Phoenix Sub Zero: A Novel [Hardcover]

Michael DiMercurio (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 1994

Thrilling action ensues when General Mohammed al-Sihoud, the leader of the United Islamic Front, escapes by submarine from a United Nations force and Captain Michael Pacino, commander of the submarine USS Seawolf, is sent to find the ruthless general.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the near-future imagined in this brisk, hardware-packed techno-thriller, the United Islamic Front of God, comprised of 30 Islamic nations, is losing its world war with the Western Coalition, comprised of European countries and the U.S. To turn the tide, the Front resorts to its ultimate weapon: a plutonium bomb to be launched at Washington, D.C., from the Hegira , a Japanese-designed sub seemingly superior to any other under the high seas. As the Hegira breaks into the Atlantic in order to close in on its target, one American sub is sunk and another is crippled, leaving the fate of the West in the hands of Mike Pacino, captain of the American sub Seawolf , and the badly damaged USS Phoenix , whose commander, David "Sugar" Kane, refuses to abandon the hunt. Former submariner DiMercurio ( Attack of the Seawolf ) conveys without melodrama the horror of undersea warfare, with death in a hundred forms always a hand's-breadth away. He is also a master of submarine technology, rivaling Tom Clancy in his ability to make technical details comprehensible to general readers. Here, in true techno-thriller fashion, the computers, torpedoes and propulsion systems carry the exciting story from first pages to last, where Seawolf and Hegira engage to decide the future of the world.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Capt. Mike Pacino is back in command of the submarine U.S.S. Seawolf. General Sihoud, leader of the United Islamic Front of God, has overrun Chad and Ethiopia on his way to invading India. The United Nations, led by the United States, has determined that the only way to stop Sihoud is to assassinate him. The missile attack on Sihoud's headquarters fails, and Sihoud escapes aboard a Japanese-built sub. He then procedes to launch special nuclear weapons on Washington, D.C. Armed with superior torpedoes, Sihoud's sub sinks two of the best U.S. subs on its way to its launch site. Armed with defective but devastating Vortex torpedoes, Seawolf is dispatched to save the day. Though the writing is sketchy in spots, DiMercurio's work offers readers an action-packed drama that seafaring buffs and general readers alike will enjoy. Public librarians will want to raise their purchasing periscopes and target this one.
Grant A. Fredericksen, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., Metamora
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; No Edition Stated edition (August 30, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556113927
• ISBN-13: 978-1556113925
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,422,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, but requires excessive suspension of disbelief, September 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Phoenix Sub Zero (Paperback)

As a formal Naval officer, I did enjoy reading this book (and his others), but there are some technical inaccuracies and editing problems that were irritating to someone who knows something about the underwater world. I'm always willing to suspend disbelief for a book, but the author needs to make his situations and/or inventions plausible in the context of the fictional universe. From my point of view, DiMercurio fails in this aspect. I won't give it away, but there is a scene in this book where the conditions would kill the participants in a minimum of three separate ways.

On the hardcover book, his bookjacket biography is self-aggrandizing at a minimum. He went to US Army jump school as a Naval Academy midshipmen .. the bio says he served as a paratrooper. He attended US Navy scuba school, which is a fairly short training program, and the bio states he was a USN Diving officer (which is actually a very different program, one that requires a minumum of three months of training. I know. I went through it.)

Still, the books are worth reading, esp. if you get them from a library. Just don't expect great literature.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ex-submarine warfare instructor, April 6, 2000

By 

Submarine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phoenix Sub Zero (Paperback)

This is a very strong 4/5 stars, if you keep in mind that Mr. DiMercurio is consciously moving from submarine fact into science fiction as his naval service time drifts into the past. This story had aptly motivated characters on both sides, high stakes, believable imagination, twists balanced by plausibility, and fluid writing. However, the ending dragged a bit, keeping my vote a whit below the 5 star level. I was disappointed with the follow on Barracuda, but I will give Piranha a try just because of this good story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DiMercurio's books just keep getting better and better!, January 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Phoenix Sub Zero (Paperback)

Phoenix Sub Zero is DiMercurio's third novel, and is even more thrilling and engrossing than his previous two. The scope of the plot is much larger, covering much of the globe, from the deserts of Iran all the way to the polar ice cap. The Destiny-class Hegira is a very well thought-out and described in detail, with interesting descriptions of an artificially-intelligent neural network as the sub's computer system. The action scenes, of course, and spectacular, and described in intricate detail. I can't wait to pick up the author's next novel, "Barracuda: Final Bearing"!