Customer Reviews

Voyage of the Devilfish

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'll admit -- when I first saw the book I have no idea who Micheal Dimercurio was. The only thing that drew my attention was my love for military-type thrillers. I fully expected to end up saying, "Yeah.... OK. Nice Book. But Tom Clancy still kicks butt." Well.... after reading the book. I couldn't wait for the next to come out. A serious Tom Clancy rival. If you like military-type thrillers (especially when it involves the Navy), You'll love this book.

Basically, Michael Pacino, the main character, is a hot-shot submarine commander with the Navy in his blood. His father was a sub commander who died "on patrol" in the '70s -- his father's best friend happens to be Pacino's godfather & commanding officer.

When the "whole god-damn Russian Atlantic fleet" goes to sea, Pacino is sent to investigate and "it just so happens" that the Russian sub commander that he goes up against is the same one who is believed to have sunk Pacino's father in the 70s. As you can imagine, this makes Micheal Pacino all the more determined in his task. There are several parts where you will not be able to put the book down -- even for a minute.

There are a few things where it's "a bit of a stretch of the imagination" but very, very few. It's a very good book & I'd recommend it -- along with the rest of Micheal Dimercurio's books to anyone.

When I first read 'The Hunt For Red October' I was hopelessly attracted to Submarine novels. Unfortunately Clancy didn't write any more of them. So I began to search for the heir to the 'sub crown' of moderan naval fiction. I tried 'Kilo Class' and found it was okay, but not what I was looking for. I then found Mark Joseph who has written two exceptional submarine novels ('To Kill The Potemkin' & 'Typhoon') and patiently waited for his 3rd...but it never arrived. Out of pure luck I discovered Michael DiMercurio and picked up 'Voyage of the Devilfish' and THAT is when I discoverd the heir to Clancy's (sub) throne.

I have YET to be disappointed with ANY of the books by this author. You COULD read them all in whatever order you choose because they stand alone, but I recommend you read them in order because he just keeps getting better. The main reason why these books are so realisitic is because of DiMercurio's experience as an honest-to-goodness submariner. With that said, if you enjoyed 'Red October' than you will NOT be disappointed with this guy. His descriptions are first rate, and in some cases, a few sound a little far-fetched, but when I asked a friend of mine who had served on the USS Bluefish how realistic they were, all he said was, "Maybe, maybe not". He just wouldn't elaborate. Kudos to DiMercurio's debut effort, and his subsequent follow-up's are very much worth reading. If you count yourself a fan of this particular genre (underwater submarine techno-thriller) this guy IS the reigning king in fictional print today. No joke. DiMercurio is the real deal.

OK, I'll admit, when I first picked up the book I wasn't expecting something exceptional, expecting to have "Sub A Vs. Sub B, US Sub sinks Russian sub, sails victoriously into port, and that's that." This book had a nuclear-tipped battle that went far, far, beyond the average sub thriller (I would love to go into specifics, but then I'd spoil the many unexpected and awesome plot twists :-). The descriptions, being from a former SSN officer, are very vivid and realistic, their level of detail rivaling Tom Clancy himself. I also liked that along with the extensive descriptions of things often down the subatomic (which I enjoyed greatly), there was also a deeply personal story that is not neglected or forgotten in the book. Unlike some novels, you don't feel that you're reading the book as much as it feels as though you're being pulled along by the novel, and you sit back and enjoy the powerful ride! One thing this novel reminded me was of a Dale Brown novel (except underwater!) in that it had a fictional super-weapon based on current and theoretical capabilities, and is used in the most action-packed manner possible. Sure, as was discussed there's the "problems" with the name of the 637-class sub, the Mk-49s and Mk-50s, etc., but as the author has pointed out that was just artistic license so I didn't have any problem with that. The best sub thriller I've seen in a long, long time. I've been hooked on DiMercurio novels! READ "VOYAGE OF THE DEVIFILSH"!!!

This book does so many things right, itis hard to know where to begin.

The story centers on an agreement between America and Russia to dismantle Russia's remaining land attack cruise missiles which can be launched from AKULA II class fast attack subs. But not everyone is onboard, including one Admiral Alexi Novskoyy who plots to preemptively strike. He sets sail aboard the Kaliningrad (best described as an underwater battleship), and orders 80 AKULA II subs to take up station along the eastern seaboard.

Commander Mike Pacino stand between the Kaliningrad and nuclear war. In a desperate race to battle beneath the arctic icecap where Pacino's sub is out gunned and out matched. But there is a personal side to this as well. Novskoyy is the man who killed Pacinoo's father 20 years earlier, and the tenseion regarding Pacino's true motives continues through out the book.

This is a great great read.

I first learned about DiMercurio after reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Submarines which is a very good treatise of the subject. The author surely knows a lot about nuclear submarines and has a fine grasp of technical details. The story is built upon a rather unrealistic scenario where Soviet Admiral Alexei Novskoyy plans to blakmail both superpowers to disarm from their nuclear ballistic missiles, but in order to achieve this he sends 80 Soviet submarines near the US East Coast, while himself remains onboard the last marvel of nuclear submersible colossus, the "Kaliningrad" of 60.000 tons, whisch sails under the protection of the polar ice cap. The problem is that Novskoyy has destroyed an American submarine some years ago, and so the son of the fallen US captain, Commander Michael Pacino who is now CO of the nuclear attack submarine "Devilfish" is on the way to intercept "Kaliningrad" and take her SPL (Sound Pressure Level) map. The second main defect of the book is that Pacino finds "Kaliningrad" rather easily and bumps her in order to provoke Novskoyy to fire first. The battle which ensues is an interesting one, mainly because the Soviets use a 100 cm nuclear tipped torpedo of 60 knots speed. The method of avoiding this super-weapon and return fire is excellently described as well as the cataclysmic results of an underwater nuclear explosion (better than Patrick Robinson did in his fine book "Nimitz Class"). The strong point of the author is his knowledge of nuclear reactor workings and not tactics, and he goes in multi-page details analyzing the procedures of reactor re-activation and damage control. Probably DiMercurio likes to keep the rare tactical tips as a reserve for use in future novels. The finale is surprisingly realistic and the book wins many points because of this, but the particular climax dereved a better seek-and-hide game before the torpedo firing. I have already purchased two more books of DiMercurio and I'm eager to find out his next stories.

For once, thank you very much to the Amazon.com recommendations for if it weren't for that I might never have heard of this incredible author and his work. "Voyage of the Devilfish," as stated above, is a high speed, low drag submarine thriller that will have you voraciously turning the pages, hungry for more! This being his first novel, I found his writing to be quite thorough but sticking to the plot without going into too much detail, well paced and quite fluid. Being a former submariner himself, you could discern the authenticity of his knowledge of that world that so few "actually" know about.

Of all of the writers in this particular genre of fiction, I found Michael DiMercurio's style to be among the best and am quite happy to have discovered his novels. So few authors in this genre can actually say that "they've been there and done that" which, paired with his superb writing style makes for an excellent read! It is interesting to see that the author decided to use the Sturgeon class American submarine but for the purposes of the novel he renamed it the Piranha class. There's that and his obvious disdain for the earliest Los Angeles class submarines which weren't nearly as capable of the many roles it is today or of those of the Sturgeon class submarine.

The premise:

Prologue -

Several years prior to the main events of this outstanding novel, the USS Stingray, captained by Commander "Patch" Pacino is under the polar icecap trailing a brand new Soviet submarine, NATO codenamed the Akula class. This Soviet Akula class submarine, the Leningrad is captained by Captain 1st Rank Alexi Novskoyy. Captain Novskoyy has decided that he is going to avenge the loss of the Kiev which collided with an American submarine four months earlier and it went to the bottom with all hands lost and he orders a warshot torpedo on the USS Stingray. The Stingray and its commanding officer, "Patch" Pacino is sunk! Back at the Naval Academy, Pacino's son Michael is attending his first year as a plebe and has no idea what has happened to his father.

Over two decades later -

Commander Michael Pacino is now in command of the USS Devilfish, still dealing with the demons from the mysterious loss of his father and his ship and struggling to maintain his marriage while at the same time commanding a nuclear attack submarine. At the same time, Captain Novskoyy is now Admiral Novskoyy, Supreme Commander, Russian Republic Northern Fleet. He's been working for several years on the design and construction of a super submarine known as the Kaliningrad and it is prepared to take its maiden voyage. A treaty between the Russians and the United States in which all submarine launched nuclear weapons are to be destroyed has been carried out. He doesn't believe the Americans are going to do this so he puts into place a plan that he believes will force them to do so...

Before you know it, the Kaliningrad is heading for the polar icecap, the USS Devilfish is headed for the Kaliningrad while at the same time, some eighty different Russian submarines are headed for the eastern coast of the United States, rushing to achieve cruise missile launching points.

What follows from there is one of the most captivating, intriguing and compelling underwater and political thrillers that I've ever read! I highly recommend this novel to any and all fans of this genre! {ssintrepid}

Another good book by a submarine-adventure author I enjoy. Amazon provides a good way to find early books by authors one enjoys. Books are consistently in the condition advertised and are shipped promptly.

I've read all the books by this autor (and awaiting his newest) and love the type of action he weaves. At times the lead character tends to be a little abused, but that can be overlooked. DiMercurio rivals Clancy...worth the read!

Dimercurio rivals Tom Clancy. I highly recommend this boo

This action-packed and adrenaline-charged submarine action thriller is so first-rate it is more than enough to leave the Red October sitting in dry dock! Step back Tom Clancy. DiMercurio takes us on a thrilling present-day scenario where a renegade Russian admiral takes command of the OMEGA-class high-tech attack sub the KALININGRAD. As a sudden attack on the US is planned, it seems that only the US Navy's finest, the silent service can avert an apocalypse! Enter our ongoing heroes Admiral Dick Donchez and Captain Michael Pacino, and the USS DEVILFISH as the two subs outrun and outwit one another beneath the polar icecap. The sub scenes are some of the best I have ever read, and even if you've never served in the submarine service, you still feel you're right there in the thick of the action. Definitely not to be missed.