Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
From the New York Times bestselling writer of Tom Clancy's Op-Center series, a relentlessly paced techno-thriller that plunges readers into the icy depths of the Antarctic.
An experimental U.S. Submarine, the Tempest D, with a propulsion system five-times-faster than traditional drives is to be tested in the remote South Polar waters. Chinese intelligence learns of the test and sends their own submarine to observe. When an underwater collision causes the sumarines to become trapped under the Antarctic ice, they need each other to survive. Meanwhile, a U.S. military team codenamed L.A.S.E.R.-- Land Air Sea Emergency Rescue-- is sent on an unprecedented rescue mission . . . under the Polar cap, every minute matters.
Combining inernational political intrigue, exotic locales and insider details, Tempest Down delivers the same high-tech edge that Jeff Rovin brings to Tom Clancy's Op-Center books.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Rovin, author of Tom Clancy's popular Op-Center series, takes the reader on a bone-chilling ride to Antarctica in his first stand-alone military thriller (after two horror novels, Fatalis and Vespers), packed with military strategy, submarine warfare and personal sacrifice. Meticulous Maj. Tom Bryan is field commander of the U.S. military's new LASER (Land, Air, Sea Emergency Rescue) team, a highly qualified unit trained to save trapped or stranded military personnel. The team gets its first chance to act when the Tempest, a high-tech submarine, goes on a top-secret scientific test run in Antarctica and encounters the Destiny, a Chinese submarine on an elusive mission all its own. Trouble ensues, and the LASER and Tempest crews must stave off an international political crisis while engineering an underwater rescue mission. Do they risk exposing the Tempest's secrets or do they save the lives of dozens of sailors? The large, lively cast includes a stubborn rear admiral nicknamed "Stone," a Chinese intelligence officer afraid of defeat and an arrogant, regulations-obsessed mission scientist. Rovin weaves a story so intricate and intense, readers will find themselves clutching the edge of their seats. The copious tech talk will deter some, and Rovin's writing is choppy, but the nail-biting suspense and rousing heroism may push Rovin out of Clancy's shadow for good. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Kirkus Reviews
Masters and commanders in a crackling tale of two subs. One sub's US, experimental variety, very hush-hush; the other's Chinese, extremely interested in what's being hushed. Way down deep in the ferociously frigid Antarctic Ocean, the latter stalks the former in an attempt to stick its steely nose into what's clearly none of its business. The stalking grows over-ambitious. The subs connect-to understate drastically-in a collision that leaves them parked under a volatile icecap-locked in a kind of Siamese-twin symbiosis, to the detriment of all concerned. Sailors are lost at sea, both sides, but there are survivors. Enter the remarkable, resourceful, wonderfully courageous men and women of LASER, the US military's Land Air Sea Emergency Rescue team. What they accomplish under extreme conditions is the stuff of high drama and nail-biting suspense as Rovin's way with technological detail (he makes it reader friendly) also plays a key role. More important, however, is his cast-large, varied, and compelling, composed of believable, understandable characters to worry about, even those you don't always like: Rear Admiral "Stone" Silver, for instance. Recently widowed, emotionally inaccessible, Silver uses his work to keep relationships at bay, while Major Thomas Bryan, LASER's commander, is driven by an almost obsessive need to redeem a failure no one but he perceives as such. Not unlike the admiral, Dr. Charlotte Davies, a brilliant civilian scientist attached to the mission, is an emotional dropout in workaholic's clothing. Dr. Mike Carr is another civilian scientist, equally brilliant, though his innate, by-the-book caution proves tragically counter-productive. And so on down an evocativelist. Essentially, this is a novel about things like honor and commitment, but running adjacent, in satisfying profusion, are self-serving hidden agendas, including the US's and China's. Rovin (Fatalis, 2000, etc.) gets the people right and produces his best yet. Agent: John Silbersack/Trident Media GroupFrom the Publisher
"Tempest Down is terrific, a riveting, relevant, can't-stop-reading-it drama! Plan on an all-nighter when you pick up Jeff Rovin's latest technothriller masterpiece." —Joe Buff, author of Tidal Rip and Crush Depth"Tempest Down is a story that follows the finest naval traditions . . . a satisfying blend of heroism and opportunism. A highly recommended, fast paced read."—Douglas De Bono, author of Rogue State
"Jeff Rovin's Tempest Down is an exhilarating high-tech adventure. From fighter jets to gliders, from cutting-edge submarines to foreign destroyers, the reader is in for a whip-lash ride, propelled by Rovin's insider knowledge of international politics and the military. Watch out, Tom Clancy."—Gayle Lynds, author of The Coil
" . . . stand by for a fast & furious techno-thriller roller coaster with nail-biting action."—Capt. David E. Meadows, U.S. Navy, author of The Sixth Fleet and Joint Task Force series
"A vivid page turner, loaded with suspense. I felt as if I was in the action, terrified, and waiting to be rescued."—Allan Topol, author of the national bestseller, Spy Dance and Dark Ambition
"Jeff Rovin's Tempest Down weaves three techno-loaded story lines together into a mind numbing, deadly contest under the ice in Antarctica that build to a searing, gripping, slam-bang climax. Don't miss it!"— Chet Cunningham, author of Hell Wouldn't Stop, and The Specialists Series