Kilo Class [Paperback]

Patrick Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 1999

Silent and undetectable, the Russian-built Kilo-Class submarine is the only true enemy of the American Carrier Battle Groups - and it is up for sale. Having ordered ten from Russia, who are in dire need of foreign currency, China primes its first three, ready to take control of the Taiwan Strait. Desperate to safeguard its ally on China's doorstep and stop the arrival of the Kilo-Class subs, America launches itself into a secret war, led by the President's National Security Advisor, Admiral Arnold Morgan. As the battle over peace, power and money is played out in the icy depths of the world's oceans and the hinterland of Russia's rivers and lakes, it becomes clear that there can only be one victor.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Those pesky Chinese are at it again. In the gripping techno-thriller sequel to Robinson's Nimitz Class (1997), the genre's new most favored villains have bought a number of highly capable, stealthy "kilo class" submarines from Russia to use as a threat against Taiwan. Navy Commander Cale "Boomer" Dunning, skipper of the nuclear-powered sub Columbia, is tapped to seek out and destroy the Kilos before the Chinese can take delivery. His assignment involves much derring-do, including a vividly described SEAL mission and a hair-raising transoceanic passage under the polar ice cap. Although Robinson excels in describing action scenes and armaments, careless writing and an abandoned subplot involving a hijacked researched vessel mar his tale. So does the smug assumption that our military knows best when to attack ships of another nation. Nevertheless, this is a sure hit for fans of military and adventure fiction. (May) FYI: Nimitz Class is currently in production with Universal Studios.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Robinson's latest meticulously researched novel is a sequel to his best-selling Nimitz Class. In his new high-tech thriller, the good guys, once again, are the gallant men of the U.S. Navy--specifically, the submarine service. The plot concerns 10 formidable Soviet-built Kilo Class patrol submarines, which can run submerged at speeds up to 17 knots without being detected, travel 6,000 miles before refueling, and fire nuclear-tipped torpedoes. An insolvent Russian military has agreed to sell them to China. With the subs, China could control the Taiwan Strait, blocking Western trade routes. The Chinese could then attack and conquer Taiwan. The U.S. Navy must stop delivery of the subs without starting World War III. Robinson again uses a large cast of characters in a global setting. They growl, snarl, and bark, and sonofabitch is their favorite expression. Again, too, readers can probably guess the outcome right from the start, but for fans of the genre, Robinson delivers a wild ride all the way. George Cohen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Arrow; First Edition edition (January 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 009926904X
• ISBN-13: 978-0099269045
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.4 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,696,507 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

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ex-Submarine Warfare Instructor/Trident sub officer, April 5, 2000

By 

Submarine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kilo Class (Mass Market Paperback)

Very disappointing. I had to force myself to finish it. First, just skip the first 300 pages that should have been 25-50 pages. As an example of his abuse of words, it took Mr. Robinson 3 pages to explain the inevitable fact that 2 guys in a motorboat eventually discovered dead bodies in a tight, shallow river. Second, within the final 300 pages, every pivotal technical aspect that supported the plot was wrong. This was excusable in Nimitz Class because the plot still held (some) water despite Mr. Robinson's technical mistakes.

However, the crucial plot drivers, even as referenced through unclassified sources, are inaccurate in Kilo Class. Without giving the answers that ruin the imaginative but weak plot, I will instead ask the questions that undo the plot's foundation (beyond p300) for the benefit of future readers.

What happens if a submarine shoots a Russian Typhoon submarine with a torpedo? World War III because of a nuclear holocaust released by the detonation like Mr. Robinson harps upon or the underwater dispersion of fissile material in a trivial amount, especially compared to that released during Chernobyl? Next, what is the frantic hurry to risk an American submarine in order to sink a Kilo class submarine today so that you don't have to risk an American submarine to sink it later? Agreed, Mr. Robinson makes a good argument for sinking Kilos in transit when they are unguarded or otherwise helpless, but when it comes down to sinking one when alerted and escorted, one could argue that it may be just as easy for America to let China get the damn thing, study its patrol patterns, and then take it out under better circumstances. Finally, stopping with a last question for the sake of argument length, how long has wire guidance in a torpedo given a submarine commander the option to select targets with acoustic data from the torpedo? At least since the Falkland/Malvinas war, probably since before many readers were born. I suspect that many readers will cast aside Kilo Class before discovering why this, one of many technical faults in the story, invalidates the plot.

Now that I have battered Mr. Robinson's work, let me at least commend his writing skill and effort. He has attempted to underline the global importance of submarine warfare and to portray (at least American) submarine officers as heroes. Additionally, his writing style is rather fluid and his imagination is strong, despite the problems hinted at above.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Kilo Class, December 16, 1999

By 

Hamilton Chang (Hong Kong, China) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kilo Class (Mass Market Paperback)

Granted, this novel is well researched in regards to the techinical aspects of US and Russian Submarines. What makes me upset is the utter lack of depth and knowledge in the characters, particularly the Chinese. The author continually has the Chinese referring to "honor" such as "It would do me no honor to remind you..." etc... To my knowledge, the Chinese do not have as high a concept of honor as the author might think, and it is certainly not used every other sentence in conversation. Such stereotypical association leads me to believe that the author is writing some sort of cheap sci-fi novel with extremely archaic Japanese characters.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good read, but could have had better details and ending, September 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Kilo Class (Mass Market Paperback)

In Kilo Class, Patrick Robinson did some good writing. I enjoyed reading the book during the escapades of Hurricane Floyd and it kept my on the edge on my seat. He did have some technical flaws in the book suck as a Super Cobra being used as a transport helicopter. Also, I'm not one to believe that a Tiawanese naval vessal would kill more than half the people onboard a research base just for showing up at an island. It makes for a good plotline, but it's not quite believeable. Also, the ending could have been MUCH better than leaving off where it did. He ended the story way to quickly and I, plainly put, was not satisfied with the way the book ended compared to how Robinson built up the book. It was, however, a nice book to read and I enjoy his style of writing in this book. I plan to read Nimitz Class soon and hope that it can get up there with this book and have a hopefully better ending. But one last thing. I greatly enjoyed the antics of NSA Admiral Morgan. He was a riot and a good comic relief in the book in my opinion. Poor ol' Charlie...