Torchlight

by Robert Louis Stevenson III

A top-notch arms dealer decides to use the one billion dollars in gold that sank with the U.S.S. Norfolk during World War I to finance his biggest transaction ever, and two ex-Navy SEALS must stop him and save the CIA operative he holds captive

Genres: Thriller, Fiction

289 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 13, 1997

Reviews

[John Morse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. The plot was intriguing and the characters interesting, but almost stock. The author has a great deal of personal experience with shipwreck diving and those scenes were written with fascinating realism. The dangers are very real, even without the pressure of the bad guys wanting to kill you when you reach the surface.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so this book has been pretty well panned by most reviewers. Maybe I'm a sucker for longshots and lost sheep, but I loved this book. True there were a few very minor plot issues, but on the whole the book was great.

This book is an above average ex-Navy Seal, covert op reunion, buddy book. On the whole, it is a great afternoon read, but not something to write a dissertation on. What did it for me, was Stevenson's immense knowledge of wreck diving and the personality of a wreck diver. When Stevenson is writing those sections of the book, it oozes suspense and spine tingling claustrophobia. You begin to understand the dangers that make wreck divers the apex divers that they are. Bringing a wreck dive to life is Stevenson's greatest strength. He is a fun author to read and I wish he'd been able to feed us many more books.

[Christopher Hivner · Rating 3 out of 5]

An international arms dealer named Gerhardt has found a World War I shipwreck containing a billion dollars in gold. He hires an experienced diver, Jack Henderson, to bring the coins up but it’s a dangerous job. He convinces them to hire an old friend, Philip Drake, who is one of the best deep sea divers in the world. They are also ex-navy seals working for the U.S government to stop Gerhardt who plans to use the money to buy nuclear weapons from Russia.

Torchlight is well written and overall is not a bad story. The problem is it’s not a great one either. The plot is pretty standard fare for a thriller and while Stevenson’s writing is solid, it’s not going to blow you away.

[Frank Wilem · Rating 2 out of 5]

So-so, some plot issues.