H.M.S. UNSEEN [Hardcover]

Patrick Robinson (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Harper Collins 1999, First Edition (2000)
• ASIN: B001AB0X7S
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,026,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patrick Robinson is the co-author of the recent New York Times bestseller, "A Colossal Failure of Common Sense - the inside story of the collapse of Lehman Brothers."

Before that, he co-authored Lone Survivor for Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell which was #1 on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list for eight months in 2007.

Patrick is also the author of eleven international bestselling suspense thrillers, including To the Death, Nimitz Class, Hunter Killer, and Diamondhead, the first book in his brand new series.

He lives in Ireland and spends his summers in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good beginning, terrible end..., June 10, 1999

By 

Jean-Marc Bonard ([e-mail]) (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: H.M.S. Unseen (Hardcover)

I loved Robinson's two previous books, and liked that one... until page 200. Then the story grinds to a halt and proceeds at snail's pace to a very disappointing end. I read the second half of the book by skipping 9 pages out of 10 and didn't miss anything important. There are already too many bestselling authors (Cornwell, Clancy, Follet to cite a few) that are currently writing books way below the standards of their beginnings... I just hope that Robinson didn't join the lot. I guess I also just got sick of buckshot in Admiral Morgan's coffee and of his racist habit of calling muslims "towelheads"... also Robinson seems to have a love for series (sinking 11 Kilos in the previous opus and shooting three airliners in this one) that doesn't help with the predictability of his plots. A good editor could have (should have) taken care of that.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ending Weak, December 21, 1999

By 

John P. Rooney "John" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HMS Unseen (Audio Cassette)

This is for the recording. The action in Patrick Robinson's "H.M.S. Unseen" moves at quite a pace. Robinson introduces techncial issues rapidly and efficiently to show how a submarine could shoot down airliners (including one with the Vice President of the United States). The motivation of Commnader Benjamin Adnam is understandable, but the author does not make a good case for Adnam's conversion into a distressed penitent ...attempting to make admends for all his crimes against humanity. The characterization of the American Admirals suffers in the recorded version. I listened to David McCallum (of "Man From Uncle" fame) on my daily drive. McCallum failed to convert his educated British accent into a reasonable facsimile of an American twang. Further, the author puts too many "F---this" and "holy sh--" and "Jesus H. Christ" into the admiral's dialogue. I found it offensive. American admirals have long since passed the stage of bumbling colonials, unable to make a coherent statement under stressful situations ---- especially admirals who are supposed to be giving daily briefings to the U.S. President. (By the way,"stewardess" is out and "flight attendant" is correct.) Finally, the ending is weak. It is difficult, based upon the characterization of Muslim Commander Adnam, to believe that he would end it all that way.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This dude grew on me..., March 20, 2000

By 

R. L. MILLER (FT LAUDERDALE FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: H.M.S. Unseen (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is the third in what I hope will be a long series. But you know, when I bought "Nimitz Class" because the concept almost intrigued me, after the first read, it almost wound up getting contributed to my church's book sale table. Speaking as a Tom Clancy fan, Robinson was an acquired taste. To compare him to Clancy is a mistake--Robinson concentrates heavily on ships, where Clancy only did one book which spent that much time on the water: "Red October". If you picture somebody who falls between him and Clive Cussler, you've got Patrick Robinson. Where he's like Clancy is that his characters are plain ole life-size, not Homeric like Cussler's Dirk Pitt. The only problem I see is that his American characters aren't always that convincing. In "Kilo Class", he had a Yank using a Brit vulgarism my countrymen would never do unless we were doing a Michael Caine impression. But don't let that stop you from buying this book--in the same way the Colonel does chicken well, Robinson does Navy well.