Charlie Class

According to the author, David E. Meadows, Charlie Class is his last book for the foreseeable future. In my humble opinion, that's our loss, because if you like high-powered submarine action books, you'll probably enjoy this one. I certainly did. But I have to warn you; it takes a long time to get to the action in this story, which is typical of this author's style. I've read Final Run and Echo Class and he seems to always throw in a lot of personal stuff such as his relationship with his wife (I could care less). All I want is pure realistic, accurately portrayed get-down action with the bad guys being out witted and eventually blown to smithereens. So to me all that personal stuff belongs in another kind of book. But once he finally gets to the meat of the story, I give him an "A" for high interest and fast paced action and, of course, for knowing his way around submarines and their battle tactics. Charlie Class takes place in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Rota, Spain, and the backdrop is the Yom Kippur War. Syria and Egypt launched a surprise attack on Israel. Naturally, we are aligned with Israel, and Syria and Egypt are allies of the Soviet Union. At the beginning of the Story a Soviet nuclear boat captain pulls a major blunder that puts him directly in the crosshairs of our own nuclear submarine operating in the same general area. So as the story unfolds, the two submarine captains square off on a style reminiscent of the old west fast draws depicted in American cowboy movies. Think High Noon and you've got the idea. And in so many words, the author makes it perfectly clear that the first captain who blinks... loses. What happens? I highly recommend you read this book and find out. I give it five stars.