Veteran techno-thriller writer Robinson's fifth novel pairs Arnold Morgan, the aging but still powerful national security adviser who stars in the author's previous titles (Nimitz Class, Kilo Class) with a new young naval intelligence officer named Ramshawe--one of the few characters with more personality than the military hardware on which Robinson lavishes most of his attention in this somewhat pedestrian tale.

Ramshawe's commanding officer ignores his warnings about a Russian airplane carrying a lethal cargo of sea mines to a Chinese naval base and the subsequent movement of Chinese warships flying the flag of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, even when an American oil tanker explodes in the Persian Gulf. Unable to convince his Admiral that the events are connected, the junior hotshot ignores the chain of command and takes his suspicions to Morgan. When more oil tankers blow up and it becomes clear that the Chinese have mined the strait in order to drive oil prices up and destabilize the economy, Morgan deploys the U.S. Navy to the Gulf. Included in the force are a couple of SEAL teams on a submarine--but the sub is commanded by a deranged captain who believes he's the reincarnated spirit of the French naval officer defeated by Nelson at Trafalgar, so the SEALs are forced to stage a mutiny in order to carry out their mission. Meanwhile, it turns out China has another target in its sights, halfway around the world: its neighbor Taiwan. So the Taiwanese air force must fight off the attack on its territory with no help from the U.S. Navy, which is committed in the Gulf.

There's enough weaponry and military maneuvering here to keep fans of Clancy, Coonts, and Dale Brown happy, but it may be past time for the curmudgeonly Morgan to retire and let a new series hero like Ramshawe take over. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
The fifth in a series of naval techno-thrillers that includes Nimitz Class and H.M.S. Unseen, Robinson's latest offers little more than tired anti-Beijing paranoia and chest-thumping adulation of U.S. military might. It is the year 2007, and the U.S. national security adviser, Adm. Arnold Morgan (the curmudgeonly patriot who has graced all of Robinson's previous novels), is unhappily marking time. He has been persuaded to stay on past his planned retirement date by a jittery Joint Chiefs of Staff worried about the aging Republican president ("a complete flake"). Bored now because "the goddamned world's gone quiet," Morgan and a junior intelligence officer named Ramshawe are almost relieved to discover that devious Chinese admirals, familiar from previous installments, have teamed up with the mad mullahs of Tehran to hatch a dastardly plot: they have set up a massive minefield across the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, directly in the path of the world's oil tankers; destroying them will drive world oil prices through the stratosphere and derail the global economy. Of course, the navy's chain of command gets in the way of those alert enough to smell a rat, and Ramshawe's warnings go unheeded until tankers start going boom. At that point, Morgan deploys the bulk of naval forces to the Gulf, and the U.S. and China go to the brink again. Robinson's description of submarine operations is not as detailed as Tom Clancy's, and his portrayal of SEALs is not as realistically gritty as Richard Marcinko's, but he does pick up handily on real world tensions. Whether or not he triumphs and here he does not neither he nor his hero show signs of slowing down. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Against a backdrop of Chinese efforts to control world oil supplies, a team of Navy SEALs comes under fire from Chinese forces. When the commander of the USS SHARK refuses to take action to rescue the SEALs, his lieutenant takes over the nuclear sub, setting the stage for a heroic rescue and a court-martial under the glare of the media spotlight. In this somewhat disappointing novel, the mutiny in the title doesn't take place until the fourth cassette, and its resolution seemed too pat and predictable. The narration by David McCallum is cool and capable, although his Southern accent seems a bit thick. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

FROM OUR EDITORS

After oil tanker after oil tanker blows up in the Strait of Hormuz, an American naval fleet is dispatched to the Persian Gulf to root out the culprits. The mindfield kill zone they discover places national security in jeopardy. And then, halfway around the world, China makes its move...

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the not-so-distant future, when the West is more dependent on foreign oil than ever, a tanker suddenly explodes in the Strait of Hormuz. When another ship does precisely the same, the United States dispatches four massive Carrier Battle Groups to a region of powder-keg instability. What the Navy finds is a minefield kill zone that will strangle the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. But no one can guess that the real blow has yet to be struck. That will come on the other side of the globe, when China, safe now from U.S. interference, commits the unthinkable.

SYNOPSIS

Throughout the fifteenth century, China's blue-water navy fleets dominated all the oceans between the Yellow Sea and the Persian Gulf. But for the next five hundred years, it regressed to a dim echo of its glorious past. However, it is now the year 2007 and the Chinese agenda has changed. With a tremendous navy buildup, anchored by a new base in Burma and a $2 billion oil refinery on the southern Iranian coast, the Chinese are poised not only to challenge America's superiority on the open sea but also to upset the delicate balance of oil power in the Middle East and the free passage of the world's giant tankers.

Admiral Arnold Morgan, the President's National Security Adviser, is closely monitoring the Chinese when an oil tanker mysteriously explodes in the Persian Gulf. When it happens a second and then a third time, he knows it is no coincidence.... The Chinese navy, in partnership with Iran, has laid a minefield clean across the Strait of Hormuz, holding the world's oil supply hostage. As a global oil crisis ensues, the world financial markets spiral out of control. Mystified by China's motive yet drawn to action, the United States moves to disarm the mines with a huge display of force, deploying five Carrier Battle Groups, 80 percent of its active sea power.

While the sweepers blow out the mines, Morgan characteristically slams back at China. Navy SEAL veteran commanders Rick Hunter and Rusty Bennett lead devastating attacks on China's Indian Ocean power bases. And at the center of the missions is USS Shark, a thirty-year-old nuclear boat on her final tour of duty, commanded by Donald Reid, an officer struggling with his inner demons. His executive officer is Lt. Commander Dan Headley, an intrepid Kentuckian, himself on his way to full command. When the brave SEALs are confronted with the unexpected death of their own, the unimaginable happens: the first mutiny in the modern history of the United States Navy.

Meanwhile, the People's Liberation Navy sits and waits for their ultimate gambit, a move so shocking and unexpected that it forces the world to hold its breath. Was the minefield in the strait just a diversion?

Featuring an ensemble cast that stretches from the most secretive heart of the Chinese high command to the control room of a U.S. submarine, out onto the screaming flight decks of the great aircraft carriers, all the way to a United States Navy court-martial, The Shark Mutiny is epic in its sweep, meticulous in its authenticity, and breathtaking in its pacing. Terrifying and thrilling, it is the most dramatic story of rebellion on the high seas since The Caine Mutiny.

FROM THE CRITICS

Stephen Coonts

Robison is on of the crown princes of the ...thriller.

Publishers Weekly

The fifth in a series of naval techno-thrillers that includes Nimitz Class and H.M.S. Unseen, Robinson's latest offers little more than tired anti-Beijing paranoia and chest-thumping adulation of U.S. military might. It is the year 2007, and the U.S. national security adviser, Adm. Arnold Morgan (the curmudgeonly patriot who has graced all of Robinson's previous novels), is unhappily marking time. He has been persuaded to stay on past his planned retirement date by a jittery Joint Chiefs of Staff worried about the aging Republican president ("a complete flake"). Bored now because "the goddamned world's gone quiet," Morgan and a junior intelligence officer named Ramshawe are almost relieved to discover that devious Chinese admirals, familiar from previous installments, have teamed up with the mad mullahs of Tehran to hatch a dastardly plot: they have set up a massive minefield across the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, directly in the path of the world's oil tankers; destroying them will drive world oil prices through the stratosphere and derail the global economy. Of course, the navy's chain of command gets in the way of those alert enough to smell a rat, and Ramshawe's warnings go unheeded until tankers start going boom. At that point, Morgan deploys the bulk of naval forces to the Gulf, and the U.S. and China go to the brink again. Robinson's description of submarine operations is not as detailed as Tom Clancy's, and his portrayal of SEALs is not as realistically gritty as Richard Marcinko's, but he does pick up handily on real world tensions. Whether or not he triumphs and here he does not neither he nor his hero show signs of slowing down. (May 22) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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