Crush Depth (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "OUTSIDE THE WINDOW, in the post-midnight pitch-blackness, the freezing wind howled and moaned..." (more)
Key Phrases: sonar speakers, antitorpedo rockets, atomic torpedoes, Van Gelder, Chatham Island, Prima Latina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An unsettling mix of underwater suspense, love story and near-future sci-fi, Buff's latest represents a well-intentioned if plodding effort to update the genre of submarine thriller. Set in 2012, the novel takes as its premise a South Africa and Germany (the Axis) at war with the rest of the world (the Allies). Both sides use nuclear submarines as their primary weapons. After September 11, Buff's geopolitical vision seems unlikely at best. Even less convincing is the romance between South African turncoat Ilse Reebeck, now working for the Allies, and Jeffrey Fuller, U.S. nuclear submarine captain. Although Buff writes in clear and competent prose, the relationship between the two lovers remains lifeless. More interesting are the undersea conflicts between the Allied submarine Challenger and the Axis Voortrekker, commanded by Captain Jan ter Horst and first officer Gunther Van Gelder. Although marred by ter Horst's stiff lectures, the submarine battle scenes are stirring, especially when the Voortrekker attempts to sneak into Allied waters. Buff does a good job of switching between Allied and Axis positions and handling the rising tension as the two sides clash, though a few scenes of graphic violence seem more appropriate to a horror novel. The tongue-in-cheek nod to Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea-an encounter between a giant squid and a sperm whale-provides the only lighthearted moment in this otherwise deadly serious novel. Buff, a Life Member of the Naval Submarine League, clearly knows his stuff, but this entry lacks the impact of other recent submarine thrillers.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In 2012, the Axis and the Allies are again dueling at sea, but the Axis this time consists of a South Africa under apartheid again and a resurgent imperial Germany. Limited nuclear war has taken place, but key to the outcome is command of the sea. That is disputed primarily between two supersubmarines, the South African Voortrekker and the American Challenger, both ceramic-hulled arsenals of superweapons that can dive three miles deep. Commanding the Voortrekker is megalomaniacal Ter Horst, while his American counterpart is Jeffrey Fuller, whose lover, oceanographer and South African resistance fighter Ilse Reebek, was once Ter Horst's woman! The duel between submarines and captains should keep readers flipping pages, especially if they love undersea action. But the tension created by periodic approaches to the strategic nuclear brink, Buff's frequently successful attempts at making Fuller a fully developed character, and the portrait of the suffering and stress in a U.S. facing a long-duration hot war all raise the yarn rather far above the standard literary tub of military hardware. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060009640
• ISBN-13: 978-0060009649
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #879,833 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crush Depth a Winner, December 22, 2002

By	trumbull rogers (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews

When I read Joe Buff's "Deep Sound Channel," his debut as writer, I was so impressed by the performance, that I became an instant fan. His reasearch is awsome--where does he find time to write the books?--and his renderings of the complex technology, strategy, and the geopolitcal engine that runs it all, are clear and accessible. In "Crush Depth," the most recent adventure in the series, Buff has found the proper balance of story vs. technological jargon, not a mean feat. The characters, while each real is his/her own right (even the boats Challenger and Voortrekker have their own personalities, as ships do in real life), continue to develop, as do many of the relationships, most notably those between Jeffrey Fuller and Ilse Reebeck, and between Jeffrey and his parents, while his relationship with his former captain, Commodore Wilson, becomes an example against which Jeffrey can hone his own command style. The action scenes are exciting and keep you guessing as to their outcome, and the cat-and-mouse hunt scenes, where one submarine stalks the other consistly raise the question of which is really stalking which. The tension mounts as the book progresses, and although I rooted for the destruction of the enemy submarine, I found myself a reluctant admirer of ter Horst and especially Van Gelder, and hoping they would survive to challenge Fuller in future books--who else does the "evil axis" have to fill this role? The ending will grip and astound you. The books just keep getting better as they come along. Buff has created a real world populated by real people about whom we care and scenarios that seems to have evolved from where we are in the world today. I look forward to seeing what happens with Jeffrey and Challenger, Jeffrey and his parents, and most of all, Jeffrey and Ilse in the next installment. Keep 'em coming, Joe!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Action beneath the Pacific, December 22, 2002

By	Douglas De Bono - Author of No Safe Harbor (Minnetonka, mn United States) - See all my reviews

This is a book about the next generation attack boat - ceramic hulls, modern weapon systems, defensive countermeasures. The scene is 2012 or so. The problem is a new war between the Axis powers of Germany and South Africa, the not so friendly Chinese and Russians (neutrals on the side of the bad guys) and the allies (America and Britain). Improbable, perhaps, but no one thought the WTC would be reduced to rubble either.

While Michael DiMercurio is king of the submarine thriller genre, Joe Buff is a worthy member.

This comes down to a duel between the Axis super submarine called the Voortrekker and the American submarine Challenger. These two crews have met once before and fought to a draw. Now the geopolitical stakes continue to rise and one of these boats needs to go down for the last time.

The Voortrekker scores a series of successes as it marches across the Indian Coean, through the SOSUS line leading into the Pacific and onto the final confrontation under the Ross Ice Shelf.

Crush Depth is fast paced, well written and interesting. There is a glossary at the back of the book that covers many of the technical terms.

A good read. Pick it up.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Dark "What-If" Thriller that Chills and Engrosses, October 28, 2002

By	JC "JC" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

Crush Depth is the third segment of Buff's submarine saga that pits Jeffery Fuller and the Challenger against the German submarine Voortrekker. America is at war with the Germany-South Africa axis and the fighting has escalated to a point at which tactical nuclear weapons are used at sea. America is being attacted on its own shores and must retain control of the sea to keep from being overrun. Buff has created a plausible scenerio of war that is sure to interest readers and makes his book difficult to put down.

Buff's novels bring an added depth that many other war novels lack. His book are character driven as opposed to simply being of the shoot-em-up type. He also takes the reader on board a nuclear submarine in such a way that it is easy to imagine yourself as one of the crew. The book is thrilling at times and poignent at others. It is a quality read and should not be overlooked by anyone with an interest in war or submarines.

Also recommended: Deep Sound Channel and Thunder in the Deep by Joe Buff.