Rating: 
Summary: Action Packed Book!
Review: The central character in this book is Ravi Rashood(Ray Kerman).
He is a British SAS Major.His mother and Father and Ray move to England after the Shah is deposed and Iran becomes a Muslim state
His father becomes wealthy in the shipping business.Ray Kerman
joins the SAS becoming an excellent officer and rising through
the ranks.On a training mission in Palestine with the Israelis
he witnesses untold violence and brutality toward the Palenstenian citizens and is forced to kill two fellow SAS soldiers.He thewn joins forces with Hamas.He is promoted to the
rank of General.He robs two banks in Israel making off with 100
million dollars.He next breaks into the Nimrod prison and releases 47 Palestenian terrorists.
After these two escapades he next coaxes the Iranian government
to purchase two nuclear submarines from Russia through China.With
these two submarines he wreaks havoc on the United States.
This was a very exciting book. The author ended with room for a sequel.Read it.You will enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Nonstop action from cover to cover!
Review: "Barracuda," by talented writer Patrick Robinson, had me glued to my cozy chair during the entire read of this book! What a terrific storyteller, Patrick Robinson is! I was captived with this story for hours on end! If you like fiction stories that you will remember long after the read then this is the book for you. The characters are exciting and the plot a real page-turner to be sure! Fabulous story! take "10" writer Robinson, you've earned it with this great story! (Highly recommended Novel!)
Rating: 
Summary: Could've been a good book . . .
Review: ... but there's WAY, WAY too much political preaching. First I must state that after spending almost 13 years in the military, there's nothing more that I like than a good military techno-thriller. Patrick Robinson's novels were high on my list of such authors --- until this one.
Arnold Morgan was a strong believable character in Robinson's first two novels, but becomes crazed, growling and too unbelievable in this one. If Robinson would just leave his political rants out of his books, I would've rated this one much higher -- but I just got turned off by the many unavoidable preaching and degrating comments and references about our past (and present) U.S. leaders and policy makers.
Rating: 
Summary: surely, you can't be serious
Review: An ex-SAS commando, skilled at unarmed combat, leads mideastern terrorists to strike America with cruise-missiles. Ray Kerman joins British special forces, barely aware of his Islamic past - his parents emigrated from Iran and blended into British society. On assignment to monitor Israeli Forces inside embattled Hebron, Kerman meets a beautiful Palestinian during an IDF-Hamas battle - and faster than you can say "you-wouldn't-like-me-when-I'm-angry" - Kerman joins Hamas. Now called Ravi Rashood, he eventually arrives in Iran, where he convinces some mullah's to buy 2 "Barracudas" - Russian Sierra class nuclear subs that haven't been used in about two decades. Armed with cruise missiles, one of the subs will sneak up our Pacific coast and blast American petro facilities and other targets of opportunity. On the home front, Admiral Arnold Morgan, the National Security Advisor, and Lt. Cdr. Jimmy Ramshawe, an intelligence officer, piece together the clues linking Kerman, Hamas and the mysterious sale of the twin Barracudas."Barracuda", the worst book I've read since "Shark Mutiny", is even worse than Publisher's Weekly warned - full of meaningless digressions so mind-bogglingly irrelevant, they don't even rise to pedantry and must be read to be believed. The Barracuda plan doesn't even materialize until nearly half-way through "Barracuda". Until then, Robinson tells the story of Kerman/Rashood - his upbringing, his training and his improbable conversion to rogue warrior. The "ops" he commits earlier in the book are supposed to lead to Rashood's missile-sub plan, but that idea sounds like something Rashood's Iranian backers could've thought up. (Nothing in Kerman's SAS background suggests how he alone dreamt up the plan). The earlier ops themselves are meant to be spectacular (including a daring breakout from an Israeli max-sec prison housing hardcore terrorists) but suffer from Robinson's inability to form a reasonable POV and otherwise inept story-telling, and in any event, never connect with the plot to lob cruise missiles at the US. Instead, Robinson seems to forget what "Barracuda" is about - while Rashood travels to Iran, we learn of an Iranian missile boat, a Chinese cruise missile, and that the missile's engine was built in Toulouse, even though neither the missile nor the boat will figure in the action; the science of driving and hunting submarines is barely touched on, but you can count on Robinson's chillingly plausible depiction of a breakfast menu; Robinson will often introduce a large cast of characters - reciting their names and positions - but otherwise has them doing nothing. Robinson must think that I'm one of the only techno-thriller fans who believes that accurate technical details should be used to further the plot, and not the author's rep for knowing anything. His fans supposedly overlook stylistic flaws in favor of purportedly explosive plots and plausibly accurate details. But there's nothing realistic, explosive or even very new here - you can get more convincing and visceral stuff in Clancy, Craig Thomas, Mercurio and DC Poyer. The laughably implausible dialog in which a Russian submarine ace conveniently explains the workings of a modern nuke-sub read like a chapter from "nucular-sumbarine wahfair fer dummies". Nothing explains Shahood's immediate preference for the Barracuda as opposed to other contemporary Russian subs like the Akula, Oscar or Victor III, and Robinson doesn't give enough nuance to the science of military subs to explain Barracuda's singular lethalality (The real Barracuda has reportedly been out of action since it was seriously damaged after colliding with the attack sub USS Baton Rouge in 1992, about 16 years before "Barracuda" occurs). British forces accompanying Israeli commandos into Hebron? A beautiful Palestinian named "Shakira"? Chinese who sound like crude stereotypes of take-out deliverymen? Islamic types who don't sound very Islamic as they do singularly anti-American? A world-wide net-work of Islamic fundamentalists who work seamlessly together? Where's the realism? Robinson's writing is mostly just mediocre, which only softens the impact of some true howlers: "It was a face of high intelligence"; "That Siberia's a bloody big place. Gotta be the biggest place in the world"; and my favorite, this seemingly paradoxical description of a missile attack "Never mind comparisons with an atomic bomb, they could very nearly have seen this in Hiroshima". To top it off, Robinson replaces his immature political incorrectness with a more mature brand. Instead of bigoted sobriquets "towelhead" or "chink" that punctuated every other page in "Shark Mutiny", Robinson unleashes a more understated and quaint brand of ethnic cleansing - in which Islam and Muslims seem utterly enigmatic in an ethnically homogenous west. Kerman's Islamic past is kept secret as he rises in the SAS. Once revealed, Kerman's origins shock British and American leaders who, despite sizable Muslim populations throughout their countries, are utterly mystified that a Muslim might actually have made his way into their top echelons. Robinson's political bent is also laughable, targeting liberals who gave the Panama canal away to a red-Chinese controlled conglomerate, made GPS more useful to terrorists, and kept us hooked on foreign oil by blocking oil-drilling in Alaska for environmental reasons. (Robinson refers to Clinton as the current President's predecessor, even though "Barracuda takes place 8 years after Clinton left office.) I could accept Robinson's theory linking the PRC to the Panama Canal except for one thing: nothing in "Barracuda" makes his Chinese seem as ominous as his Americans - when Adm. Morgan and crew gleefully strongarm the President into sabotaging the Panama Canal as part of a plan to re-claim it for America (complete with gunships orbiting the capital to ensure Panama's president signs a treaty ratifying the move) you've got to wonder what the Chinese had in store (other than simply becoming another super-power that won't live within its means) that makes their comeuppance seem deserved. (Though Robinson obviously hates Clinton, Republican president looks like a clueless puppet, easily swayed to sign anything Morgan and crew leave on his desk. It's like "Leave it to Beaver" in the Oval Office.) With its horrible writing, unbelievable characters and nonexistent "realism", this "Barracuda" should sleep with the fishies.
Rating:
Summary: uninspired and implausible
Review: An SAS commando, skilled at unarmed combat, leads mideastern terrorists to strike America with cruise-missiles. Ray Kerman joins British special forces, barely aware of his Islamic past - his Iranian parents blended into British society. On assignment monitoring Israeli Forces in the West Bank, during a pitched battle between guerrillas and IDF, Kerman meets the beautiful Palestinian Shakira. Faster than you can say "I feel the ancient Muslim within me", Kerman joins Hamas. Now called Ravi Rashood, he he convinces some Iranian mullahs to buy 2 Barracudas - Russian Sierra class nuclear subs that haven't been used in years. Armed with cruise missiles, one of the subs will sneak up to our Pacific coast and blast American petro facilities with missiles. On the home front, Admiral Morgan, the National Security Advisor, and Lt. Ramshawe, a young intelligence officer, link Kerman, Hamas and the mysterious sale of the twin Barracudas. "Barracuda", the worst book I've read since "Shark Mutiny", is even worse than Publishers Weekly warned - full of meaningless digressions so mind-bogglingly irrelevant, they don't even rise to pedantry and must be read to be believed. The submarine idea doesn't even materialize until nearly half-way through "Barracuda". Until then, Robinson tells the story of Kerman/Rashood - his upbringing, his training and his improbable conversion to terrorist. Spectacular attacks Rashood commits earlier in the book are supposed to lead to his missile-sub plan, but that idea sounds like something Rashood's Iranian backers could've thought up. (Nothing in Kerman's SAS background explains how he alone dreamt up the plan or even knows a thing about subs). Earlier exploits are meant to be spectacular (including a daring breakout from an Israeli max-sec prison housing hardcore terrorists) but suffer from Robinson's inept story-telling and in any event never connect with the plot to attack the US with cruise missiles. Robinson seems unable to remember what "Barracuda" is about - while Rashood travels to Iran, he writes about an Iranian missile boat, a Chinese cruise missile, and that the missile's engine was built in Toulouse. Neither the missile nor the boat will figure in any action. The science of driving and hunting submarines is barely touched on, but you can count on Robinson's chillingly plausible depiction of an Iranian breakfast menu. Robinson will often introduce a large cast of characters - reciting their names and positions - but has them do nothing. Robinson must think that I'm the only techno-thriller fan who believes that accurate technical details should be used to further the plot, rather than demonstrate the author's wealth of trivia. His fans supposedly overlook stylistic flaws in favor of purportedly explosive plots and plausibly accurate details. But there's nothing realistic, explosive or even very new here. Robinson (and others) have done the "rogue sub" plot to death ("Kilo Option"), and you can get more convincing and visceral stuff in Clancy, Craig Thomas, Mercurio and DC Poyer. The laughably implausible dialog in which a Russian submarine ace conveniently explains the workings of a modern nuke-sub read like a chapter from "nucular-sumbarine wahfair fer dummies", and only highlight that Robinson has less of a feel for warships than their performance specs. Nothing explains Shahood's immediate preference for the Barracuda over other contemporary Russian subs like the Akula or Oscar, and Robinson doesn't give enough nuance to the science of warships to explain Barracuda's special lethality (The real Barracuda has reportedly been laid up since being seriously damaged by colliding with the attack sub USS Baton Rouge in 1992, about 16 years before "Barracuda" occurs). Credible? British forces accompanying Israeli commandos into Hebron? A beautiful mideastern woman named "Shakira"? Chinese who speak pidgin? Islamic types who don't sound very Islamic as they do singularly anti-American? Islamic terrorists who can get support anywhere they look in the Islamic world? Plausibility? Robinson's writing is mostly mediocre, which only softens the impact of his true howlers: "It was a face of high intelligence"; "That Siberia's a bloody big place. Gotta be the biggest place in the world"; Morgan's car speeds "like a meteor across the moon"; and my favorite, this paradoxical description of a missile attack "Never mind comparisons with an atomic bomb, they could very nearly have seen this in Hiroshima". To top it off, Robinson replaces his immature political incorrectness with a more mature brand. Instead of sobriquets "towelhead" or "chink" heard throughout "Shark Mutiny", Robinson unleashes a more understated and quaint brand of ethnic cleansing in which Muslims are utterly alien to the ethnically homogenous west. Kerman's Islamic past is kept secret until he joins Hamas. Once revealed, Kerman's origins shock British and American leaders who, despite sizable Muslim populations throughout their countries, are mystified that a Muslim might actually have made his way into their top echelons. Robinson's political bent is also laughable, targeting liberals who gave the Panama canal away to a red-Chinese controlled conglomerate, made GPS more useful to terrorists, and kept us hooked on foreign oil by blocking oil-drilling in Alaska for environmental reasons. I could accept Robinson's conspiracy theory linking the PRC to the Panama Canal if the Chinese actually did anything more than act as middlemen for Kerman. In contrast, his Americans seem much more ambitious when Morgan and crew gleefully strong-arm the President into sabotaging the Panama Canal as part of a plan to re-claim it for America. I'm Yankee, but couldn't help feeling disturbed by the image of US gunships orbiting the Panamanian capital to ensure Panama's president signs a treaty ratifying the turnover. Though Robinson obviously hates Clinton, his Republican president looks like a clueless puppet, easily swayed to sign anything Morgan and crew leave on his desk (It's like "Leave it to Beaver" in the Oval Office - "Hey Beave - let me borrow the 82nd Airborne this week"). Robinson refers to Clinton as the current President's predecessor, even though "Barracuda" takes place 8 years after Clinton left office. With its horrible writing, unbelievable characters and nonexistent "realism", this "Barracuda" should sleep with the fishies.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling as Usual, but all politics aside...
Review: Another solid story from Robinson. Well written, fast paced, with my only complaint being that by page 385 I had heard enough democrat bashing to last me a while. It became unclear if the political views were that of the characters or of the author. All that aside, Robinson has set up some future mano y mano confrontations with our Admiral Morgan and this new super villan. A must read for any Robinson, or even Clancy fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Please stick to what you know best Mr. Robinson
Review: As a reader of Mr. Robinson's previous books - which were not bad - I picked up Barracuda 945 from the public library with expectations of a solid exciting read. Sadly, this book falls far short of Mr. Robinson's previous work. The short answer for this is that Mr. Robinson doesn't stick with what he knows - submarines and submarine warfare - but instead ventures into realms where he reveals himself as ill-prepared and/or biased. Namely; 1. politics. Mr. Robinson often deviates from the plot to interject mini sermons on the evils of 'weak liberal presidents' who, when they gain power, neglect US military and foreign affairs to the detriment of our own power (which he sees as a very bad thing. Further, he degenerates into sermon-y rants when the subject of the 'little ******* Chinese communists' comes up. Politics is never a black and white affair and his portrayal as such is disconcerting. 2. religion. He makes an effort to show some dimensions of the complex Islam culture and religion, but again, his efforts fall flat and thus his attempts to prevent his book from degenerating into an US vs Them affair in actuality highlight that conception due to his poor understanding of Islam culture and beliefs. 3. the overall scenario. Mr. Robinson's book is based on the hypothesis that one nuclear submarine can single-handly destroy the US energy economy. He fails to take into account the fact that the US does currently, in fact, have vast reserves of oil stored away in the event of such a crises. So while in his book investors panic and gas prices over quadruple, in reality our government would take steps to mitigate the crisis. 4. characters. Every one of Mr. Robinson's characters is a stereotype. His characters are not interesting, extremely predictable, and often behave in manners not befitting the offices he distinguishes them with. I was very disappointed about this. The only saving grace to Mr. Robinson's book is when he gets into the details of the ships and his combat descriptions. Because he does have a large amount of knowledge about military equipment and can write up a tasty fight scene fairly well I am giving Barracuda 945 three stars - though I may be giving him the benefit of the doubt in a few areas. I think Mr. Robinson just deviated from what he did best: submarines and combat, and tried to bite off more than he could chew. All in all, it was a hard book to finish and for Mr. Robinson's next book I will read the reviews first before picking it up.
Rating:
Summary: Modernized Sink the Bismarck
Review: British SAS commando Major Ray Kerman stationed in Israel joins Hamas and quickly becomes a leader due to his bold successes in country. Abetted by the Iranians, Ray buys a Russian nuclear submarine, the Barracuda 945. He plans to attack the West Coast of the United States with missile strikes against the Alaskan oil supplies and the California electrical grid. National Security Advisor Vice Admiral Arnold Morgan leads the US Navy's efforts to stop the Barracuda 945 at sea. However, even with the help of the National Security Agency the US Navy struggles to locate the deadly nuclear sub for several weeks until they locate the Barracuda 945 in the Panama Canal. Confrontation between two brilliant leaders and their crew occur with much at stake. Though the historical soliloquies can be overwhelming, they bring a sense of reality to a powerful action-packed sea adventure that will remind readers of Sink the Bismarck. The story line is going at the fastest knots, but also insures the key two antagonists plus Morgan's friend, Assistant to the Director of the National Security Agency Lieutenant Commander James Ramshawe, are more than just 200 proof testosterone. Instead readers feel their frustrations and excitement. Patrick Robinson's latest Morgan thriller is a solid tale that fans will enjoy the high-speed sea chase. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A waste of time
Review: Earlier books like Nimitz class were more entertaining but this one betrays the superficiality of the author's acquaintance with naval officers, their customs and their behavior. Not wardroom material. Political asides are pathetic.
Rating:
Summary: Barracuda gets snagged.
Review: First, I bought the abridged CD version of this book. The reader David McCallum was fine. However, I can only guess that in order to save costs, they divided the CD segments into 15-20 minute intervals. This is fine if you are listening to the CD uninterupted. However, when you have to sort through 8-10 minutes to get back to where you left off, it can be annoying. The book itself began with a good premise. However, the author had several meaningless segments which had nothing to do with the main story. Robinson's political overtones were also overbearing. I am not a Clinton fan. However, Robinson's portrayal is nothing less than a hatchet job. The climax of the book centers around the Panama Canal. The premise that the US would allow a private Chinese company to own the canal is totally absurd. The ending appeared to be more of a chapter closure rather than completion of the book. It left the impression that this book will become a series. Robinson's last few books left much to be desired. I would pass on this one.
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