Rating: 
Summary: Very Good
Review: I enjoyed reading his fourth novel, having read them all I found this one slightly disappointing compared to his last novel, "H.M.S. Unseen." However this was still a great read and I finished it in just three days.
Rating: 
Summary: Getting Worse
Review: I recently picked this up at Sydney Airport, and having read his others, was very disappointed. Approximately 50% of the book is a sycophantic promo for special forces, including deafeningly wooden dialogue, and the other half has a good plot (mind you it has been done before by Dimicurio). If you are an avid fan, wait for the soft cover, because you'll feel disgruntled paying full freight for this for an author that has been rushed by his publisher. 2.5 stars
Rating: 
Summary: O.K., except for gaping plotholes
Review: [SPOILER ALERT!] My main problem with the book is this; the U.S.S. Seawolf somehow gets its' prop tangled in the towed-array sonar of a Chinese destroyer, thanks to an incompetent junior officer who has the conn at the time. Improbable, but not impossible [IRL NOTE: The Seawolf-class uses a pump-jet propulsor, not an exposed prop like the Los Angeles-class]. The crew can't make repairs because the Chinese keep shooting at them. Highly unlikely, but you never know.
Now comes the really stupid part; the Seawolf's captain repeatedly requests instructions from the Navy high command, but for some reason, the President & co. are unable to make a decision, so all the captain gets is silence. That, I find very hard to believe.
Then, the Chinese start towing the Seawolf back to China, and the Seawolf's captain just lets them do it!!!! Totally impossible. Any sub captain worth his salt would've sunk the damn Chinese destroyer, rather than be towed into a Chinese port as a prize of war (the U.S. and China aren't actually at war, but you get the picture).
I really like Patrick Robinson's books, but this particular one has plot holes you could drive a submarine through. My rating: 6/10.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, well paced and well detailed submarine thriller!
Review: Patrick Robinson has created another superb submarine novel featuring many of his regular characters - protagonist Arnold Morgan, the President's National Security Advisor, Rear Admiral John Bergstrom, Navy SEAL commander and a host more. As ever, he creates an interesting scenario which spells danger from US forces - this time, China has built a Xia-III class ballistic missile fleet submarine which could threaten the US(bear in mind this was written pre-9/11 and before relations improved a bit). The latest fast attack sub in the US Navy, the USS SEAWOLF of the book's title, is sent on a black ops mission to spy on the Xia boomer and gather intel on her every move. But disaster strikes as the Seawolf's propellor's become entangled in the towed acoustic array of a Chinese destroyer. To make matters worse, the Seawolf is towed into Guangzhou naval base and her crew incarcerated in jail, and if they do not cooperate with the Chinese navy, in particular Admiral Zhang Yushu, who has eyes on building a fleet of knock-off Seawolves to menace US forces with, they are tortured. These scenes made for uncomfortably plausible reading given recent events in Iraq having similar parallels.
BAck at the White House, the President, a fierce Republican(Robinson predicted this bit somewhat well - this book was written in 2000 and President John Clarke here you could call a thinly fictionalised Bush!), is on edge - his son Linus is the Lt. Commander of the Seawolf and is being held hostage with a new ID for security reasons. His National Security advisor, Arnold Morgan hatches a plan to send in a 64-strong force of SEALS and British SAS operatives to storm the jail and free the submarine crew, and an even more audacious plan to stop the Chinese from stealing the technology on board Seawolf. This is where the action realy takes off because as ever, the author puts you in the frontline of the SEAL missions depicted as though you were there! Locations(Hong Kong and its surrounding areas in particular) are accurately described, and Robinson also shows off his obsession with describing what characters have to eat and what wine they like! This, fortunately, is not as prominent as in his other novels HMS UNSEEN and BARRACUDA 945 where sometimes it got a bit much. The main focus is the SEAWOLF and the missions to free her crew - and the best laid plans can go wrong . . .
If you like this sort of novel, then this might just be for you. Also if you're into submarines especially, check out the novels of Michael diMercurio, who also knows his stuff!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting scenario, but poorly written
Review: Reviewed by Randy Farnsworth
Author of "A Stand Yet Taken"
I'm not a big fan of the techno-thriller genre. These books can be exciting and some are very well written and fun to read. But generally, I don't like the "throw in a bunch of jargon to make it sound like you know what you're writing about" idea.
I haven't finished the book (on CD) yet, and I don't think I will. There have been some exciting parts, but it's just too poorly written. Robinson chooses to use poor dialog to explain things to the reader that the characters already know. Nobody would really talk like that. It sounds like he's screenwriting, not novel writing.
We really don't need a complete Miss America pageant every time a new character is introduced. I don't want their entire background all at once -- I won't remember it anyway. Let me learn about the character through their actions and convincing dialog.
I thought I was the only one offended by the Chinese stereotypes, but in reading other reviews, I'm obviously not. Times have changed, Mr. Robinson, and your novel is set in the near future, so you should probably follow current political correctness.
I guess what really bothers me most about this book is the fact that someone who has apparently written other very-well recieved novels (I haven't read others by Robinson) can produce something so bad and have it be published by a huge publishing house. Meanwhile, there are tons of other lesser-known authors with fabulous manuscripts that don't even get a chance in this industry. (Yes, I'm pouting.)
Rating:
Summary: this Wolf can't swim
Review: With "Seawolf" Robinson recycles much of the plot of "Shark Mutiny" - during submarine operations against the Chinese, a clash of sorts (with a dose of plain old-fashioned incompetence thrown in) jeopardizes lives on board a US nuclear attack sub. You almost get the idea that Robinson finished "Shark" and then realized that "Seawolf" was a better idea for a story. Instead of a heroic XO against a whacko CO (as in the older book) "Seawolf" pits a decent commander against an incompetent junior officer named Linus Clarke...whose father just happens to be the President of the US. Also, unlike the obsolete "Shark", the "Seawolf" is America's most revolutionary deep-diving killing machine - I can imagine the howls that should have appeared in any story involving a decision to send America's most advanced sub into such politically charged waters. When the President's son screws up, the sub and crew are captured, and it's the SEALS to the rescue - recalling, again, both "Shark" and the also similarly titled "Attack of the Seawolf" by Michael Dimercurio. Back at home, Robinson's hero, Arnold Morgan, has to face down both the Chinese and his increasingly erratic boss. Once the SEALS have done their work, a brief court battle (remember "Shark") brews up in which Clarke tries to prove that he wasn't incompetent, and in which Robinson adds lawyers to the coterie of villains that Robinson strikes at with his prose. Robinson does less to flesh out his themes, than repeat them over and over - we know who's guilty and who's not. Rather than probe the layers of his characters, Robinson immediately decides which ones are idiots, and which ones are brilliant - and that none will surprise us. The dialog is as laughably implausible as ever, moreso because Robinson is sure he's serious (the nickname Morgan bestows on an unlikeable Chinese is not as ridiculous as the idea that a grown man would resort to one). Horribly written, nothing in the book establishes its above-average technical detail - and in the internet age, surely I expect better than some technical specs I can find myself. Robinson's political bent seems understated (compared to his other books that is) though not absent - the media is still a liberal weapon, which is cute given that Robinson himself is part of that self-same media. Lest any criticize this as a rotten-review with an agenda, I'd recommend instead "Bravo Romeo" by Ralph Peters. Peters, arguably, has an agenda as well, but dignifies a broader view using more textured characters, a truer eye for details and excellent prose.
Rating:
Summary: An "F" for effort.
Review: I listened to the unabridged audio version. Robinson knows a lot about submarines and naval hardware, but he doesn't know jack about creating interesting characters or plotlines. The plot itself is ripped from the headlines; substituting a submarine for a plane. To the rescue comes the infallible and irascible Arnold Morgan, the President's National Security Advisor. On a side note I think Rip Torn would be excellent in the movie role of Arnold Morgan. The problem is that even the main characters are somewhat 1 dimensional. Sure there is some background history provided on each character but that is about it. Everybody is a stereotype. The Chinese are all evil, the American's all righteous, it's terrible. I know this is a novel about sailors and sailors curse a lot but the volume of anti-Chinese expletives uttered by some of the characters is a little over the top. The other thing is that Robinson himself seems to sometimes get confused between Chinese and Japanese, for example once referring once to the Chinese Yen. But the most unforgiviable thing was the ending. I won't spoil it by revealing what happens but it made no sense and seemed forced. Seawolf was my 1st foray into this author's work and I might have been my last, but for some confounded reason I am giving him another chance. I'm listening to Kilo Class right now but that is another review.
Rating:
Summary: Seals save sea wolf
Review: This novel was fairly entertaining. If you get past the notion that the main story is not plausable, then you can accept the premise the story was written under.I head this book on tape. I would not regard Robinson in the same class as Tom Clancey. However, he does have some appeal. This book is not as good as his earlier efforts.
Rating:
Summary: Close but.........
Review: Like so many other authors, Mr Robinson has trouble nailing the endings of his books. Too many loose threads were left hanging about; Crockers' suicide?, the presidents son not having his treason revealed, the Chinese C in C... I enjoyed the book, until the last 50 or so pages. Too bad the ending of the book couldn't have been as tight and satisfying as the action in the middle!
Rating:
Summary: Loved It
Review: The book was fabulous! It was, at times funny, gripping, and realistic. The unabridged audio version is also very good. You can't go wrong if you're looking for a military thriller with a sense of humor.
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