By the time I was finished, I was very pleased. It took about a hundred pages of coincidence-driven set-up and some cartoon-ish characterization, especially that of the author's vicarious stand-in Adm. Arnold Morgan, but at this point (#7 in the series) it is to be expected, and is actually a little endearing. Once past that, however, Robinson's writing switches gears and becomes terrifically readable. He sprinkles enough background information and research to keep the scenario plausible, and his descriptive passages are at their tension-filled best when laying out the massive undertaking of evacuating the entire eastern coast of the United States. He keeps the pace going right up the the satisfying last page.I normally read these types of books for more of the sub vs. sub cat and mouse action, or special forces incursions, but there is none of either here. Instead, I was treated to some intelligence analysis cum detective work via Jimmy Ramshawe at the NSA, and the largest ASW hunt conducted by surface and air vessels in the Atlantic that I've ever read in naval fiction. It is most gratifying to read about US armed forces personnel who do their jobs at the highest of standards, detailed in a tone of the highest respect, and with a high degree of command over the extensive background details it requires to fully describe such large-scale military operations. Robinson's heart and mind were in the right place while writing this.Most rewarding of all was a side plot involving an inept left-wing president, ill-suited for the global threats that face the nation, and the deliciously efficient way that the Joint Chiefs deal with him. I took a long break from the author after THE SHARK MUTINY some years ago, but with the introduction of Morgan's nemesis Gen. Ravi Rashood, my interest has been reinvigorated. I'm still disappointed that there isn't more submarine action, but I'm willing to look past that (and the laughable descriptions of Morgan's wife/secretary, Kathy) to get to the good stuff.
