PRESSURE POINT

When terrorists hijack a Seattle-based commuter ferry and its passengers and steal a fabled Trident submarine, the Navy SEALS must ready themselves for a possible nuclear disaster. 12,500 first printing.

First novelist Couch sets this contemporary techno-thriller in Seattle, where Palestinian terrorists hijack a Puget Sound ferry, then use it to capture and tow away a Trident missile submarine from the Navy yard. Their demands are stark: either Israel surrenders the occupied territories, or they will destroy the sub, with Chernobyl-like results for the entire Pacific Northwest. The U.S. sends the cream of its special operations units, Delta Force and the Navy's SEALS, to deal wth the threat, but at the showdown, ferry captain Ross Peck and mate Janey McClure have something to say about the fate of their ship and its passengers. The author, himself a former SEAL, provides a state-of-the-art depiction of modern antiterrorist tactics. He also individualizes the terrorists and gives them believable motives in a swift-moving story whose credible plot development overcomes the shaky premise of extremely lax security at a major nuclear base. Taut writing and crisp dialogue further enhance the appeal of one of the year's better adventure novels.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Palestinian terrorists hijack a Puget Sound ferry and use it to swipe a nuclear submarine--in an unusually imaginative first hardcover from a Navy SEAL veteran and former CIA employee. Peace talks, rock throwing, and run-of-the-mill skyjackings have failed to bring about a new Palestinian state. Time to try something completely different. So where's the last place on earth you would look for a beautifully organized gang of Middle Eastern terrorists? Where else but the last ferry out of Seattle on a sleepy Saturday night? The terrorists have no plans to start their own Mediterranean shuttle; they need the ferry to capture a Trident submarine and its load of nuclear missiles, with which they plan to blackmail the US into pressuring Israel to get out of the occupied territories. Since it's the weekend and since nobody's exactly expecting superbly coordinated Islamic guerrilla action in that part of the country, the operation--which also requires capture of a floating bridge--comes off largely as planned, and the villains are soon beaming their pre-taped demands off the nearest available telecommunications satellite. While diplomats flutter, America readies a multi-force commando team to take back the boats, and the ferry captain, a tough Vietnam vet, waits for the terrorists to slip up and give him an opening. Lurking in international waters off the Juan de Fuca Strait: an unreconstructed Bolshevik in his own nuclear sub. Not bad. For maximum effect, read while commuting. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

A small band of well-armed, highly trained, and passionately dedicated terrorists hijacks a Seattle ferryboat and uses it to steal a nuclear-armed Trident submarine. Their demand: Israel must give up its possession of the occupied territories. The resulting negotiation and preparation for possible military action produces a pulse-quickening thriller, one of the best of the season. Couch ( SEAL Team One , Avon, 1991) concentrates on the American response to the threat, from the hostage ferryboat captain and crew to the competition among the army, navy, and FBI, each of which wants its team to be selected as the boarding party. The author has total control over his material, his characters are carefully and fully drawn, and the action is plausible, exciting, and topical. Recommend this book to your Larry Bond, Clive Cussler, and Tom Clancy fans--and everyone else who loves action novels.
- Elsa Pendleton, Boeing Computer Support Svces., Ridgecrest, Cal.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.