Before the Storm: War of the Submarine: Book 0

by R.G. Roberts

Modern-Day Piracy Square off Against the U.S. Navy Under the High SeasIt's 2037. A band of modern-day pirates station-hops across the Indian Ocean in an old Russian submarine bought off the black market. Each attack bolder and more costly than the last, these pirates leave behind a trail of broken bodies, businesses, and stolen submarines at every undersea station they visit—and it’s up to Lieutenant Commander Alex Coleman and attack submarine USS Kansas to stop them.Teaming up with his old college roommate and not-so-gentle giant, marine lieutenant colonel Paul Swanson, Alex sets out on his very own pirate hunt. But these outlaws aren’t in rundown little skiffs that are easy to track and find. They’ve got a genuine warship and the will to turn weapons against innocent civilians and undersea stations, and more importantly, they’re good at stealth.With time running out, Alex convinces his friendly neighborhood U.N. representative to rent a ridiculously expensive civilian submarine with every bell and whistle a rich guy can dream of—and many Alex can't! Cut off from Kansas’ support, he and the marines play bait for the pirates.Alex isn’t used to in-your-face battles. He’s trained to push buttons and fire torpedoes, not for the messy and bloody hand-to-hand stuff. His plan is for Kansas to nab the pirates before anyone can wave a gun near his nerdy face. But plans never survive contact with the enemy, and when the hunters become the hunted, can Alex learn a new type of warfare before it’s too late?Before the Storm is a prequel to the near-future World War III submarine series War of the Submarine.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction

132 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 26, 2021

Reviews

[Eric Johnson]

While it's not The Hunt for Red October, or Cardinal Virtues, the book is pretty good. I don't read naval fiction because I wasn't in the Navy. But... It's a different world and R. G. Roberts does a good job of it. A prequel to Cardinal Virtues, I liked the short story (was quick to read) and how it flowed. R. G. Roberts does a good job with the story, and I liked her other book, Cardinal Virtues. It has plenty of techno-speak but she breaks it down so it's not overwhelming and makes the story readable. More than likely I'll check out her other books sometime as well.

[Tim Lowe]

Where is the magic?

Warning: spoilers!!

Underwater stations in deep water (347' to 800'?), that military submarines can connect to?
With elevators to the surface, and moon pools that they could dive from through a dive lock?
And nobody gets the bends?
I kept waiting for the magic that would make all of this work! 1937 magic?
And guns are dangerous in underwater stations, but a flamethrower works ok?
And there is underwater gas mining and refining, but gas is only about $3.80 per gallon?

[Tracy Mallon]

RG Roberts is a Navy woman and that shows in every word she writes. Her world building is mostly excellent and draws you in. Her characters are well-written and the dialogue between them sparkles, especially Alex and Paul. The friendship between them is so genuine and leaps off the page. The minor characters also have their moments in the spotlight and their own quirks.

There are two things that stop me from giving this a five star rating, as much as I wanted to (I love the author going back years). The first is the need for better editing. There were quite a few errors in the book that took me out of the story. The second is goes back to my comment that the world building is “mostly excellent” - as a prequel to a series, I wanted more descriptions of the underground stations. I just could not picture them in my mind (at least before they were destroyed) and since they are not something that exist in the present, I thought more time could have been taken to describe them, maybe give a little history.

Those are minor quibbles in my opinion. The good far outweighs the not-so-good and this is a good setup for the War of the Submarine.

[James Frederick]

This was a largely enjoyable read. I had never read anything by this author, so I had no idea of what to expect. It is apparently the first book in a series, but it is a standalone and can be read and enjoyed without worrying about cliffhangers.

My one big knock on this is that, while the book itself is well WRITTEN, it is VERY poorly edited. There are dozens of typos, at a minimum. There may well be over 100. I do not know if the author dictated this or is just a very quick typist and never re-read it. But most of these errors are very easily spotted even with the most cursory reading. So the author either needs to hire and editor or get a beta or arc team in place to report on errors.

Some of these are continuity errors. One character (Lydia) is showing something to the others. In the next sentence, that character is referred to as Emma. That was just kind of puzzling. Most other errors were equally jarring. It doesn't prevent the book from being a decent read. It just keeps it from being a five star book.

[Darren Bourn]

I had received this book/novella from the author when I had signed up at his mailing list.

If you read books on either a kindle or a tablet, you've likely downloaded a number of books and sometimes they might get lost in the shuffle (which is likely what happened here).

This book/novella introduces us to the character of Commander Alex Coleman and the crew of the USS Kansas, as they pursue a former-Russian Kilo submarine that is being piloted by a group of pirates who are intent at raiding a number of installations with the purpose of stealing fuel, kidnapping and stealing private undersea vessels to sell on the black market.

This is an excellent book/novella that would be enjoyed by action aficionados. As such, I would easily rate this a solid four stars out of five stars.

As with all my literary ramblings, this is just my five cents worth.

[Jerry Irish]

Nice lead in to a new series. I really enjoyed the exploits of the modern navy.

Pirates on the open sea attacking undersea cities from a war surplus Russian Kilo being hunted by an American nuclear submarine in the Indian Ocean. What more could you ask for? How about a civilian private submarine with a party deck. Throw in a squad of marines, and now you're talking action.

[Garth Mailman]

Before the Storm
R. G. Roberts

Combines submarine warfare with buddy-buddy story. A stick thin sub-mariner and a Goliath-sized hulking marine three times his size and way too tall for sub bulkheads. Their target submarine pirates. And it becomes a game of hide and seek.

Get the author a good editor please?

[Kevin Sells]

Nice!!

As submarine thrillers go, this is a nice one. Actually, very nice. Flow is good. The writer knows their stuff. Characters are believable and some are attachable. The storyline is tight and the premise is interesting. This story is a very nice escape. And a right tickler for submarine junkies. Moving right into book two.

[Susanne]

Wonderful prequel. Enough world and character building to put everything in place for the action at the end. A few editing issues (grammer and spelling) but not enough to detract from the story. Looking forward to reading Cardinal Virtues.

[Daniel Fedko]

Great very with fantastic characters

I'm amazed that this author can write so many fantastic novels, I hope that she will never stops writing. Her books are some of the best Entertainment I have read and worth the time to read them. Thank you for a very fun entertaining read.

[Dennis E. Flynn]

Really different submarine adventure.

I really enjoyed this read as it involved civilians, old USSR boats and a totaly different view of a submarine novel. Thanks for the read and look forward to the next one.

[Chris Howkins]

Good read

Interesting read, clever characters and not to far in the future.

Like the idea, well written and I hope the characters will be continually developed through the series.

[Cara Tafoya-Toste]

A great read

I wasn't sure what I was going to find, but very happy that I took the chance. Fast paced page turner. Characters are great and believable. Would love to continue the tales of Alex.

[creig speed]

The story nobody wanted to tell

The author did very well with the characters as far as background and personalty traits along the main characters. I will continue to read the series and hope that it's gets better.

[Greg D]

I love myself a good submarine story. But, I had to really push my way through this one. Amateurish writing, B-movie dialog, and poor editing makes for a 2-star rating.

[Jon]

A riveting read

It’s a short read but it’s non stop action all the way. Submerge yourself in this one and you won’t regret it!

Highly recommended.

[Chris Nelson]

A new author for me, and I'll read more from her in future. It was an interesting storyline and not too convoluted and easy to follow.

[Chuck Tellbuescher]

Slow and Boring

Too much BS and tag a log stuff. Probably will not read any more of these books. Way way too much side action.

[Richard A Lambing]

Pretty good book. For in the near future.

[James]

First read...

Entertaining, but not what I was expecting. I will read more though. I won't give up after just one novel!

[Richard evenson]

Predictable reading

It was ok I might even try another book by this author. I love Amazon prime and there free reads

[stan holland]

Review

The first in a series, shorter in length. I enjoyed the read and now starting the second book.in the series!

[john marsh]

A too short, excellent story!

Fast paced action that I ate up in one sitting.

Don't miss this one.

Can't wait to read the next one.

[Ronald Manley]

Not great meh.

[J.D. Schechter]

One fine read!

Marines, sailors, murderous undersea pirates; hours of boredom leading up to a few minutes of action...looks to be an interesting series

[Michael Beardq]

It was good. Few technical errors that didn't impact the story. I'll read the next one. ex-MMC(ss/dv/sw)

[Kevin F]

A little far fetched in a few places but a good read

A bit of a stretch in a few details but it’s fiction set in the future still easy read will be reading more of the series

[Craig Beam]

As an ex-submariner, I found this to be ridiculous and without value.

[JD Rosser]

great read

A little different but a very good read. Already purchased the series!! I like the setting of what Subs will be like in 15 years.