Thunder in the Deep: A Novel of Undersea Military Action and Adventure (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Deep under the sea, U.S. submarine captain Jeffrey Fuller is still at it, dodging depth charges, launching torpedoes and otherwise foiling a reinvigorated Nazi Germany from taking over the world. Buff's latest breathlessly paced thriller, set in the year 2011, starts out where last year's Deep Sound Channel left off. The world has been overtaken by a Germany-South Africa alliance. France has fallen. Great Britain is starving. It's up to the United States to prevent nuclear destruction and restore order. Fuller, fresh off victorious duty in the South Atlantic, has now taken over command of the Challenger, the most advanced American sub. His mission is to rescue a disabled sub on the ocean floor near the Azores, then proceed to the Baltic, where he is to lead a secret strike force and destroy a German missile laboratory. Never one to fail, Fuller has only one worry. He knows Germany's high-tech supersub, the Deutschland, is lurking out there. And his arch rival, the ruthless Kurt Eberhard, is at the controls, eager to send Fuller and the Challenger to the bottom of the sea. Long-winded at points and weakened by a silly love affair, the second in the Fuller line nonetheless provides satisfying action for battle lovers. Buff's admiration for submarines and their crews comes across from the start. His meticulous attention to the details of life aboard the Challenger and the obstacles it faces help heighten the drama, particularly during the final fight scene in the Norwegian Sea. The jargon flies fast and heavy, but even readers unfamiliar with the terminology will be able to catch its drift after awhile.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

This is the second in Buff's series of technothrillers devoted to a near-future war in which the United States and England are allied against Germany. As in Buff's first novel, Deep Sound Channel (LJ 5/1/00), two highly sophisticated submarinesAmerica's Challenger, again commanded by former Navy SEAL Jeffrey Fuller, and Germany's Deutschlandare the focus of the story. Despite almost nonstop action, however, this novel fails at several levels. The characters are not well developed, and their dialog is stilted. Worse, Thunder and its predecessor include premises that stretch plausibility. The first is that the fossilized Hohenzollerns could somehow regain control of Germany and reinstate both the monarchy and the militaristic Prussian aristocracy. The second is that both sides could explode tactical nukes like popcorn without any real concern about escalation toward mutually assured destruction. The book just doesn't work. For larger collections only.Robert Conroy, Warren, MI
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (July 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553582402
• ISBN-13: 978-0553582406
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #113,457 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First book was amazing; this one is better!, September 27, 2001

By	Roy DeMeo (Bronxville, New York United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Thunder in the Deep: A Novel of Undersea Nuclear War (Hardcover)

I rarely read novels of any kind before Deep Sound Channel, and certainly never a submarine novel, but now that Joe Buff is out there I am thoroughly hooked. This book picks up where the first one left off, and everything about it is even more intense: It's faster paced, with more action, more suspense, and it's more violent, if all that can be believed. There is actually a similarity in the plot, in that in both books, the protagonists have to venture onto dry enemy land to plant a nuke, but it's a lot scarier this time. There's even more character development, and through Jeffrey and Ilse and the rest you really feel emotionally what it's like to be in an all-out war, as much as that's possible by merely reading a book. The depiction of war in its many forms couldn't be more real - it's so vivid it's hard to believe Joe has not spent his whole life on Navy submarines fighting battles. Now that I've read Joe's first 2 books I am especially eager to see what the third one will be like.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The new Tom Clancy, September 1, 2001

By	"mmm091967" (Paxton, florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thunder in the Deep: A Novel of Undersea Nuclear War (Hardcover)

Great Book:) The way that Mr. Buff writes his combat scenes reminds a reader of what Tom Clancy used to be. This is a book that you will want to read again just to see what you missed the first time around. Mr. Buff writes submarine fiction the way it should be written. Can't wait for the next book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a submarine freak, January 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Thunder in the Deep: A Novel of Undersea Nuclear War (Hardcover)

Joe Buff's gripping story telling about submarines is absolutely amazing. This book really makes you think about the future of warfare. Although I liked his first book a lot, I like this book even more because he has developed his characters even better. I really do want to meet Ilse! I wonder who would play this role in a movie? The possibilities for the next book and beyond are endless...