters are believable, human, and interesting. (Although it was a bit of a stretch to believe that Mitchell's former commander Hardy had the temperament and leadership skills to someday be elected president.) Highly recommend the entire series.

[Steve Buchmeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A drop off from the previous books in my opinion primarily due to the long framing of the plot that takes place during the first half of the book. Considering that everything in the story is a reflection of our modern world his portraying every Democrat as a moderate that is also a military hawk is comical. I am not a big fan of how he keeps old characters in the story; and his attempt to make them important weakens the plot. Thankfully he pulled out of the dive by getting back to what makes the Jerry Mitchell universe worth checking back into and that is the fantasy of seeing a modern day nuclear attack submarine in action.

[Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Russians are Unscrupulous

While this should not surprise anyone, the Russian leader wants to take Europe and keep the US from intervening.  There is a new US President (with USN Submarine background – convenient), the Russian President is a heavy handed, prior KGB thug, satiated with early successes he just knows that the US will be impotent with his new weapon threatening them.  Our hero, Jerry Mitchell and the US Navy Submarine force save the day, using all the technology and luck they have (no luck just professionalism, maybe).  Larry Bond continues to write novels that keep you reading long after you should have turned the light out.

[Mors · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm pretty disappointed by this book considering who the author is. All the technical talk and systems are pretty much on point, but the actual story is all a bit silly and the Russian response is just as bad. The middle of the book is filled with waffle that can be skipped.
The Americans take out the first version of a new russian weapons system, so because of that the Russians don't respond at all and let them do it, and obviously aren't going to build another one so just roll over and have their bellies tickled. Good author, pretty poor book for me. Was going to rate it 2* but due to the author gave it a 3.

[Georgianne Giese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technical

I enjoy Larry Bond's books. However, unlike Mr Bond, I am not a war gamer nor am I familiar with the technical Navy terminology woven throughout this story. Perhaps like Red Storm Rising, the real audience for this story is of a military nature. Terminology not withstanding, it was fun to hang in there for the excitement and the wisdom of good leadership exhibited by the main characters, as well as the foibles of predominant egos.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book to be very slow and tedious, and just plain boring. It had no real story per say, no character development, and went on way too long. It started off strong but then dredged on and on and on until I found myself skimming through looking for sections that I actually would read a few pages before skimming again. Ending picked up a bit, but too little too late.

[Roger Scherping · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Jerry Mitchell book that didn't get a 5 rating from me. Is this what all of them are going to be like now that he's been promoted? This book is heavy on politics, and only the last third had any of the exciting submarine warfare that the author is known for. My suggestion is just skim through the middle third of the book, as I did.

[Daniel Coyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book but took too much time leading up to ending. A story about the continual war between good and evil (USA vs. Russia), It was hard to follow all the different characters and the technical sides to the story. It would have been easier to follow with a map and maybe a diagram of a sub. I still enjoyed the book and would recommend

[David Haddon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun easy read, with good action, set in a fairly believable near-parallel world. Reminds me of the old Tom Clancy stuff.

Funny how close global tensions key to the story plot (written in 2018) aligns with real world events going on in Ukraine today. Added a nice context that made the story a little more reasonable.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this book if you need a nap. Or if you want a description of a submarine, but not for action. Maybe 10 pages of action. Also started a story about a sub being sunk and lives lost, but the reader never finds out how the country handles the tragedy.

[Wdmoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Larry Bond book and I'm shallow enough to admit I picked it out because of the submarine on the front cover. Arctic Gambit was fascinating...it was also at times too sub techy, but when Larry Bond lets the action rip it's a thrilling ride.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russia is under control by a populist that has decided to restore Russia's former glory and his aggressive policies towards former Soviet republics scare more than the citizens in said states. At the same time a US submarine disappears in the arctic, and the story can start.

[Bill Kempthorne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larry Bond has a great balance of the military tech with a solid storyline and characters. He doesn’t over do it with the “feeds and speeds” details that would add another 100 or 200 pages. Which is why I wish he had a few more like this.

[Bernd Velling · Rating 5 out of 5]

A glorious end to the Jerry Mitchell series this book or at least the last pet of it goes back to the roots.
Sub action !
A WW3 plot to be thwarted etc.
I highly recommend this series to those who like Tom Clancy’s Red October.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Directly addresses the area ‘left out’ of the NDS!

[William McLoughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another great submarine story in this series by this author.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Larry Bond. Enjoyed immensely, reminded me of old classic Tom Clancy

[Patricia Litz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad. It could have been better.