Threat Vector

Rating:
Summary: Submarines to the Max
Review: As thrillers go, it was pretty good. The only thing that seemed to get in the way of it being excellent was all of the technical specifications of the weapons that the author found it necessary to include. Unless you're a former submariner or a sub "groupie", you may find, as I did, the specifics of torpedoes, torpedo tubes, and weapon systems tedious.

Rating:
Summary: The future of undersea warfare
Review: Dimercurio has penned another winner. This time the world faces a potential war in south America and the usual suspects are renting out their battle fleet to the highest bidder. In order to keep the American Navy at Bay, a submarine creeps into waters outside Norfolk and sinks cruise ship carrying most of the Navy's top brass. This is a crippling and devastating blow to the level of readiness.

There are many charcters you have grown used to in previous books and some new ones as well. The sea battles are realistic as Dimercurio moves about twenty years into the future and speculates the type of weaponry available to attack subs: Plasma warheads (a small, focused nuclear weapon, Vortex undersea missles (a super cavitating munition) and a light imaging system (much better than conventional sonar).

He also does something I like to do myself. He brings back a bad guy from the first book and sends him after Patch Pacino's Navy.

Overall a great, great read.

Rating:
Summary: All around a very good book
Review: For anyone who enjoys sub thrillers who has not discovered Michael DiMercurio is missing out on something.

Threat Vector takes place in the future, in the 2010s. Technology certainly has advanced in DiMercurio's world. There are driverless cars that go 140 miles per hour and instead of resignation letters, we have resignation emails. At times, the future technology does seem outlandish, however it provides an interesting setting for the story, and I think it is benefitical to the book.

I won't go and explain the plot, but the plot does provide many twists and turns, although I found the ending a bit predictable. The characters are well developed and unlike other novels in this genre, the bad guys aren't 1-dimesionally evil.

Overall, this is fine book and most of you will find this a treat to read.

Rating:
Summary: All you need to know
Review: I have enjoyed all of DiMercurio's submarine action adventures except this one. All you need to know is that it takes place 15 years in the future,(making it more difficult to suspend disbelief), and the bad guys win. While it may set up a great sequel, I don't believe most people who enjoy this genre want to wait till the next book for the good guys to win and the bad guys to be vanquished.

Rating:
Summary: Conservative female banker
Review: I loved this book. As a conservative, female, mother of 2, banker, I enjoyed getting lost in this story. The technology is something else. You can either read it word for word and learn a lot, or you can skip some of the technology and not miss a beat. Best of all, if you e-mail DiMercurio, he will respond. This is an excellent book. I look forward to reading his others.

Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get better than this...
Review: I've been a fan of Mr. DiMercurio's since Phoenix Sub Zero. However, I think he's had stronger plots and better motivated characters in his earlier work. Still, if you like this genre, I am your kindred spirit. I couldn't swallow the plot or character motivations, but I still enjoyed his style, which I think is much matured since his earlier days. Less technobabble, better descriptions of people and how they act, and always the brilliant DiMercurio technical creativity. Despite the shortcomings of this book, I still consider myself a DiMercurio fan. I am waiting for him to put the strenghts he's been developing as a writer together with an ironclad plot - then we will have some of the best adventure fiction ever from him.

Rating:
Summary: "Run Silent, Run Deep"
Review: This book is great. Michael Dimercurio goes into such technical detail about everyting on a submarine that is feels like you are right there with the characters. I have read all of his books and they are all very good. I like how he uses the same characters in the series of books, you can see them mature and change with time thoughout their lives. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: THREAT VECTOR
Review: THREAT VECTOR is a great read! DiMercurio always offers far more than a mere techie treat. His novels are real novels, with a sound story line, with characters who come off the pages and with a special kind of vision about future weaponry that makes sense. His plots are intricate, twists are frequent and in this book he writes sypathetically of a Ukrainian "enemy" sub commander. Along with Adm. Pacino and other DiMerurio regulars, there is a mysterious Russian ex-admiral, who, I hope shows up in other stories. Pick this one up--you won't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Great series of novels !!! Keep it coming !!!!
Review: well, let me start by saying that i strongly agree with Mark Bruinekreeft from Gelderland, Holland...As a foreigner, he has made an interesting point, the point which almost NONE of the Americans ever make (or, perhaps, they deliberately ignore it). I had read a lot of reviews and saw the very thing which i will explain in a second going down in virtually ALL books, publications, plays, movies etc. What i mean exactly is the usual theam of the American book / movie /novel / play etc. as follows (assuming that the subject is fiction) : America is ALMOST defeated by someone else's genious plot and then (quote) ...."but the only man who can stop him...."It also could be "the only sub commander who could stop him /them", or, "but one man can save the world" (assuming it to be an American of cause:). I think that THAT approach came from the 70's-early 80's, when it was new and popular. This technique is way too old now. And thats what Mr. DiMercurio had done--in a way he came up with a slightly different storyline. Frankly, in his book called "Threat Vector" i was amazed of his use of Russian names. I am Russian myself, so it makes me sort of an "expert witness" here, hehehe:) It seems like he was consulting with people from Croatia, or, perhaps, Chehoslovakia or Poland, but definately NOT Russians. The russian commander's wife's name is Martinique...????!!!???? I dont know, to me it sounds like French, positively not Russian! Check out this one: his 2 y old son's name is Pavel (like himself), but for some reason he calls the baby Pavlevich..??? Names like that could ONLY exist in Croatian region and not Russia. In Russian it could ONLY sound like a middle name and even not that way, but rather PavlOvich, with the "o" in the middle and with the bit on the first "a". And for the life of me i could not understand the main bad guy's last name--Novskovyy...??? what in the world is that???!!! Thats DEFINATELY not Russian last name at all...and about 90% of these "Russian" last names (Russian sub crew) are surreal...By the way, that pretty much summs all my "whynings" about the book. In the end i just wanted to say that someone here said (approximate quote in part) ..."do we need to know whats goin on in the torpedo's nosecone...". Well, i love these step-by-step details! It makes the read intriguing and unusual in a way:) A friend of mine is Russian ex-sub commander (Captain 1 rank), so he told me a lot of things which happen inside of a subs, its very interesting! Besides, i dont know my next assinment yet, i as well might end up in the sub myself (well, American that is)so, i try to pay close attention to all these little details. Another thing--despite from what someone here said, i dont give a rat's rear end about an accurate and true-looking storyline (that would be greatly appreciated but...). That is why this is called fiction--people come up with whatever they wish:) Great work, Mr. DiMercurio--keep it coming !!! Remember that i own every one of your books !!! (please try to get some REAL Russian names next time, ok? or, better else-dont use Russia as a bad guy-use China, like Patrick Robinson does:) Good luck:)

Rating:
Summary: All Ahead Flank for Another DiMercurio Winner!
Review: Well, Michael DiMercurio has done it again! Not only that, he topped his last achievement (PIRANHA FIRING POINT) with THREAT VECTOR, a novel that shows that DiMercurio can keep a series alive, fresh and full of new ideas. In addition, it could almost be said that THREAT VECTOR is the "logical" extension of PIRANHA FIRING POINT, especially when it becomes known to the reader early on, that the President has appointed Patch Pacino as CNO (Chief of Naval Operations).

This novel also has some bittersweet elements as well. When the Ukrainians sink an American cruise ship carrying the Navy's senior officers, many characters we know from previous installments become casualties. I was sorry to read that many of the characters I liked were gone. About 1/3 of the way through, DiMercurio shows that he also has a sense of humor, too. He has named one of the escorting destroyers the TOM CLANCY; read the novel and find out what he does with this ship.

Another thoroughly enjoyable aspect of this book was the way in which Michael DiMercurio combines plausible future developments with what we know is possible today. The explanations and descriptions of future technological advancements are masterful in their simplicity. The "Devilfish" as a weapons platform is something that may not be available right now, but given the dramatic technological leaps being made every day, it is not difficult to conceive its existence 18-20 years from now.

Michael DiMercurio also pays a subtle tribute to the naval traditions of the past. If I didn't read incorrectly, he re-introduces an officer uniform that the Navy did away with in the early 1970s. I'm speaking specifically of the service dress khaki officer uniform. It had a khaki coat and instead of the officer insignia on the sleeve cuff, the rank was carried on shoulder boards. I always thought that was a sharp uniform and it was a nice tribute to the USN of the past. That was a nice segue, Michael and I liked the sneaky little way you brought the uniform back.

To be sure, this is a submarine story but it also has all the elements of really good science fiction, too. With much of the technology future based, the reader is catapulted into a world that isn't here yet, but could very well be in the near future. Another aspect is that the author has left certain little clues as to where he might go with the next installment in this series. Without giving too much away, suffice it to say, that the reader will still have questions when he finishes with this story. They are good questions, though and the kind that will leave the reader waiting to read TERMINAL RUN (which is the working title of the next book in this series).

As I have said in my reviews of previous DiMercurio novels, this author is the master of this genre. If anyone cares to debate it, I'll meet them anytime, anywhere. Tom Clancy's "Hunt for Red October" was written by a lucky and gifted amateur. The Michael DiMercurio novels are thrillers but they're also a tibute to the men of the Silent Service, the same men that DiMercurio served with from 1980-88. Tom Clancy can't make that claim, because he never served in ANY of the armed forces.

There is an injustice associated with Micahel DiMercurio's books, however and it is not the author's fault. I really believe that if Penguin Putnam marketed these books differently (starting with hardcover and a much bigger advertising budget) that Michael DiMercurio could have been (and still could be) as big as Clancy or any of the other popular and best selling authors. There is no reason for this and in fact, more than one of the DiMercurio novels should have ben made into a movie. After all, if CRIMSON TIDE, a movie that came out 4-5 years ago could be a hit, ALL of DiMercurio's books should have been considered for production. IF the rest are still ignored, Hollywood should not ignore THREAT VECTOR. The plot premises are plausible and foreseeable and the storyline would adapt well to the screen if for no other reason than there would be a lot of action with believeable and likeable characters.

One other thing readers may find interesting about this book. The antagonists do some despicable things but by themselves, they are not all that despicable as people. The reader will find himself feeling a certain amount of sympathy for the Ukrainian sub captain. To me, he was a worthy opponent for both Karen Petri and later, Kelly McKee. He was a captain placed in an extrememly awkward and delicate position by an unscrupulous President. How he leads his men, fights his ship and makes his decisions all contribute to the make-up of a fascinating character. And once again, the critics are wrong; Michael DiMercurio writes action filled sub stories but he also gives his readers well developed characters.

I apologize to the critics for my comments. I really do. I just can't find anything NOT TO LIKE about this series and the writer who created it. If Michael DiMercurio is guilty of anything, stories and hours of reading enjoyment.

BZ Michael, you've done it again! I'm looking forward to TERMINAL RUN and to your mainstream fiction when that hits the bookstores. Thanks for another great read!