American Literary Press, Baltimore, MD 1998
Reviewed by John Pritzlaff
As a sequel to The Scorpius Connection, author Craig Etka has again captured the Tom Clancy-Clive Cussler approach to the techno-thriller novel. The plot revolves around the efforts of the hero, Captain Robin Roberts, USN, to destroy the two Russian Kilo submarines that were “stolen” by the villain, Manny Rodriguez, for use in the Colombian drug trade. The high tech use of high powered underwater lasers for torpedo defense contrasts with the low tech use of a wire rope in the Kilo’s propeller to immobilize it in the fitting conclusion to this tale of intrigue and underwater adventure. This book will appeal to the submarine community as well as to classified/covert program people. Current and future technology is utilized to achieve a fast paced but realistic story. It would be well if readers had first read The Scorpio Connection by author Etka (1994), as there are many direct and indirect references to the prior actions and activities of the hero and the villain.
[John Pritzlaff spent eight years in the Navy. His industrial career covers JO years with General Electric Co. and 30 years with Westinghouse where he was Engineering Manager of their Deepstar, Deepsubmersible Program. He has produced four books on submersible and offshore safety.]