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Jeffrey Fuller #2
Thunder in the Deep
In his electrifying first novel Joe Buff instantly established himself as the ultimate chronicler of 21st-century warfare by taking military fiction and submarine combat to a new level of authenticity, vision, and power. Thunder in the Deep picks up where Deep Sound Channel left off, bringing to life a frightening seascape where technology pushes warriors to new extremes, and warriors push technology to the max. This time the difference between victory and defeat hinges on the two most advanced nuclear attack submarines in the world.The Challenger is the weapon of the future, a ceramic-hulled nuclear attack submarine whose electronic eyes and ears are the most advanced ever created. It is commanded by acting captain Jeffrey Fuller, a former SEAL turned submariner whose aggressiveness has made him a rising star — and sometimes scares the hell out of his crew. Fuller’s mission is to rescue the Virginia-class fast attack sub Texas, now lying on the bottom of the Atlantic just off the Azores.But the enemy — a newly resurrected and fanatically militaristic Germany — knows where the Texas is, too, and knows the Challenger is coming. It is Challenger the Germans want, dispatching their own high-tech supersub, the Deutschland, to destroy her. In this war your enemy is a blip on a console hardwired into an integrated nuclear weapons system. Ships are vaporized off the surface of the sea, nuclear shock waves unleash deadly tsunami waves, and smart submarines do battle with smart aircraft sent to hunt them down. For Jeffrey Fuller and the Challenger, for the men on board the Deutschland, the race beneath the ocean’s surface across a horrific underwater war zone will demand every bit of courage and skill they can muster just to survive. Before it’s over, the Challenger’s mission is radically Fuller, his SEALs, and freedom fighter Ilse Reebeck are sent into Germany itself — to plant a nuke right in the gut of the enemy’s power structure. Thunder in the Deep plunges the reader into the middle of some of the fiercest and most thrilling depictions of underwater warfare ever written. It is an electrifying novel of military strategy and action, a powerful tale of technology and humanity that will have you breathlessly turning pages until the explosive climax.
479 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 31, 2001
48 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 29, 2018
The best author of the genre.
January 7, 2024
An excellent, but flawed, sequel
This s about the fourth time I've read this series, so hat should tell you something about how good it is. This is another ripping adventure beneath the seas.
It DOES sugar from some noticeable, if not significant flaws, though, to be honest. Its a very similar plot to the first book. Mr. Buff isn't treading an new waters here. Submarine must sneak into impossible location, deliver SEAL team, nuke the place, and escape. The enemy has an almost impossible to beat submarine that is slightly beer than the hero ship, and captained by an evil.megalomaniac. That's fine, big deal, it's a fun story.
By here is the part that almost - almost - nukes the entire book.
Ilse Reebeck, the Free Boer South African Oceanographer from the first book, has some of the weirdest issues suddenly thrown her way, completely out of the blue, in this book. Commander Fuller, literally out of nowhere, starts treating her like she's an exe girlfriend he can't wait to dump.on some garbage scowl, the XO pulls hee aside and access her of being a narcissist, the COB calls her a self centered prima donna, and the new female sonar officer from the Royal Navy, reads her a riot act about acting like the entire war is about her.
Yet NOWHERE does she demonstrate ANY of these behaviors. Does she misunderstand submarine crew protocol a few times? Sure, but she's a civilian. And that's another gripe I have. Buff writes the interactions of multiple characters with Ilse where they go off on her and give her orders as if she is a member of the armed forces, even punishing her as if she were, while it's clear we I NOT.and has absolutely ZERO training, education or experience as a sailor, much less a submariner.
Seriously, its bad enough it almost ruins the book because its so jarring and out of off field. Then its suddenly resolved and not a problem anymore, just as suddenly, as if everyone was happy with the bullying and cruelty toward her, and she "learned her lesson" for not being a trained submariner and a refugee and how dare she be afraid to be captured, tortured, raped and murdered, that's just thinking the whole war is about her.
I really want to give the book a better rating, because the rest of it is worth 5 stars, but that subplot is so bad, so incongruous, and just so plain mean spirited and cruel that it demands stars be stripped away.
Mr. Buff, you really CAN do better. Frankly, you should release a new and updated edition with all the "the senior staff bullies Ilse" BS removed entrely. Still a great book, but those parts actually get to read they are so out of character.
This s about the fourth time I've read this series, so hat should tell you something about how good it is. This is another ripping adventure beneath the seas.
It DOES sugar from some noticeable, if not significant flaws, though, to be honest. Its a very similar plot to the first book. Mr. Buff isn't treading an new waters here. Submarine must sneak into impossible location, deliver SEAL team, nuke the place, and escape. The enemy has an almost impossible to beat submarine that is slightly beer than the hero ship, and captained by an evil.megalomaniac. That's fine, big deal, it's a fun story.
By here is the part that almost - almost - nukes the entire book.
Ilse Reebeck, the Free Boer South African Oceanographer from the first book, has some of the weirdest issues suddenly thrown her way, completely out of the blue, in this book. Commander Fuller, literally out of nowhere, starts treating her like she's an exe girlfriend he can't wait to dump.on some garbage scowl, the XO pulls hee aside and access her of being a narcissist, the COB calls her a self centered prima donna, and the new female sonar officer from the Royal Navy, reads her a riot act about acting like the entire war is about her.
Yet NOWHERE does she demonstrate ANY of these behaviors. Does she misunderstand submarine crew protocol a few times? Sure, but she's a civilian. And that's another gripe I have. Buff writes the interactions of multiple characters with Ilse where they go off on her and give her orders as if she is a member of the armed forces, even punishing her as if she were, while it's clear we I NOT.and has absolutely ZERO training, education or experience as a sailor, much less a submariner.
Seriously, its bad enough it almost ruins the book because its so jarring and out of off field. Then its suddenly resolved and not a problem anymore, just as suddenly, as if everyone was happy with the bullying and cruelty toward her, and she "learned her lesson" for not being a trained submariner and a refugee and how dare she be afraid to be captured, tortured, raped and murdered, that's just thinking the whole war is about her.
I really want to give the book a better rating, because the rest of it is worth 5 stars, but that subplot is so bad, so incongruous, and just so plain mean spirited and cruel that it demands stars be stripped away.
Mr. Buff, you really CAN do better. Frankly, you should release a new and updated edition with all the "the senior staff bullies Ilse" BS removed entrely. Still a great book, but those parts actually get to read they are so out of character.
June 6, 2017
I'm not certain why I stuck with this book till the end! Perhaps because I wanted to get my money's worth? It was mildly entertaining, but I thought the plot was very tedious. Only an actual submariner would enjoy this level of excruciating detail. On the other hand, despite many pages of painful detail, the author seems to skip sections of the plot that I wanted to know about.
The most annoying thing about this book, however, was the atrocious proofreading. The impression I got was that someone either relied haphazardly on autocorrect or on fine-and-replace in a word-processing program. Names like "Ilse" and "Ed" seemed to appear in places that required a common noun or adverb. Also, there appeared to be mixed fonts in the middle of words and numbers. I read this as an e-book, and so perhaps that accounts for these problems, but the cover page lists this as a Bantam publication. If so, they didn't waste any money on proofreading!
The most annoying thing about this book, however, was the atrocious proofreading. The impression I got was that someone either relied haphazardly on autocorrect or on fine-and-replace in a word-processing program. Names like "Ilse" and "Ed" seemed to appear in places that required a common noun or adverb. Also, there appeared to be mixed fonts in the middle of words and numbers. I read this as an e-book, and so perhaps that accounts for these problems, but the cover page lists this as a Bantam publication. If so, they didn't waste any money on proofreading!
February 11, 2021
This is not a bad novel but the author tried to do more with the story and characters than he should have. Eventually the reader is likely to succumb to technical information overload and acquire a headache. Sometimes less is more.
May 6, 2025
Exciting Wartime Tale
Exciting Wartime tale told with technical know how and submarine accuracy! Very enjoyable reading experience from beginning to end. Looking forward to the next installment of Commander Fuller's Command!
Exciting Wartime tale told with technical know how and submarine accuracy! Very enjoyable reading experience from beginning to end. Looking forward to the next installment of Commander Fuller's Command!
September 17, 2019
I had to put this down. This just wasn't for me.
January 7, 2020
Great great story!!
This has to be the best submarine story I’ve read, and I have read many!! The battles are intense, placing you in the middle of them!!
This has to be the best submarine story I’ve read, and I have read many!! The battles are intense, placing you in the middle of them!!
December 20, 2009
Author Joe Buff's fiction-based-on-fact nuclear submarine thriller is the first of his several such themed books.
Buff and Hollywood are at work on the movie. Best to read the book before the film is completed.
Buff and Hollywood are at work on the movie. Best to read the book before the film is completed.
September 27, 2016
Jeffrey Fuller is commander of the submarine Challenger. They are sent on a top secret mission to infiltrate an Axis base and steal enemy intelligence. But he is forced to confront and old nemesis in an enemy submarine.
January 14, 2023
Sometimes, when I need to detach a bit, a good submarine story is the perfect prescription. I loved the action, just the right amount of detail, and some very interesting plot twists. Would make a great movie!
August 9, 2008
Great submarine book with an engaging plot. Really though, I read it for the realistic depictions of underwater technology and submarine warfare.
February 1, 2010
Once again buff has an amazing story to tell......the world that is created is vivid with descriptions and great characters. Can't wait to read the next one and see what happens next in the story.
May 10, 2013
Nerve wracking nail biting submarine warfare in the near future - very well done.
June 20, 2016
well written but the action scenes were way over the top....as a retired surface warfare officer and ASW officer some of the action made my head spin.
May 2, 2015
Good read.
A good read sure to keep your attention. Fast paced and with a great deal of realism some characters tend to stretch beyond belief though.
A good read sure to keep your attention. Fast paced and with a great deal of realism some characters tend to stretch beyond belief though.
October 16, 2016
I did not enjoy this book. Very boring and confusing. But that might be because I know nothing about submarines. I didn't know Jeffrey and Fuller were the same person until the second last page
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews