Cold Choices

Publishers Weekly

A nuclear submarine can be one of the more dangerous places to be trapped, as shown in this suspenseful follow-up to bestseller Bond's Dangerous Ground. Capt. Aleksey Petrov has just taken command of Severodvinsk, the first nuclear sub to enter Russian service in years. His orders are to drive away any American subs observing Russian naval maneuvers in international waters. When a miscalculation leads to a collision with the USS Seawolf, the damaged Yanks can limp away, but Severodvinsk goes to the bottom. The Seawolf's commander attempts to help the stranded sailors, despite resistance from Washington and Moscow. Both sides will have to overcome their mutual suspicions if they are to make the rescue. If this techno-thriller lacks the geo-political sweep of The Hunt for Red October, its depiction of the bond shared by submariners, even those on opposing sides, makes it more intimate and, along with convincing portraits of men under severe stress, more human. (May)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Library Journal

Submarine officer Jerry Mitchell—last seen in Bond's (www.larry-bond.com) Dangerous Ground (2005), also available from Brilliance Audio and read by Audie Award winner Dick Hill—is navigating the USS Seawolf on a reconnaissance mission in the Barents Sea when it is ambushed by a Russian sub. Bond adroitly shifts the action from the subs to the rescue teams and from hard-line officers to defiant Russian wives and mothers who demand news of their men, while Hill expertly handles the many voices and keeps the action flowing. An essential listen for those enjoying submarine stories and military thrillers, which don't get much better than this. [The Forge hc, published in May, was a New York Times best seller.—Ed.]—Joseph L. Carlson, Vandenberg Air Force Base Lib., Lompoc, CA

Kirkus Reviews

Against the frigid backdrop of the Barents Sea, a submarine captain must decide whether to risk his crew's lives to save his enemies. Navy aviator turned submariner Jerry Mitchell, hero of Dangerous Ground (2005), is at his new post aboard the nuclear sub Seawolf. Its mission is to map the sea floor beneath an area the Russian navy uses for training exercises by deploying and recovering three unmanned underwater vehicles. Despite the crew's best efforts, however, the Russians spot Seawolf and send out their newest and best nuclear sub, the Severodvinsk, skippered by up-and-coming young Captain First Rank Aleksey Petrov. As Seawolf was detected in international waters, the Russians have every reason to tend toward caution, but Petrov's highly aggressive attempt to intimidate the American sub into leaving the area leads to a collision that wounds the Seawolf. The American sub limps away, assuming the Russians have returned triumphantly to port, but Mitchell eventually realizes that the Severodvinsk lies crippled at the bottom of the sea. Now, Seawolf's captain must decide whether to return his badly damaged sub to port or risk a highly unlikely underwater rescue. Former Tom Clancy collaborator Bond provides his customary tons of technical and operational detail, which lends an element of realism. But it also leads to bloat, sucking much of the excitement from what should be a tense underwater potboiler and turning it into an overstuffed tale of political machinations. The most thrilling moments occur well before the book's halfway point, giving way to low-grade international tensions and domestic political squabbling before an unduly drawn-out finale provides long-awaited release. A tensesubmarine thriller compromised by a distended plot.

From the Publisher

“Nobody alive knows more about submarines and submarine tactics than Larry Bond, the designer of Harpoon. In addition, he’s one hell of a writer, which he proves once again in Cold Choices.”—Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of The Assassin

“Larry Bond’s new submarine thriller, Cold Choices, sends The Hunt for Red October, Das Boot, and Run Silent, Run Deep straight to the bottom of the sea! A nuclear fireball of a thriller!”—Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling author of Blasphemy

“Forget everything you’ve ever heard about submarine novels! The sub battles in Cold Choices will have you biting your nails, shaking in your shoes and gasping for breath. The King of the 21st Century Sub Thrillers is back.”—David Hagberg, USA Today bestselling author of Dance with the Dragon