Crush Depth

Rating:
Summary: A Dark "What-If" Thriller that Chills and Engrosses
Review: Crush Depth is the third segment of Buff's submarine saga that pits Jeffery Fuller and the Challenger against the German submarine Voortrekker. America is at war with the Germany-South Africa axis and the fighting has escalated to a point at which tactical nuclear weapons are used at sea. America is being attacted on its own shores and must retain control of the sea to keep from being overrun. Buff has created a plausible scenerio of war that is sure to interest readers and makes his book difficult to put down.

Buff's novels bring an added depth that many other war novels lack. His book are character driven as opposed to simply being of the shoot-em-up type. He also takes the reader on board a nuclear submarine in such a way that it is easy to imagine yourself as one of the crew. The book is thrilling at times and poignent at others. It is a quality read and should not be overlooked by anyone with an interest in war or submarines.

Also recommended: Deep Sound Channel and Thunder in the Deep by Joe Buff.

Rating:
Summary: To say 'riduculous premise' is a criminal understatment!
Review: Hey - wait a minute before you get angry at me for not liking this book. I very much wanted a cool submarine action thriller to sink (no pun intended) my teeth into. The reader is presented one absurd premise after another. The "bad guys" are horribly racist South African white guys that reinstate apertheid & ultra-nationalist Germans(a.k.a. ultra-racist Nazi's) - puh-leez. The author, like many before him, proves he is too cowardly to choose a realistic foe - instead he bows at the alter of "political correctness." I tried to put that out of my mind and continued to read with the hopes that I would get "sucked-into" some cool sub action. The author asks the reader to blindly accept that Germany and South Africa posses loads of offensive high-tech weaponry. I'm talking loads and loads of offensive weaponry, including mach 8.5 cruise missiles and an endless supply of tactical nuclear warheads. The author asks the reader to blindly accept that the U.S. would choose NOT to unlease a decisive nuclear strike if our oppoents only use tactical nukes. If you can swallow all that then I suggest that you buy this book. The diaolgue is is O.K. (except for the crazy German sub Captain - who is just a really nasty white guy).

Rating:
Summary: Out Clancy's Clancy!
Review: I am such a huge fan of this writer! Everything he writes I can't wait to get my hands on. A writer that never disapoints!

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: 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: Nuclear War at Sea...Vision of the Future?
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: Out Clancy's Clancy!
Review: Tom Clancy has always been my favorite author on the subject of submarine warfare. His portrayal of modern submarine warfare was the best. That was until I read author Joe Buff's Deep Sound Channel. It had me so absorbed that I read it in a single sitting. Now with this release of Crush Depth, once again I found myself staying up way past my bedtime to finish this exciting novel. Having always had a soft spot for "the Boats", I found this one every bit as exciting as his first. The depiction of tactical nuclear war at sea kept me on the edge of my seat the entire lenght of the book. Kudos for Mr. Buff and I can't wait for his upcoming "Tidal Rip"!

Rating:
Summary: Crush Depth a Winner
Review: When I read Joe Buff's "Deep Sound Channel," his debut as writer, I was so impressed by the performance, that I became an instant fan. His reasearch is awsome--where does he find time to write the books?--and his renderings of the complex technology, strategy, and the geopolitcal engine that runs it all, are clear and accessible. In "Crush Depth," the most recent adventure in the series, Buff has found the proper balance of story vs. technological jargon, not a mean feat. The characters, while each real is his/her own right (even the boats Challenger and Voortrekker have their own personalities, as ships do in real life), continue to develop, as do many of the relationships, most notably those between Jeffrey Fuller and Ilse Reebeck, and between Jeffrey and his parents, while his relationship with his former captain, Commodore Wilson, becomes an example against which Jeffrey can hone his own command style. The action scenes are exciting and keep you guessing as to their outcome, and the cat-and-mouse hunt scenes, where one submarine stalks the other consistly raise the question of which is really stalking which. The tension mounts as the book progresses, and although I rooted for the destruction of the enemy submarine, I found myself a reluctant admirer of ter Horst and especially Van Gelder, and hoping they would survive to challenge Fuller in future books--who else does the "evil axis" have to fill this role? The ending will grip and astound you. The books just keep getting better as they come along. Buff has created a real world populated by real people about whom we care and scenarios that seems to have evolved from where we are in the world today. I look forward to seeing what happens with Jeffrey and Challenger, Jeffrey and his parents, and most of all, Jeffrey and Ilse in the next installment. Keep 'em coming, Joe!

Rating:
Summary: Crush Depth a Winner
Review: When I read Joe Buff's "Deep Sound Channel," his debut as writer, I was so impressed by the performance, that I became an instant fan. His reasearch is awsome--where does he find time to write the books?--and his renderings of the complex technology, strategy, and the geopolitcal engine that runs it all, are clear and accessible. In "Crush Depth," the most recent adventure in the series, Buff has found the proper balance of story vs. technological jargon, not a mean feat. The characters, while each real is his/her own right (even the boats Challenger and Voortrekker have their own personalities, as ships do in real life), continue to develop, as do many of the relationships, most notably those between Jeffrey Fuller and Ilse Reebeck, and between Jeffrey and his parents, while his relationship with his former captain, Commodore Wilson, becomes an example against which Jeffrey can hone his own command style. The action scenes are exciting and keep you guessing as to their outcome, and the cat-and-mouse hunt scenes, where one submarine stalks the other consistly raise the question of which is really stalking which. The tension mounts as the book progresses, and although I rooted for the destruction of the enemy submarine, I found myself a reluctant admirer of ter Horst and especially Van Gelder, and hoping they would survive to challenge Fuller in future books--who else does the "evil axis" have to fill this role? The ending will grip and astound you. The books just keep getting better as they come along. Buff has created a real world populated by real people about whom we care and scenarios that seems to have evolved from where we are in the world today. I look forward to seeing what happens with Jeffrey and Challenger, Jeffrey and his parents, and most of all, Jeffrey and Ilse in the next installment. Keep 'em coming, Joe!