Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, ... Naval intrique.
Review: Robinson, is so very good at what he does. I found this an interesting read with well developed clearly defined Villians & Heros. Great info on Subs, Politics of the not so cold war of the "future" Is this our "Brave New World". I won't be all that surprised, after reading this book. Fiction? or 1 Possible Future? I had a hard time pulling myself away, so I could add a bit of sleep to my life.
Rating: 
Summary: Really miserable reading experience!
Review: I disliked this book so much that I threw it in the trash after reading, just to prevent anyone else from getting their hands on it (a first for me). The book's central idea and bits of technical military detail kept me plugging on, despite intense frustration with the writer's effort. The characters are unbelievable. They exist in a world completely unrelated to reality, where all workers are supremely suited for their jobs, and live in awe of their bosses. World military and political action are presented as though the private 'game' of about 10 people. And there is no complexity of thought here: pro-military good/any other value system bad. The military insights of the characters that are presented as so impressive should be familiar to any military book reader or submarine computer simulation player. The ending was not worth the effort of slogging through pages of political lecture and military worship. In sum, the book ends up reading like a bad argument for unlimited military spending, with a clunky story wrapped around it.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Page Turner
Review: I've read this book twice, once for fun and once because I had to read something related to geography. I found it to be really great both times. It's very fascinating even though it may not be 100% accurate on some points. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in submarines or naval thrillers.
Rating:
Summary: A very good read
Review: Patrick Robinson introduced the world to one of the most deadly villains I have read in some time. The tour through Ben Adnam's submarine with the Scottish Admiral was very interesting also. The author showed great naval knowledge with some of the descriptions that he used in the book. The only dissapointment of the book was that he didn't use more of Ben Adnam. All in all a pretty good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved it
Review: I read this book years ago when it first came out. I loved it i went right through it. I enjoyed the plot. It worried me to think that we could lose a carrier that easy. Despite that i loved the book pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: A real page turner
Review: This was a book hard to put down. A somewhat complicated plot which I enjoyed, lots of techno stuff about submarines and just enough of the developement of the characters that I care to read more about them in future books.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Bad Book
Review: It is not Clancy, or anywhere close. It is not accurate, or anywhere close. It is not plausible half the time, which ruins the aspects of the story that are plausible. Readers of this book should wonder about a few things, instead of trumpeting the good aspects of the book (whatever they might be).The lack of knowledge about international affairs is evidenced by the repeated use of the standard stereotypes for various ethnic groups and countries. The blatant disregard for the honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States by women, African-Americans, Hispanics and other minority groups is really quite loathesome. Finally, there are a good many honorable men and women who serve as public servants in the government of the United States of America. Many have fought for this country in the aforementioned Armed Forces. And you know what? Some of 'em are Republicans, and some of 'em are Democrats. The categorization of Democrats in this book by Mr. Robinson is simply irresponsible.
Rating:
Summary: Slow & Boring at Best
Review: It really amazes me how this book became a national bestseller because I found it to be a chore to read. It has a tedious plot, superficial characters in spite of the author's attempts to make us care about them, and frankly is a "slap on the face" to our hunter-killer submariners and ASW warriors. I honestly tried to suspend my disbelief on the premise of this book but failed miserably. A worthy comparison to "The Hunt for Red October"? This doesn't even come close.
Rating:
Summary: ex-submarine warfare instructor
Review: 4 stars, but just barely. The inaccuracy to American naval detail and some of the tactics are hard to excuse, but the story had too many good points to ignore. The plot was imaginative, and it granted submarines the power they really have that no one cares to acknowledge. The writing style was fluid overall. There was also obviously a good amount of researched performed, but with the blatant misses on the U.S. naval stuff and over-simplification of good 'ole Kansas boys as the stereotypical American, it's hard to tell where research backs up a detail and where a detail is plainly wrong.
Rating: 
Summary: Yes, author made mistakes -- but...
Review: All those one-star reviews miss a lot, some because the "readers" critiqued an audiotape. As a writer, Mr. Robinson is actually quite good, better than his Technical Advisors. As has been noted, he gets the ranks wrong, but nobody says HOW. The 5-star general is a minor character, and maybe Robinson imagines that if one is Chairman of Joint Chiefs, he'd get that coveted 5th star. But Bill Baldridge is THE major character, and if he were only a Lieutenant Commander, (1) That's JUNIOR rank in the US Navy, not senior; (2) As one who bucks senior authority, maybe he'd still never get promoted, but he also wouldn't still be in the Navy -- get passed over for promotion to full commander twice, and he's out, friends in high places or not, and the Big Star he's supposed to be would surely have been up for promotion. As for the A-6 being in service in 2002, the author probably wrote the manuscript in 1994-5, well before the A-6 became obsolete, and the rest of the inacccuracies are Story Telling. Some places in America, people are exactly as parochial/provincial as one reader review denies we are. Yes, too many cowboylike Kansans and Nebraskans -- those being mostly farming states, not gunfighter-cowboy states, but some American advisor or editor should've noted those errors before the book saw its release in America. It's a "good read," for the most part, and should make a fine movie.
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