Deep Sound Channel (Hardcover)

by Joe Buff (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Exciting battle scenes, fascinating naval maneuvers and accessible technical data are offset by clich?d villains and tenuous narrative logic in this debut submarine warfare thriller set in the year 2011. World War III has begun, and Germany and South Africa, armed with nuclear weapons from a "neutral" Russia, are allied against the U.S. and Britain. The brunt of the war is borne by naval forces in deadly nuclear combat. Lt. Comdr. Jeffrey Fuller finds his state-of-the-art submarine, the U.S.S. Challenger, pulled from battle duty to run a covert team of Navy SEALs into Durban, South Africa. The mission: to destroy the secret lab where an ultra-lethal biological weapon is being perfected. Ilse Reebeck, a Durban marine biologist who worked at the lab until her family was executed in a Boer coup, is along as sonar consultant, and it is she who will lead the raid. But first Challenger must navigate a heavily mined port and evade enemy tracking devices and nuclear torpedo attacks launched by its South African counterpart under the command of Capt. Jan ter Horst. The fearless ter Horst, who is Ilse Reebeck's former lover, is the epitome of arrogant evil; their relationship adds a personal edge to the struggle. Buff scripts suspenseful submarine action and invents clever futuristic naval tricks as Challenger and its crew play dueling subs with ter Horst's vessel and improvise on the Durban raid. The inevitable romance is well handled, but the villains are straight from central casting, as are many of the good guys. A satisfying, cliff-hanging ending suggests a sequel. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
It is 2011, and the world is at war. Fascist coups in Germany and South Africa have created an unholy axis that is fighting the United States and her allies. Tactical nukes are used by both sides with great loss of life. This is a great premise, and Buff knows weapons and warfare. However, his descriptions are overly technical, his characters one-dimensional, and the nontechnical dialog trite. Nor is the overall premise plausible. For instance, it is unlikely that Germany, a traditional land power, would be willing and able to fight and sustain a major land war in southern Africa. Confronting defeat, the Axis plans biological warfare measures that Lt. Commander Jeff Fuller and the obligatory gorgeous blonde scientist set out to forestall. Their success is almost too easy, and the subsequent submarine chase is confusing. The ending implies a sequel; one hopes it is torpedoed. For larger collections.
-Robert Convoy, Warren, MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (July 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553801333
• ISBN-13: 978-0553801330
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #422,575 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced and exciting, an amazing first novel, August 5, 2000

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

This book, which is the author's first, offers both a vividly realistic look at how war might be fought at sea in the not-too-distant future, plus a tightly edited, fast-paced, exciting story that's often brutally violent, always action-packed and always full of suspense. The often highly technical prose displays a dazzling level of knowledge of submarines on the part of the author which actually makes the reader feel as though he is ON the submarine, but at the same time does not make the basic story line too hard to follow, which can be a risk with this kind of writing. Plus, Joe Buff provides a glossary which is extremely helpful. I now know a lot more about nuclear subs and about tactical nuclear war than I used to. Though I rarely read fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can hardly wait for Joe Buff's next one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep Sound Channel, Relentlessly Exciting, May 11, 2001

By	J. L. Braunling (Santa Clarita, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's difficult to believe this is Joe Buff's first novel. Written with the maturity you'd expect from a much more seasoned author, Deep Sound Channel quickly grabs you and shows you one possible future on a US Navy nuclear submarine. In a near-future limited nuclear conflict between major powers, the author masterfully depicts the turmoil, pain, and dedication of submariners in a high stakes conflict between good and evil. His apparent knowledge of submarines lends believability to the ultra-complicated, and demanding world in which these remarkable people live and die to preserve a way of life. With enough action to hold the reader's interrest throughout, the author develops his characters to the point where the reader shares emotional highs and lows with them. A thoroughly satisfying novel that will engross action buffs looking for a good read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review of "Deep Sound Channel", September 1, 2000

By A Customer

As Tom Clancy, the great submarine novelist of the past decade, moves away from submarine epics into psychosocial melodramas involving matters of high state, a new novelist in his tradition has appeared and, like Clancy, done so with his first release. In "Deep Sound Channel" by Joe Buff, the author weaves an intricate yarn of undersea warfare, set in the not so distant future, that involves adversaries that will surprise the reader and not be apparent till later in the novel. Unlike the various other futuristic writers, the advanced technology described by this author exists already on the drawing boards. In terms of future weapons, sensors and tactics the book reads like a primer for the U.S. Navy Submarine Force in the 21st century. The author's greatest asset, though, represents his extensive knowledge of nuclear physics and acoustic propagation combined with detailed descriptions of how a nuclear submarine actually operates from the submariner's perspective. A remarkable achievement given the difficulty of the subject matter. I eagerly look forward to Joe Buff's next submarine novel.

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