Dangerous Ground

Jerry Mitchell #1

by Larry Bond

The US submarine Memphis should have been mothballed decades ago. Instead, she is charged with one last, secret mission: to locate leaking containers of Russian nuclear fuel on the floor of the Arctic Ocean. More than just an environmental nightmare, this radioactive burial ground houses enough nuclear capability to destroy most of America’s major cities.

Lead by the Bligh-like commander Lowell Hardy, the Memphis’ crew deals with flaring tempers, faulty machinery, raging Arctic Seas, and their newest crewmate, Jerry Mitchell. Mitchell was a naval pilot whose career ended with an unfortunate accident. Politics got him assigned to the Memphis as a weapons’ officer. Now his novice skills may very well be the ship’s greatest liability.

Making matters worse, the President has appointed two civilian scientists to lead the mission. Dr. Joanna Patterson and Dr. Emily Davis soon find out that no matter how much power the president has granted them, this is still Hardy’s ship.

Nor is this mission what it seems. Lurking beneath the frigid, black, radioactive waters is a secret far more deadly than anything naval command could imagine---a secret so menacing the Russian fleet is hell-bent on destroying the Memphis and all who sail in her.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Military Fiction, Military Thriller, Adventure, Audiobook, Action

464 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 2005

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

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoyed HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, then ...

USS Memphis is out of date technology, a war-weary rust bucket submarine that has served its country and is now scheduled to be de-commissioned. But the President, in a bid to collect political points at an upcoming conference with the Soviets, has ordered the Memphis to complete one last covert mission - to sneak into Russian territorial waters, to document an environmental nightmare and to bring home evidence of leaking fuel containers dumped on the floor of the Arctic Ocean by the Russians during the height of the cold war.

Commander Lowell Hardy, a CO whose unpleasant and impossible to please leadership style is rivaled only by Captains Queeg and Bligh, is saddled with a novice weapons officer. This is the very first assignment for Lt Jerry Mitchell, a former naval aviator who made a mid-career switch to submarines after his Hornet fighter crashed with the resulting injuries sidelining him forever from flight status. And to make matters worse, the president has ignored all naval submarine tradition and appointed two civilian scientists, female no less, to lead the mission from on board the submarine.

As if lurking around Russian territorial waters looking to score points and politically embarrass the Soviet government wasn't bad enough ... the mission discovers a secret far more deadly than it ever bargained for and provokes an armed naval response that is much, much more than the aging Memphis is capable of facing. The Russian fleet is determined to sink the Memphis and wipe out all evidence that she was ever there in the first place.

DANGEROUS GROUND is a first rate techno-thriller that will have you turning pages just as quickly as you can manage. But as Larry Bond pointed out in the author's note preceding the novel, a techno-thriller ought to be much more than a compilation of technical data which anyone can find with proper research. In the case of DANGEROUS GROUND, Bond has done a superb job, not only with individual characterization, but also with a compelling description of submariner culture - their attitudes, their loyalties, their black sense of humour, their fears and their bravery.

A thoroughly enjoyable plot driven thriller supported by a wealth of technical and, of equal importance, cultural and character details. Well done, Mr Bond!

Paul Weiss

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this on a 6 hour bus ride from Lake Titicaca to Cusco in Peru. It was a thrilling military adventure story. As a retired military man I like how the author kept it real. He does a great job explaining the military jargon and terminology without dumbing it down. The characters are good representations of the military men who serve in the Navy.

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dec 9, 1pm ~~ Review asap. Three in the review pile now. I can't put off 'asap' much longer. lol

Dec 9, 830pm ~~ Ever since I swiped, sorry, borrowed my brother's copy of Up Periscope when I was a kid, I have loved submarine stories. I ordered this one not long ago in one of those You Only Need One More Title For Free Shipping splurges at my favorite online used bookseller. And since December is my Free For All reading month, where I am ignoring all my beloved lists and reading anything that the Book Universe sends me, here we are.

Now, first I have to say that I did enjoy the book, but it is based on such an outrageous idea that it is almost impossible to believe. There are also many standard submarine story elements here: the grumpy captain everyone hates, the new lieutenant j.g. struggling to fit into the crew and learn his way around, the old boat supposedly due to be decommissioned but which is sent out for one last vital mission.

Even with all these tried and true elements, it turned out to be pretty hard to put down. This book is the first of six listed in the Jerry Mitchell series by the author, and I admit to another splurge here. The rest should arrive in house sometime next week. I am hopeless, I know. But books and chocolate, what can I say?! lol

Anyway, back to the boat. Jerry Mitchell is a Navy pilot who suffers a blown tire during takeoff in his Hornet fighter plane one day. He is almost at the end of his training, but the accident leaves his right hand too badly damaged for flying. He must give up his wings but does he also have to give up the Navy? He does not want to do that and pulls strings (an uncle is a Senator) to help him get assigned to Submarine School. Not something the Navy wants to do, but those strings sometimes pull too hard to be ignored.

But that detail is a mark against him when he reaches the Memphis, suddenly assigned to one last top secret mission. So what is our Jerry doing there? How can he do whatever job he is supposed to do and still learn all there is to know about the boat in order to earn those golden dolphins that indicate he is a true submariner? And just where in the heck are we going during our secret mission, anyway?!

Now here is another of the unbelievable bits. Two civilian women are also going along on this cruise. Who are they and why are they there?! This ties in with the whole goofiness of the mission in the first place, and adds a surreal feel to the whole story. Whether such a thing could really occur, I very greatly doubt, just like I doubted the goal of the mission itself, but heck, it still made for an entertaining and sometimes hold your breath type of book and I am looking forward to the rest of the Jerry Mitchell series. And since the author leaves more than one loose end in the final chapters, it is pretty easy to predict what might be coming up in book number 2.

But meanwhile, back on the Memphis, I have just one nit to pick. The two ladies have never been on a submarine before and also have never heard of the little ceremony put on when any mariner crosses the Arctic Circle for the first time. This is made quite clear when they are invited to participate and are told that there is an initiation ceremony just like for those sailors who cross the Equator for the first time. Neither woman wants to participate at first but then they decide to go ahead anyway.

And here is the nit: all the people involved in the ceremony have gathered to meet King Boreas, who will be in charge. The men wore swim trunks as ordered, and the ladies are wearing swimsuits and shorts. "Patterson's was blue, Emily's green with stripes. Both were new, obviously purchased for this special occasion."

I'm sure you can see my dilemma. Two pages before this our ladies wanted nothing to do with the ceremony, they supposedly didn't even know anything about it. So how is it possible that they managed to bring along brand new swimsuits for this very event? Just saying. ;-))

[Cujo · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could give this 3.75 stars I would
FACT: This book is a hell of a lot better then I'm giving it credit for. The pacing was just not for me.

The USS Memphis is a dilapidated submarine that is about to be decommissioned when our newly elected President sends it out one last mission. He hopes to garner a higher approval rating, by proving Russia is dumping radioactive waste in it's territorial waters, thus giving the bear a smack on it's snout at a summit on environmental hazards.

Morale on the Memphis is far from good, being most of the officers and crew were hoping to transfer to either a newer/better boat or shore duty following the decommissioning. Another reason for the low morale is in part to thanks these characters:

Lieutenant (junior grade) Jerry Mitchell: A former aviator who is injured in a routine training exercise and due to injuries he sustained, is no longer able to fly. When the Navy attempts to discharge him, he uses some political pull to be transferred to submarines, where he becomes the Weapons Officer aboard the Memphis. This apparent use of cronyism alienates him from most of the officers and sailors aboard the Memphis

Captain Lowell Hardy: A modern day "Captain Bligh" he demands perfection from his crew and drills them relentlessly until they achieve it. Even if it forgoes them eating or sleeping properly. He is openly hostile towards this mission as he feels it's dangerous and illegal.

Dr. Joanna Patterson: Hand picked by the President to find evidence of Russian dumping. She is domineering and the most bossy woman on a boat since a Polynesian princess named Moana ordered Maui to "board her boat and return the heart of Te fiti".

These and many others travel to the polar ice caps aboard the Memphis to see what Russia has buried, and maybe, just maybe "Uncle Ivan" isn't to happy about them snooping around there.

[Brenda H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dangerous Ground is the first book in the Jerry Mitchell series. Jerry Mitchell is a naval aviator whose plans come to an abrupt halt with a blown tire and a crash of his Navy Hornet. Jerry decides that if he can’t ben an aviator, he wants to be a submariner and petitions the Navy to allow him to not only remain in the Navy but also to qualify for his dolphins. After having spent millions of dollars training Jerry to be a Navy pilot, the brass is reluctant to grant the request which would take yet more training and time so Jerry uses his family connection to a US Senator to get what he wants thereby ensuring that the Navy was going to make his qualification process exceeding hard and almost impossible.

Jerry is assigned to Memphis, a US submarine that – instead of being decommissioned as has been the plan over the past year – is sent out on a final mission to ensure the President’s political legacy as a strong environmentalist. That final mission takes the boat and the crew to the coast of Russia and into very dangerous territorial waters.

For those of you following my reviews, you know that I like character-driven stories – characters that you love, characters that you cheer for and characters that you despise (in a good way, of course) and this story had that. You have Jerry, who you root for when many on the sub are against him for using his political pull and getting a second chance that others may not have gotten; you have Captain Hardy, hard, demanding and irascible; there’s Lenny Berg, the drama major turned submariner and the list goes on.

The story was interesting, the people engaging and the crisis points tension filled. All of these, as well as my general liking for military stories, worked to get me through the very technical details of life on a submarine and the qualification process. And the acronyms…the military does love its acronyms…

Overall rating: 3.75

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're opening a new series here...and it's pretty good. I like military fiction (actually I prefer ground-pounder fiction to Navy, but hey you can't have it all your own way...and I have friends who are ex-navy, poor slobs[or should that be "swabs"?]).

Here we're set up with a story where our main character has seen his life pretty smashed up and years of training about to go to waste, maybe he's even looking at leaving the navy. But he refuses to take no for an answer and pulls out all the stops to make sure he not only stays in, but gets training in and assignment to submarines....

Of course one of the things he did was appeal for help to an uncle who's got political connections. His new shipmates don't react well to this apparent special treatment.

His shipmates???? Oh they're the crew of an older Missile sub that was expected to be decommissioned. When they arrived back in port they all thought they'd be going on extended R&R. Didn't work out that way...they get informed they're headed out on a new secret mission.

The book is pretty good. The biggest flaw from my point of view was that it took forever to start actually building the plot. We spent half the book establishing personalities, learning the daily life of a sub crew and establishing the conflicts between personalities. Of course we did finally get to the main conflict of the book and I fell into the story.

I give the book a provisional 4 as the overall story is great, the characters are complete and "we do get there". I think I'll read at least one more and see how the storytelling goes.

So, low 4 and a pretty good read. Enjoy.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding! Exciting and well crafted. Interesting from start to finish. 10 of 10 stars.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I barely got started, only up to page 37, and I can't read anymore. It's driving me bats with all the information dumps, all the telling, and worst of all, Bond is treating me like I'm six years old and need to be informed of every frigging little detail. Gawd. Spare me

Bond is writing up this latest mission as though it were some heavy-duty, top secret, way dangerous adventure that has to be on the hush-hush. Well parts of that are true…-ish. I assume that if I were to persevere and struggle further, I'd finally find a reason for the melodrama, but I don't want to waste my time.

The final straw was Mitchell's heading down to meet up with Richards, and Bond is talking about how little space there is onboard. As if Mitchell is aboard a submarine for the first time in his life. MAJOR eye roll. Give. Me. A. Break.

[Anthony Eaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay - I need to say this, right off the bat. Larry Bond is an awful writer. His characterisation has all the subtlety of being bashed in the face with a brick, his female characters are the most one-dimensional stereotypes imaginable, his protagonist is a cardboard cut out and his plot is more signposted than an L.A. freeway.

But - and here's the thing - the man knows his submarines. By God he does. Every last pipe, valve, tube and gasket. He also knows his submarine warfare tactics, and he clearly has more than a passing knowledge of what life aboard a submarine is like.

In short, if you're into submarines (I am) this is an awesome book. (it kept me occupied for an entire 14 hour LA - Sydney flight). If you're not into submarines, it'll annoy the hell out of you.

[Bryan Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall the book is fun to read, kind of like having popcorn and a movie with explosions. I can't give it more than three stars because of sudden jarring POV changes. The first one was especially unexpected but they continue throughout the book including several times into the POV of previously un-introduced characters.

In spite of that quibble I generally enjoyed the story and especially the bits involving submarine operations both routine and exciting. The primary character is fairly standard for a hero, and oddly he doesn't get the girl, oh yeah, there was a girl, two in fact, in this submarine story.

There are three other stories in the "Jerry Mitchell" series and I think I will enjoy reading them as well. I can recommend this book as a great way to break up your reading with something light and enjoyable.

[Rob Gould · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I have only read one other Larry Bond novel, which was "Exit Plan." And I thouroughly enjoyed that book. I wish I could say the same about this novel though. Now, I have read other military thrillers based on subs (well 1 really) which was Tom Clancy's "Hunt For Red October." And this was by no means equivalent to that book.

Without getting into details I was expecting more of a thrill and danger aspect or the threat of war that was being carried out by a US Sub, and an enemy fleet. However, to characterize most of the novel, I would say it was about the daily live aboard a US Sub at sea. And though it was interesting at times, this novel was found wanting in my opinion. Because it wasn't until the end of the novel, that the chase was on with the crew of the Memphis, along with the politcal intriqgue being added almost as an afterthought. So I was torn between giving this 2 or 3 stars, and I would really rate this novel as a 2.5er. If you want a light casual read, learn a few things about life aboard a sub, with a few pages added in for thrill, and intrigue, then this book is for you. But if you are looking for a novel that is more about naval warfare, then you might want to find something else.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jerry Mitchell flames out spectacularly, through no fault of his own, on his final stage of qualifying as a Navy pilot. While doing so he sustained an injury that will no longer allow him to fly.

While the Navy would prefer he go to the surface fleet Jerry wants to become a submariner. The Navy disagrees and he reaches out to his uncle, the Senator.

Mitchell is assigned to the Memphis, which is supposed to be decommissioned, but has been selected for a top secret mission, overseen by 2 female scientists

Early on the mission Jerry has some pushback from the crew, the captain seems to hate him and the Master Chief who is supposed to be Jerry's second seems to be actively sabotaging him.

A lot of turmoil on the sub, including the captain acting like Captain Bligh constantly running drills at all hours takes up most of the first half of the book. After that it becomes an underwater thriller along the lines of A Hunt for Red October.

[Woody James · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a retired Master Chief Electronics Technician who attended Nuclear Power School on Mare Island and prototype training in Idaho in the 1970s I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy this book. When they started doing drills and were ordered into EABDs I was hooked. Great book. Don't know what a EABD is read the book. It has a great explanation and a pretty good description of what happens the first time you put one on.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kept waiting for the usual poor plot twists or pit falls...I guess I've been reading too much garbage lately. I forgot that Larry Bond is a pro! What a great sub story and the first of a series. I'll be looking for more of these!

[Daniel Rudge · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I usually don't read this genre, I found Dangerous Ground to be a well-crafted thriller. Bond does a good job of developing believable main characters (and even some well developed minor characters) interlaced with a great plot delivered at breakneck speed. Some people will be put off by the amount of technical detail Bond puts into the various systems and operations of a submarine but I think he balances it with enough adventure to keep most thriller readers happy. The only two negatives I have with this book is that Bond missed the opportunity to play on the claustrophobic atmosphere inherent in a submarine, and the slightly disappointing ending. I know it is the first in a series but I would have liked to see the results of their find play out a little more. The story centers around Jerry Mitchell who about to become a navy aviator. During a test flight, one of the tires on his plane blows out during take off and Jerry is forced to eject. In doing so, he injures his hand and is washed out of the aviator program. Determined to serve, he applies to be a submariner, but is told the Navy has already invested too much money in him and he only has a few years left before his tour is over. Rejected, Jerry turns to a US Senator to pull some strings and get him into the submariner program. He is trained as weapons officer with a new prototype remotely operated submersible while in submarine school and is assigned to the sub Memphis, which is about to be decommissioned - after one last mission. The task directly from a newly-elected President: To sneak illegally into Russian waters and complete a survey of leaking nuclear fuel containers dumped on the floor of the Arctic Ocean. Heading up the mission is a Captain Bligh like Commander Lowell Hardy the Captain of the sub, and the President's appointed mission leader Dr. Joanna Patterson a world class expert in nuclear fuel contamination, and every bit as demanding as Hardy. The crew is seething with rage at their demanding Commander, the domineering Dr. Patterson, and with the novice Jerry Mitchell. They feel they deserve better, not this antiquated sub, not this Captain, not this hostile scientist, not this novice weapons officer and not this dangerous mission. Nor is the mission what it seems. Lurking below the frigid arctic is more than just radioactive waste. There is a secret far more deadly than anyone could have imagined, a secret so menacing the Russian Navy is hell-bent on destroying the Memphis and all who sail in her. Recommended to all thriller lovers but especially to fans of Tom Clancy.

[Dylan McIntosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this book last night. Being a sub sailor from 1988-1998 on a 688 class sub, I found life onboard the Memphis to be an accurate reflection of life underway. The description of the Groton sub base was pretty accurate as well. I was disappointed that there was not more mention of the radiomen on board, but what can you expect from story told from a junior officer's view point. I was also went through the bluenose ceremony in my Navy career so that was fun reading about that and remember those memorable times.

Being fiction, I didn't expect accuracy but found it pretty close. My beef with the book is the inclusion of the Russian point of view additions. I feel that it took me out of the suspense and mystery of running silent in the ocean. By knowing that "bad guys" thinking and motives, it took away from the suspense and let me down.

To me, this book is rated a 5 for nostalgia, 3 for story.

Not sure if I'll read the second book anytime soon with the large to read list I already have, but I will add it to the list.

[Eric_W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's see. Hero is transferred from aviation branch thanks to influence by relative. Suffers abuse on board sub because of it. Mean but in the end kind captain. Hero overcomes hardships. Makes friends with girl on board (scientist checking out new prototype.) Helps evade attacking Russians. Lots of nifty technical detail. Mix all these standard plot elements together and you have a decent if many-times-done-before-story.

[Hazel Bright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. I find military fiction fascinating. The military is as foreign a world to me as any outworld planet. The character arcs were extremely predictable in this one, unfortunately. The screechy woman becomes tamed, the fearful woman courageous, the captain Bligh grows a heart, etc. Lots of details about submarines, comments regarding that aspect of this book are correct, but it bothered me less than the cartoonish character arcs.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larry Bond is an excellent writer of Submarine Novels. He is very detailed and exacting in his descriptions of activities aboard USN Nuclear Subs. His storys are also very well written and researched. Good Stuff

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book got me back into reading books...i havent read a book in almost 15 years. thank you Larry Bond...great read

i didnt want to put this one down...and I am a fairly slow reader...which makes for a long day...but well worth it.

[Pete · Rating 2 out of 5]

The major problem with this novel is that it reads like a technical training manual most of the time and is very slow paced. The character development was well done but there wasn't any real intense drama until the final chapters.

[Holly Hilbrands · Rating 5 out of 5]

first book I've read by Larry Bond ... fun to learn more about the Navy and Submarines

[Steven Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light reading. Highly predictable. Bond knows his submarines, so the background is excellent and Bond lives up to his reputation as a readable writer. Overall, well worth the read.

[Frederick Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Larry Bond novel and what a cracker it turns out to be. Tension and palpitation precede this military thriller. Unputdownable. Jerry Mitchell was a Navy pilot training to fly the FA-18 superhonet. But a training accident put paid to that dream. He then applied to go into the Submarine program and was accepted with some political pull from his uncle. However when he arrived at the USS Memphis, a soon to be decommission only to go on one last mission to the Artic circle to look for nuclear waste dumped by the Russian. But things are not that easy as the aging sub with a hard riding captain push them to the very brink of their endurance. But their worse nightmare is only just beginning as the Russian got a whisp of their intrusion into dangerous Russian territorial water to survey their nuclear waste sites. Thus it begun a cat and mouse maneuver between the hunter and the hunted in ASW annal. Will they make out of there alive?

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was just looking for something new to read - new author, new series - and came across this book. A little dated now, but evidently the first in a well-reviewed series. While expecting the traditional US/Russia drama (and it was about these two foes) there wasn't as much battle action as expected - that came at the end. It was more about early 21st century politics. But I loved the obvious deep research the author displayed regarding actual life aboard a boat, the ins and outs of daily submariner life, and the perspectives of commanders and officers. Good action, good character development, and an unexpected ending regarding the captain of the boat. Enjoyable read, and I'll definitely want to read more in this series.

[Sfilante · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm surprised I enjoyed this book.
The author loves his technical descriptions. Too much detail that didn't really explain things.
Situations and characters that were cliches.
Plot changes that had no foundation.

And yet, I enjoyed the way the story built. I enjoyed the main character's overcoming the difficulties he faced. I think it is partly that I find a certain intensity in submarine stories, knowing that the submerged and contained environment provides a kind of emotional pressure cooker.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I read the latest in the Jerry Michell series, then decided to start at the beginning.
I've read alot of very technical military novels over the last 40 years.
This is the most technical I've ever read, after reading this I can honestly say I have a much better appreciation of submarines, the technology, the environment, and the expertise required by each and every member of the crew.
The author not only gives humanity to each of his characters, but manages to give a personality to the boat itself.
Loved it, can't wait to get to the next in the series.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Military fiction at its finest. People in uniform are good, politicians bad, the US is awesome, everyone else sucks. Well, sarcasm aside, it's actually a rather good book in the genre. Just remember that it's fiction.

Jerry Mitchell suffers a bad airplane crash during training to become a naval aviator, and using his political connections get himself transferred to sub duty. This is not going over well with all his new colleagues and we get a fair dose of inter-personal strain as in any work place, but seasoned with some fires, radioactive waste and corruption.

[Tonya Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this ages ago and was very glad to come across it at my local bookstore. I picked it up for .99 cents and I'm glad I did. The book has some errors (trust me, I'm in subs in a big way) but that didn't stop it from being a fun read. I've long sine given up on expecting exacting technical accuracy, not only does it detract from a good story, but it can be outright boring.
Five stars from this girl, and highly recommend for those who just like relaxing with a good sea story!

[Ann Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dangerous Ground

The authors exhibited impressive knowledge of the submarine. I am just sorry they missed the mark so in their depiction of the women in the story. Having been a Naval Officer as well as being female, I can assure you that the military women I know would not have behaved as yours did. The fact that they were civilians doesn't make that much difference because they were high level scientists and would not have come across like Hollywood starlets