Terminal Run

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY SEP 23, 2002

The characters and there are plenty of them in the latest techno-thriller by former submarine officer DiMercurio (Voyage of the Devilfish) share a love of the mechanical, and readers had better, too, if they want to make it through the book's many pages of technical jargon. The USS Snarc is a robotic American combat submarine under siege by an unseen enemy, and only former Navy admiral Michael Pacino, a recurring character in DiMercurio's novels, may be able to save it. While Pacino's son, Anthony, struggles for survival in a sub at the bottom of the ocean, Michael sets out to regain control of the Snarc and bring down an old nemesis. DiMercurio convolutes his story with details that only military personnel and history buffs could appreciate; for example, he spends several pages describing basic military maneuvers and actually enters the mind of a torpedo en route to its target. Yet when it comes to simple narrative details, such as describing a person's appearance, DiMercurio often comes up short. To his credit, however, he populates this offering with several sympathetic protagonists and high-ranking female officers, and augments his many high-tech underwater battles with vivid flashbacks, steamy sex scenes and even flourishes of wit.