Down to a Sunless Sea: A Tiller Galloway Underwater Thriller [Mass Market Paperback]

David Poyer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Down to a Sunless Sea | Publication Date: January 15, 1998

Depth: 105...Wriggling like an eel, he forced himself up into the narrow gap he'd created...Rocks scraped and clattered away. A hint of doubt-- Should I be doing this?-- was answered by the calm comfort that pervaded his mind now. Nothing was going to happen...Everything was going to be all right...

Welcome to the most dangerous sport on Earth: where cave divers step into murky Florida ponds and end up hundreds of feet beneath the ground, slinking through Swiss-cheese-like rock formations, past strange underground creatures, heading down tunnels that may open into caverns, or lead nowhere at all.

Open-water diver and ex-Navy SEAL Tiller Galloway has come to this watery underworld to find out why an old friend died young-- and take one last shot at being a father, a lover, and a friend. But with a woman who is opening up her heart, and a conspiracy closing in around him, Galloway must navigate between lies told aboveground and truths hidden in the depths-- where a violent battle is about to explode...

Combining the knife-edged action of Clive Cussler with the heartstopping storytelling power of John D. MacDonald, David Poyer stakes his claim as one of America's most remarkable thriller writers-- and a master of underwater suspense.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Capturing the thrills and dangers of undersea cave diving, Poyer's fourth Tiller Galloway tale (Louisiana Blue, etc.) stands as one of his best novels yet. The story opens with Galloway running a down-and-out marine salvage operation in Cape Hatteras. His run of past bad luck looks to end when he's contacted by Monica Kusczk, widow of an old friend who has just died in a cave-diving accident. At her request, Galloway travels to Florida with his rebellious teenage son, Tad, in tow, intent on helping Monica sell Bud's diving business. While Galloway is learning the ropes as a cave diver, however, he discovers some unaccounted-for profits that lead him to question the wisdom of the sale. Soon he's approached about an old debt by a drug smuggler who was using Bud as a money launderer. A visit to the cave where Bud died reveals a plot to buy from the Kusczks a huge underwater aquifer that would produce significant profits for the purchaser, a conservancy that hopes to sell water to area businesses. Threatened by the drug smugglers and suspicious of the conservancy, Galloway appeals to a federal drug agent for help; but the agent, in turn, pressures Galloway to lead a climactic raid on the smugglers' stronghold. The cat-and-mouse games between Galloway and his various adversaries bristle with suspense, and Poyer adds some nice touches through Tad's surprising role in the drama and Galloway's affair with Monica. What makes this novel particularly memorable, however, are the extensive, harrowing descriptions of the cave dives, which are riveting enough to terrify experienced divers and hydrophobes alike.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Poyer (Louisiana Blue, LJ 4/15/94) delivers taut suspense in this addition to his series featuring ex-Navy SEAL (and ex-con) Tiller Galloway. Tiller's troubles are unending. He's broke, his boat is destroyed, his partnership is dissolving, and the teenaged son he hasn't seen in years unexpectedly arrives in a stolen car. So when the wife of an old friend, Bud, calls with news of her husband's death and requests Tiller's help selling his cave-diving business, Tiller heads south with son in tow. Once in the murky darkness of Florida's submerged tunnels, Tiller soon discovers the dangers and thrills of cave diving, along with evidence that Bud's drowning was no accident but part of a conspiracy involving drugs and water rights. Poyer's descriptive powers bring the terror and beauty of the underwater caves to vivid life, while his narrative holds readers enthralled. Fans of Clive Cussler will love this thriller. An essential purchase.?Lori Dunn, Montgomery Cty. P.L., Troy, N.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (January 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312964072
• ISBN-13: 978-0312964078
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,726,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Feeling a Little Out of Breath, January 15, 2000

By 

Jason Birkby - See all my reviews

This review is from: Down to a Sunless Sea: A Tiller Galloway Underwater Thriller (Mass Market Paperback)

This being my first David Poyer novel, I truly did not know what the expect. I picked this book up because I am a fan of Benchley and Alten who both write thrillers about the deep. The first thing I found refreshing was that Poyer did not go to deep in past Tiller Galloway stories. You can pick this book up and not feel that you are missing anything.

The wonderful thing about this book about cave divers, is Poyer's ability to make you feel "closed in" almost out of breath, during the cave diving scenes. I enjoyed most of the characters including Galloway's son, and group of friends.

The ending is somewhat dissapointing. It is exciting, but it gets a little too far fetched at times. I do recommend this book, despite the ending and it's shortcomings.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Life after Dirk Pitt., January 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Down to a Sunless Sea: A Tiller Galloway Underwater Thriller (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my fourth book by Poyer. I had been looking for another author after finishing everything from Clive Cussler. Although Tiller Galloway is no Dirk Pitt (from Cussler's books),I still find his character exciting.

I'm not a diver so I only assume that at least some of the details are accurate. Nevertheless, Poyer keeps you spellbound with his description of the various dive equipment and situations encountered while under water.

I used to think that being a professional diver was glamourous but after reading Poyer's accounts of the physical hardships encountered when working undersea I've gained a new appreciation for the individuals who dive for a living.

In summary, Poyer's books with the Tiller Galloway character are quite interesting.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Concidering cave diving? Read this book, April 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Down to a Sunless Sea: A Tiller Galloway Underwater Thriller (Mass Market Paperback)

As a Florida cave diver myself, I can tell you this book is much more technically accurate than I ever expected (even though I bought it in a dive shop near Peacock Springs). If you ever considered cave diving this book may change your mind, at the very least it will make you reevaluate your decision. The diving sequences are taunt and frightening in thier realism. Even if you aren't a diver, this book is a very interesting look into a very dangerous and little understood sport. Aside from its technical accuracy the book is an entertaining adventure story made more interesting by it's flawed protagonist. If you like Clive Cussler you will probably enjoy this book.