Lieutenant Colonel Joe Rush is a man you'd want around in an emergency. He's a Marine, a doctor, and an expert on biological weapons.
So when the nuclear submarine 'USS Montana' is stranded on the surface of the Arctic Ocean, on fire, with a crew that's dying from a mysterious illness that kills in days (if not hours) - AND a massive Arctic storm is approaching - the Pentagon knows who to call.
The Pentagon's Director apprises Rush of the Montana's dire situation, and tells him that - of the Montana's crew of 158 - 51 have died (so far) and most of the others are suffering from burns and/or the deadly sickness.
Moreover, communication with the sub has been lost, so there's no time to waste.
Rush and his teammate/best friend, Major Eddie Nakamura, are soon aboard the ice cutter 'U.S. Wilmington', on their way to the Montana.
Part of their hush hush mission is to rescue the crew and salvage (or scuttle) the sub before Russia or China gets wind of the situation and tries to grab the ship themselves - to get hold of its cutting edge guidance systems and weapons.
The ice cutter is making it's way to the Montana - and experiencing every kind of problem imaginable (intractable ice, bad weather, fire drill, communication blackout, etc.) - when sonar shows a Chinese submarine fast approaching the crippled American ship.
This results in a race to the Montana, with Rush and several cohorts making a final push using snowshoes and climbing gear. (Just reading this made me shiver with cold. LOL)
As the Americans close in on the Montana, Rush has a dramatic showdown with the captain of the Chinese sub. This raises the question of 'who told China about the Montana?' Is there a spy on the Wilmington? YES!
Once the Montana situation is resolved, there's the issue of the rapidly spreading illness.
In an attempt to diagnose the dying patients Rush defies a direct order from the Director, and learns something that horrifies him.....and strongly impacts his subsequent actions.
As the story unfolds Rush has multiple flashbacks to his tour in Afghanistan, where he had experiences that left deep psychological scars. These include: the discovery of a hidden lab that used monkeys to develop biological weapons; and the death of eight fellow Marines.....for which he was responsible. These incidents greatly impact Rush's behavior in the Arctic.
The story has an array of interesting characters, including: submarine specialist Karen Vleska - a platinum-haired beauty who catches Rush's eye; Eskimo Clinton Toovik - who knows everything about ice; State Department honcho Andrew Sachs - who continually inserts himself where he's not wanted; Major Pettit - the Marine who's sleeping with Rush's ex-wife (how's that for awkward company?😕); Captain Zhou Dongfeng - skipper of the Chinese submarine; Major Li Youyoung - Zhou's placid translator; and more.
This is an exciting story with a great setting and an interesting (and clever) plotline about biological weapons. I think most thriller fans would enjoy the book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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