Torpedo: A Surface Warfare Thriller (Hardcover)

by Jeff Edwards (Author)
Key Phrases: sensor operator, sonar operator, general quarters, Jeff Edwards, Firewalker Two-Six, Navy Red (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"…an action-packed five-star thriller, filled with passion and intensity!" -- Toronto Free Press

"…an action-packed five-star thriller, filled with passion and intensity!" --Toronto Free Press --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Description
An accident at a German nuclear plant, an illegal arms deal, and a biological warfare attack on the British Embassy in Washington, DC, combine to ignite an international crisis that threatens to draw Western Europe, the Middle East, and the United States into all-out war. To prevent it, a handful of U.S. Navy destroyers and frigates must track down and destroy a Wolfpack of state-of-the-art submarines. The enemy is a NATO Ally: trained in U.S. naval warfare tactics, skilled in deception, and thoroughly lethal. Out-gunned, out-maneuvered, and out-thought, the crews of the U.S. Navy ships must become as devious as their enemies.

“Edwards wields politics and naval combat tactics with a skill equal to the acknowledged masters of military fiction.”
—Military Press

“[TORPEDO] is the Top Gun of Surface Warfare.”
—Barnes & Noble online customer review

“As the former Commanding Officer of a U.S. Navy warship, I was awestruck by the realism and plausibility of this novel. We’ve got to consider this scenario in the Global War on Terrorism.”
—David Armstrong, Commander, USN (Ret.)

“TORPEDO kicks ass! Smart and involving, with an action through-line that shoots ahead like its namesake—fast and lethal.”
—Paul L. Sandberg, producer of The Bourne Supremacy

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (August 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595666353
• ISBN-13: 978-0595666355
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,467,342 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The absolute BEST military thriller in 10 YEARS..., April 13, 2005

By	Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff" (Twin Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I MUST start this out by saying that I am NOT the same Jeff Edwards that wrote this book. I am NOT a writer, and other than my reviews, I haven't written anything anyone has ever read since college. With that said, let me start off by saying I was more than a bit skeptical as I was asked to give 'Torpedo' a go. (I must admit I had a good time fooling my wife into believing I had managed to write and publish a book without her knowing about it) I don't know WHY I was hesitant, because over the years I have come to discover that just because someone hasn't published a book DOESN'T mean they aren't better than 99% of the writers currently in print today. Publishing companies are notorious for NOT giving someone new their big break. They are afraid that since the author MAY not be familiar, the book simply cannot sell. How tragic.

One of my ALL-TIME favorite books has GOT to be 'Red Moon' by David S. Michaels. After reading this I had to wonder what simple-minded editor refused to give this guy a contract??? The same is true of 'Torpedo'. Written by someone who has actually BEEN there DONE that, the ring of authenticity rings true on each and every page. Not since Tom Clancy in his writing Hey Day (which was a while ago) has a Military Thriller been this true-to-life.

'Torpedo' really IS catchy with a story that just cannot miss. Everything that makes a good book compelling to read is found here. Nations breaking International Law. Biological attacks on the British Embassy IN the United States. Submarines being smuggled right under the noses of British ships. Ships being sunk for all the wrong reasons. And best of all: An intelligent plot that moves with all the speed of a Tomahawk Missle. I stopped counting all the times I kept asking myself, this didn't REALLY happen, did it? The realism is unprecedented and highly tension-filled -- but in a GOOD way.

I have a simple barometer for determining whether or not a book is really good. If it is the first thing I think about when I get up, and the last thing on my mind when I go to bed, the book is GOOD. 'Torpedo' IS GOOD. It met my qualifications and passed with flying colors. Exciting and highly realistic, this book needs more attention and at the very least, an editor who knows that a book like this DESERVES a chance to be read by the widest audience possible that can truly appreciate good, honest, fun thrillers. Give 'Torpedo' a shot and especially if you have missed the Tom Clancy of old, this will remind you of why you read Military Thrillers in the first place. Absolutely fantastic work...and easily the best first novel since Clancy's 'Hunt For Red October'.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling, Authentic, Nerve-wrenching Thriller, October 2, 2006

By	Bonnie Toews (Newcastle, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Torpedo (Paperback)

This is sea warfare at its most daring and prophetic best. Every scene sizzles and excites. Just as buddies in battle bond, so does the reader to every character, and no less to the whip-smart yet strangely patriotic villain pitted against the gambling U.S. president. My bungie test of a superb novel is if the author can hold my attention throughout the first read without my being aware of the writing techniques used. Jeff Edwards propelled me through the pages at supersonic speed, so I resented the stop-dead lurches back into the real world four times with chapter insertions of excerpts from an unpublished manuscript on the "Torpedo: The History and Evolution of a Killing Machine." These belonged under Author Notes at the end of the book. Then I would have been ready and fascinated with such a backgrounder, but not while I was so engaged in the story. Fiction is about entertainment. Education is only a by-product of a good tale that gets the facts straight. Mid-novel, readers don't expect to have lessons shoved in their face. Nevertheless, the story was so riveting that I have decided to forgive this first-time novelist for his over-enthusiastic treatment of the main subject. Instead, his editor needs to be hung upside down by his/her toenails for allowing the intrusions. Here is a techno-military thriller writer, who never overwhelms the reader with the technology of his subject, but rather spreads it like maple syrup over thick, mouth-melting pancakes. William Morrow, Berkley publishers--pay attention!!! This should be a best-selling winner on your shelves. I am giving TORPEDO the five-star rating it so obviously deserves.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As great a military thriller as I've ever read!, October 9, 2006

By	R. Ballister "author, God Does Have A Sense o... (Annapolis, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Torpedo (Paperback)

Jeff Edwards couples his years of military experience with a gift for storytelling and spins a magnificent tale that any techno- or military-thriller fan will enjoy. He does a truly wonderful job of making the reader feel that he is right there on the bridge or in the wardroom during difficult decisions, and as far as the action, it never stops! I also really enjoyed how he weaves a bit of educational material on torpedo development throughout the book, educating as well as entertaining the reader. This one goes on my shelf next to Tom Clancy and Dale Brown. Jeff Edwards earned it.