Kilo Class - Hardcover

Robinson, Patrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060191295 ISBN 13: 9780060191290

Publisher: Harper, 1998

Synopsis

It's one of the stealthiest, most dangerous underwater warships ever built... silent at less than five knots and capable of a massive nuclear warhead punch. It's the weapon every Third World dictator covets. It's the 240-foot-long Russian Kilo Class submarine, and Russia seems perfectly willing to sell it to anyone -- including those governments that frequently violate international law.

Whenever Moscow sanctions the sale of the sinister Kilo to a Middle Eastern nation, the Pentagon reacts with barely controlled fury. But Kilo Class, the chilling new novel by Patrick Robinson, posits the far greater but no less real threat -- Russia's acceptance of an order for 10 newly built Kilos... from the Chinese.

The US Department of Defense is well aware of China's intention to shut the US Carrier Battle Groups out of the Taiwan Straits and then to reclaim, by military force if necessary, the rich independent island that sits only 100 miles off China's eastern coastline.

A strike force of patrolling Kilos could achieve that objective for Beijing, and two of the 10 Kilos have already been delivered. Kilo Class is about US attempts to foil delivery of the other eight. The President's new National Security Adviser, the irascible Texas admiral Arnold Morgan, prepares to send the US Navy's deadliest Black Ops hit squads deep into dark Russian waters. Their missions are executed under the most crushing code of secrecy. One mistake could literally start World War III. The decision is sanctioned by the President of the United States. Now, the world's three most powerful nations silently lock horns -- Russia, determined to deliver the submarines to Shanghai for a payment of billions of dollars; China, determined to reclaim Taiwan by frightening off the US aircraft carriers; and the United States, brutally determined that those Kilos will never fly the flag of China above their bridges.

Out in the terrible depths of the icy North Atlantic, the US Black Ops nuclear submarine awaits its chance, guided by the silent American satellites passing overhead. Deep inside the remote waterways of northern Russia, a team of elite Navy SEALs prepare an extraordinary operation of destruction and mayhem. Moscow brings in an iron cordon of an escort for the submarine deliveries, as Commander Boomer Dunning, the Black Ops captain from Cape Cod, races his 7,000-ton nuclear vessel beneath the polar ice cap to head them off.

Kilo Class  is a taut, page-turning techno-thriller of the highest quality, grounded in fact and ringing with unmistakable authenticity. it is the story of a breathtaking race against time. Peppered with unforgettable characters, it takes the reader into the heart of the control room of a hunter-killer Los Angeles submarine. Most important, it reveals the cold-blooded brutality of the United States Navy, operating at the top of the game.

About this title

About the Author

Patrick Robinson is the author of seven international bestselling suspense thrillers, including Nimitz Class and Hunter Killer, as well as several nonfiction bestsellers. He divides his time between Ireland and Cape Cod.

Whenever Moscow sanctions the sale of the sinister Kilo to a Middle Eastern nation, the Pentagon reacts with barely controlled fury. But Kilo Class, the chilling new novel by Patrick Robinson, posits the far greater but no less real threat -- Russia's acceptance of an order for 10 newly built Kilos... from the Chinese.

The US Department of Defense is well aware of China's intention to shut the US Carrier Battle Groups out of the Taiwan Straits and then to reclaim, by military force if necessary, the rich independent island that sits only 100 miles off China's eastern coastline.

A strike force of patrolling Kilos could achieve that objective for Beijing, and two of the 10 Kilos have already been delivered. Kilo Class is about US attempts to foil delivery of the other eight. The President's new National Security Adviser, the irascible Texas admiral Arnold Morgan, prepares to send the US Navy's deadliest Black Ops hit squads deep into dark Russian waters. Their missions are executed under the most crushing code of secrecy. One mistake could literally start World War III. The decision is sanctioned by the President of the United States. Now, the world's three most powerful nations silently lock horns -- Russia, determined to deliver the submarines to Shanghai for a payment of billions of dollars; China, determined to reclaim Taiwan by frightening off the US aircraft carriers; and the United States, brutally determined that those Kilos will never fly the flag of China above their bridges.

Out in the terrible depths of the icy North Atlantic, the US Black Ops nuclear submarine awaits its chance, guided by the silent American satellites passing overhead. Deep inside the remote waterways of northern Russia, a team of elite Navy SEALs prepare an extraordinary operation of destruction and mayhem. Moscow brings in an iron cordon of an escort for the submarine deliveries, as Commander Boomer Dunning, the Black Ops captain from Cape Cod, races his 7,000-ton nuclear vessel beneath the polar ice cap to head them off.

Kilo Class  is a taut, page-turning techno-thriller of the highest quality, grounded in fact and ringing with unmistakable authenticity. it is the story of a breathtaking race against time. Peppered with unforgettable characters, it takes the reader into the heart of the control room of a hunter-killer Los Angeles submarine. Most important, it reveals the cold-blooded brutality of the United States Navy, operating at the top of the game.

Reviews

Those pesky Chinese are at it again. In the gripping techno-thriller sequel to Robinson's Nimitz Class (1997), the genre's new most favored villains have bought a number of highly capable, stealthy "kilo class" submarines from Russia to use as a threat against Taiwan. Navy Commander Cale "Boomer" Dunning, skipper of the nuclear-powered sub Columbia, is tapped to seek out and destroy the Kilos before the Chinese can take delivery. His assignment involves much derring-do, including a vividly described SEAL mission and a hair-raising transoceanic passage under the polar ice cap. Although Robinson excels in describing action scenes and armaments, careless writing and an abandoned subplot involving a hijacked researched vessel mar his tale. So does the smug assumption that our military knows best when to attack ships of another nation. Nevertheless, this is a sure hit for fans of military and adventure fiction. (May) FYI: Nimitz Class is currently in production with Universal Studios.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

British submarine novelist Robinson's nuclear device debut, Nimitz Class (1997), about a carrier lost with all hands and planes while on station in the Arabian Sea, received top reviews, largely due to its amazing and catastrophic plot: How can a carrier simply disappear? That storys sequel carries on in the same spectacular vein, except this time US subs are sinking seven ultraquiet Russian ones that have been sold to the Chinese to aid in their takeover of the sea lanes around Taiwan. Now, China's xenophobic military find their beautiful new subs with their nuclear-tipped torpedoes disappearing into abyssal darkness and utter silence. Sound good? You're right, and it deserves wide sales to the technothriller crowd. Nimitz Class is now being filmed by Universal Studios.(First printing of 100,000; $150,000 ad/promo) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Robinson's latest meticulously researched novel is a sequel to his best-selling Nimitz Class. In his new high-tech thriller, the good guys, once again, are the gallant men of the U.S. Navy--specifically, the submarine service. The plot concerns 10 formidable Soviet-built Kilo Class patrol submarines, which can run submerged at speeds up to 17 knots without being detected, travel 6,000 miles before refueling, and fire nuclear-tipped torpedoes. An insolvent Russian military has agreed to sell them to China. With the subs, China could control the Taiwan Strait, blocking Western trade routes. The Chinese could then attack and conquer Taiwan. The U.S. Navy must stop delivery of the subs without starting World War III. Robinson again uses a large cast of characters in a global setting. They growl, snarl, and bark, and sonofabitch is their favorite expression. Again, too, readers can probably guess the outcome right from the start, but for fans of the genre, Robinson delivers a wild ride all the way. George Cohen

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060191295
• ISBN 13: 9780060191290
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 448