Dangerous Ground

This submarine yarn in Bond's best effort in a very long time. I've read everything he's written, but I think he does his best job yet of integrating all the specifics of the technology, the excitement of the action and the fleshing out the characters. While there isn't a great deal of action in the front half of the book, Bond's characterizations and interesting descriptions of what could have been mundane submarine life kept the book moving. I loved this book for the first nine-tenths, but will admit the end was very ineffective. It was so out of character with the rest of the book, it seems unfinished, like Bond was way past deadline and the editor was saying it had to be finished today. The rest of the book more than offsets that minor peccadillo, however, and I heartily recommend this book.

Excellent book that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. If you like military fiction you'll love this book.

I've always enjoyed Bond's books, and this one doesn't disappoint. Following the story of Jerry Mitchell as he works towards his dolphins on a ship loaded with tension, I found myself fascinated by the relational aspects of the story along with the ins and outs of submarine life. Definitely a worthwhile read.

Six extravagant blurbs from the likes Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, David Hagberg and Stephen Coonts grace the dustjacket of Larry Bond's "Dangerous Ground." For a change, the blurbs aren't hyperbole: Bond has written a great contemporary submarine thriller. Jerry Mitchell is a hotshot almost fighter pilot. The tire on his F-18 blows and Jerry Mitchell has to find a new career. He opts for submarines and with a bit of political pull is reassigned. His first sea tour is to be on the Memphis, which is going straight to be decommissioned. But a high-stakes politically connected scientist has a special mission in mind for the Memphis: skirt the waters of Russia for an "evironmentally sensitive" President who wants to make poltical points with the world's enviros. So the Memphis is tasked one more mission. And it turns out to be a doozy. Bond is beautiful. As Mitchell, the neophyte submariner, learns the fine points of his calling, so do we readers. Very clever device on Bond's part and Bond very obviously did his homework on the silent service. The two female scientists onboard --- pushed into this environment by the President --- are not welcome, one because of her abrasive personality. Mitchell himself isn't welcome because he used politics to get into the submarine service. For the most part, the story is about Mitchell, the difficult captain of the Memphis . . . it's a service story. Long into the tale, we get into the drama of the Memphis searching for environmentally contamination caused by Soviet, then Russian, dumping of radioactive waste. The story heats up when a major discovery is made and a Russian admiral decides that the Memphis has to be decommissioned a little earlier than planned by the Russian Navy. Bond does a good job of conveying the tension of modern submarine warfare. All in all, "Dangerous Ground" is an excellent naval thriller. Bond's plot is really outstanding and most of the characters have some depth. Excellent piece of work and well-deserving of its dustjacket blurbs. Jerry

This is a thrilling book if you love sea stories. I read it in two days and it left me wanting more! Another Clancy in the making.