Silent Assault

Review: Silent Assault War with Iran and a U.S. boomer heads for the Gulf at flank speed. The crew consists of the book's hero, a just arrived First Class Hospital Corpsman just out of school, a lack luster commanding officer, a weird executive officer and other officers and crew that in my mind shouldn't have been on a boomer sent to war to begin with. That in itself would have made for a good read. But wait, there is more! If that isn't bad enough some foreign agent ladies of the night infect a couple crew members with a disease that begins to take a deadly toll on the crew. That coupled with some mechanical problems makes for a harrowing experience, as the Corpsman becomes the pivotal crewman who steps forward. In, what is standard Trident submarine procedure, the boat cannot surface nor transmit on radio it's infectious problems and seek help. It takes a long time for the Corpsman and the Engineering Officer to diagnose the highly contagious disease but is it too late? The book can rightly be called a techno-thriller because you will learn more than you ever wanted to know about deadly diseases, symptoms, and suffering as the crew count decreases to the minimum necessary to run the boat. What country has designs on the submarine? Iran, Russia, China or some other third world country? At one point the boat is surrounded by five Chinese subs but no attack is forthcoming. Why? Dr. Miller has surfaced with a very credible first submarine novel and well worth your time to find the book and be infected by it.

Great book for anyone interested in submarines, undersea medicine, or biological disasters. The author does a great job detailing the life of a submariner and the difficult job of a submarine medic.