Rating: 
Summary: Great book. Must read.
Review: I loved Joe Buff's first two books,and Crush Depth is his best one yet. Important scenes of war on home front. Serious message of environmental damage in major war. Constant risk of escalation very scary. Very good characters. Exciting, intricate,
very believable plot. Extremely relevant in post 911 world. A must read!
Rating:
Summary: Joe Buff just keeps getting better and better.
Review: I've just finished reading this third Joe Buff submarine novel - I had been very anxious to get to the third novel after being so pleased with the first two. I have to say, as good as the first two were, this one is probably the best so far. What really stands out about this book is the degree to which the characters' personalities really matter to the story. As usual, Buff does not stint on the action, which is hard-hitting, exciting and even scary throughout, but the battles between Challenger and Voortrekker are more than anything else psychological battles between Jeffrey Fuller and Jan ter Horst, and this is what makes the story interesting. Also the interactions between Jeffrey and Ilse, and between Jeffrey and Commodore Wilson, as well as between ter Horst and Van Gelder, are more developed and more complex than before. Toward the end I really felt I knew Jeffrey and his crew, and I really cared about them. You not only feel like you're on the submarine, you even feel like you're part of the crew. So much so that I felt really bad for Harrison at the end. Even Jeffrey's Dad played a nontrivial role, and while perhaps this was less essential to the overall story line, it gave the reader a clue to what was driving Jeffrey.If I have any quibble at all, it's that the ending was so decisive that I wonder how Joe Buff can follow it up and top it. But Buff is obviously a creative guy; I'm confident that he won't let us down.
Rating:
Summary: Nuclear War at Sea...Vision of the Future?
Review: In an all too believable tale of future limited tactical nuclear war at sea, Joe Buff creates a nightmare scenario that could someday soon appear in our world headlines. A new and unexpected enemy emerges in the form of an unholy alliance between Germany and South Africa. Hard on the heels of coordinated coups in both countries, they become the Berlin-Boer Axis, intent on reclaiming past glories and dominating the world. The war is so far being waged primarily at sea between two cutting-edge undersea weapons platforms. The American 'Challenger' and The Axis 'Voortrekker'.
Even more critical than the technology embodied in these super subs, is the skill and daring of both crews who man the controls and play a deadly game of 'Cat-and Mouse' across half the globe. Their innermost thoughts and motivations are revealed very candidly in the 'self-talk' that races through their highly trained and highly stressed minds.
As nuclear destuction on a mind boggling scale is unleased along the way by this 'clash of titans ', the reader is drawn along on a headlong race to the climactic 'winner take all' showdown under the Arctic ice.
Very well written battle scenes, whether on a grand scale over the vast expanses of the world's oceans, or on a more personal level between well-trained and well-equipped special forces on land, all add immeasurably to the excitement of the story. Anyone who likes the adenaline rush of combat, which can not be duplicated in any other way, will not be disappointed.
The premise of near-future, limited tactical nuclear war at sea is very realisticlly portrayed here, and leaves an uneasy feeling that it might just happen something like this someday. Will we all be ready if it does?
Rating:
Summary: A Classic War Novel
Review: Joe Buff's Crush Depth is a story set in the future,but it reads like real naval history that just hasn't happened yet. The Jeffrey Fuller main character is emerging as one of the most important fiction heroes of the entire technothriller genre. This book is bound to become a lasting classic. Beats Clancy hands down. Very good characters, gripping saga, outstanding premise. Will keep you up all night reading.Scary and unforgettable.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful tale, characters you'll fall in love with!
Review: Joe Buff's third novel shows such an awesome growth in the skill and power of his writing that to call it a quantum leap from book to book is an understatment! I got Crush Depth as a Christmas present for my husband, then "cheated" and started reading it myself out of curiosity and I just finished it in two days while my hubbie was at the office. My husband loved Mr. Buff's first two books so much that he would read them non-stop as soon as they came out and for a weekend I bacame a "Joe Buff widow" the way some wives become Football Widows. This made me interested so I also read the earliest Buff books, and I quickly saw why my husband was so hooked! I usually read literary novels, more in the line of women's fiction, and I'm used to a very high level of talent in creating characters that have compelling complexities, human passions and foibles, and who feel pain and regrets in their life ... just like real live people like you and me. Mr. Buff has such amazing characters and it's all done in the middle of a war novel! Crush Depth is an impressive follow on in the continuing series of Buff's characters. Their lives are fascinating and emotionally moving to follow, forget about the combat and the tactical nuclear nuclear explosions and the submarines and the Navy SEALs (though there's more than enough of all the latter to satisfy the most dedicated action-adventure addict or Tom Clancy fan). So, yes, I cheated and read my husband's Xmas present early. I hope Santa Claus forgives me. The Devil made me do it! This book makes a great gift to any man in your life, and even holds your interest if you are other-gendered than the male version of our species.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent, Vibrant Read
Review: Reading Joe Buff's CRUSH DEPTH was an adventure in fiction-reading I've not had for some time. Each time I prepared to put the book down, another bit of action or foreshadowing kept me in it for several more chapters. Buff has an amazing command of the challenging life aboard submarines and a tremendous ability to set up and execute impossible scenario after impossible scenario. Although written in the fiction/thriller genre, it is more than possible to imagine the realistic yet horrendous battles with nuclear weapons making headlines in our daily papers. CRUSH DEPTH is a must read for anyone who enjoys submarines, good battles or characters with depth and conscience. Can't wait for the next book!
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent, Vibrant Read
Review: Reading Joe Buff's CRUSH DEPTH was an adventure in fiction-reading I've not had for some time. Each time I prepared to put the book down, another bit of action or foreshadowing kept me in it for several more chapters. Buff has an amazing command of the challenging life aboard submarines and a tremendous ability to set up and execute impossible scenario after impossible scenario. Although written in the fiction/thriller genre, it is more than possible to imagine the realistic yet horrendous battles with nuclear weapons making headlines in our daily papers. CRUSH DEPTH is a must read for anyone who enjoys submarines, good battles or characters with depth and conscience. Can't wait for the next book!
Rating: 
Summary: Crush Depth - Ho Hum
Review: Sadly, I cannot give this book a positive vote. I found the story to be a rather contrived and juvenile attempt to create an undersea military adventure set in the near future. The character development is poor, leaving the reader with the impression that the submarine in question is inhabited by fantasized individuals who lack any depth (no pun intended). While the plot has definite potential, it is littered with so many scientific and judgmental errors that I found myself constantly thinking "aw, c'mon" or "give me a break" at nearly every attempt at an exciting twist or turn of events. It particularly stretched my imagination to the breaking point when a sperm whale and a giant squid conveniently decided to fight it out at the same time that a deep sea diver recovery capsule got stuck half way between "heaven" and "hell", and then attacked the recovery capsule because the diver turned on a light. This book struck me as a literary effort that is halfway between fictional fantasy and fictional future history. As such, it fails to do either successfully. If you are a discerning reader who is looking for a submariner adventure that is thought provoking, realistic, engaging, and a real page-turner, I would steer clear of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Action beneath the Pacific
Review: This is a book about the next generation attack boat - ceramic hulls, modern weapon systems, defensive countermeasures. The scene is 2012 or so. The problem is a new war between the Axis powers of Germany and South Africa, the not so friendly Chinese and Russians (neutrals on the side of the bad guys) and the allies (America and Britain). Improbable, perhaps, but no one thought the WTC would be reduced to rubble either. While Michael DiMercurio is king of the submarine thriller genre, Joe Buff is a worthy member. This comes down to a duel between the Axis super submarine called the Voortrekker and the American submarine Challenger. These two crews have met once before and fought to a draw. Now the geopolitical stakes continue to rise and one of these boats needs to go down for the last time. The Voortrekker scores a series of successes as it marches across the Indian Coean, through the SOSUS line leading into the Pacific and onto the final confrontation under the Ross Ice Shelf. Crush Depth is fast paced, well written and interesting. There is a glossary at the back of the book that covers many of the technical terms. A good read. Pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: Crush Depth
Review: This is an amazing book. For the first time in maybe twenty years, Joe Buff has written a submarine novel that makes you feel you are really "there" and keeps you glued to the book. I could not put it down. His has the ability to stir your emotions through the characters and battle scenes.
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