Thunder of Erebus

To Payne Harrison: I saw a young boy touch Thunder Of Erebus on the shelf. He paused, and then went on. I stopped him and said that that book was one of the best I've ever read. My squadron has enjoyed it, too. Let's have more of your writings! Thank you, Steve Hutchinson, aka Col. Wrecking Crew.

WOW! An exciting, action-packed and hugely thrilling techno-war set in an imagined future. A new mineral is discovered in Antarctica which could alter the balance of world power as we know it, a necessary ingredient in a STAR WARS space defence initiative. The Americans want it, and when they discover the rubidium, Russia invades Antarctica. The action kicks off in the second half as aircraft carriers come under fire, F/A-18 Hornets do battle with MiGs and Sukhois in the freezing skies, and on the ground, special polar warfare brigades, foot soldiers and mechanized infantry strive to stop the massive Russian onslaught. You also get submarine action with the USS SEAWOLF(which Michael diMercurio has immortalised as well) armed with a variety of strange weapons, and an interesting description of a converted Trident boomer as an undersea aircraft hangar . . . could be feasible one day(but you never know what NATO has got!). I could go on, but to top it all, there's a subplot involving a volcano ready to erupt(Mount Erebus) and a trapped lady volcanologist keeping out of the Russians' way. The US-Russia war scenario may be old hat now, but the Antarctic settings add a good touch of originality to the story. Not to mention the supersecret covert operations and gadgets the US forces use as well as the special subs! If you can get hold of a copy, this is not to be missed. Awesome. Payne Harrison's best.

This thriller is great for summertime reading. The reader can almost feel the cold of antarctica.

Payne Harrison is not nearly so widely known as Tom Clancy, Dale Brown, Harold Coyle, etc. but his books are well worth the read. This novel combines elements of military strategy and tactics with the human elements of fear and perseverance, all in a unique setting at the bottom of the globe. I especially enjoyed Harrison's ability to get away from the hardware specifics and into the character development, although there were several battle sequences which had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Whether you like fighter aircraft, battleships, or submarines, it's in there. You get perspectives from high ranking military strategists, a president who rose from the ranks of network TV, numerous warfighters from both Russia and the US, as well as the scientific crew on Antartica. Overall, a definite page-turner that will keep you enthralled and awake past your bedtime.

I was a huge fan of Harrion's "Storming Intrepid", and was therefore extremely happy when his second effort came out. At first I was kind of disappointed because it didn't jump right into action like "Intrepid". Instead, Harrison spends the first half of the book building all the necessary elements for the second half, which then just explodes. I'm glad I stuck with it, because I usually dump a book if after 50-75 pages I'm not hooked. I'm glad I stuck with it because "Erebus" became one of my favorite books. I read the first half of "Erebus" in about a week, and the second half in two very long nights. The degree of action, detail, and just great storytelling all coalesce and makes "Erebus" very difficult to put down. I'm not even a fan of the Clancy-style books, but I always keep an eye open to see if a new Payne Harrison is out