Product Description

Coonts's popular hero, Jake Grafton, returns in a geopolitical tale of missing American attack submarines and the final appearance of 'Son of STAR WARS' - America's space-based anti-ballistic missile system. America's newest attack submarine the USS America has been stolen by a rogue CIA team, and Jake Grafton is drafted in to investigate. When the sub fires cruise missiles - containing new, classified, electromagnetic warheads - over Washington and then New York, trillion-watt pulses fry every circuit, switch, and microchip - along with a major portion of the internet . . . AMERICA is a brilliantly gripping thriller encompassing huge concepts and worldwide action.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #357867 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Rear Admiral Jake Grafton, who has appeared in eight previous Coonts novels (most recently Cuba and Hong Kong), returns in America, another techno-thriller from one of the genre's top practitioners. The first couple of pages recount the disappearance of SuperAegis, a satellite that's the cornerstone of a new American-European-Russian anti-missile defence system, on its first, much heralded trial. But Jake Grafton is only on that case for a few paragraphs before the stealth submarine USS America is hijacked on her maiden voyage. The sub quickly lives up to her reputation as the sneakiest undersea vessel in the world by seeming to vanish into the Atlantic. It takes a little while for Grafton to connect the dots between the two military blunders, by which time missiles fired from the America have devastated Washington, frying every electronic circuit in the city, and even burning the White House to the ground. Between looking for the rogue sub, searching for the satellite, and trying to get some answers about the team the CIA trained to steal a Russian sub (and then beached when the mission was cancelled), Grafton's got his hands full.

Stephen Coonts describes the submarine at the centre of the action so lavishly and lovingly that the USS America is much more real--and even more human--than any of his flesh-and-blood characters, including Grafton himself. The mysterious German financier who's at the bottom of it all doesn't get more than a walk-on; he's a cardboard villain, just like the brilliant female computer expert who sets up his crimes. But none of that matters if you like this kind of tale, which combines excitement and action with loads of information about computers, sonar, weapons systems, and stealth technology. America will surface quickly and take a commanding position on the summer bestseller lists. --Jane Adams, Amazon.com

About the Author
Stephen Coonts is a former naval aviator who flew combat missions during the Vietnam War. His previous novels have been worldwide bestsellers. A former attorney, he resides with his wife and son in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Customer Reviews

More Ambitious
I have not read all of this writer's work, however I did begin with his first, "Flight Of The Intruder", and have read the majority that have followed. There is no debate that Mr. Coonts has become better at his craft. This book has been atop the NYT Bestseller List for several weeks, not a place that pretenders achieve or remain at. In, "America", the Author has produced a more complex book with greater success than I have read previously. I enjoyed the book; however there were some tiresome issues.

One of the technologies that are highlighted under the name of Flashlight also happens to be on the cover of a nationally distributed magazine at present. The article was fairly brief, but it did provide more detail about the technology than this book did. The Submarine Warfare aspects of the book were fairly well done, but "Red October" remains the standard. The sonar technology that was a key part of the subject boat was amazing, and was credibly portrayed. The manner by which the same boat became acquired caused me to have a hard time suspending disbelief. I just do not believe that type of incompetence would surround this vessel at launch.

The following complaints are minor; however they do interrupt the flow of reading this tale. A thesaurus would help solve the repetition of words. I lost count of how many times, "it's toast", was used, but it and other words and short phrases needed to be edited. I also have trouble with names that are so bizarre they stop the reader in mid-sentence. Apollo Ice may be a great name for a professional wrestler, but it does not belong with Dr. in front of it. And when naming a German, using Kraut as the start of the last name is nothing other than weak, at worst it can be offensive, although I don't believe the Author meant to give offense at all. It may be a valid German name, but it reads as horribly contrived in a novel.

The scope of the conspiracy was a bit of a stretch as well. Confining it to one of the events would have been workable; however laying all the complexity at one door was too much. In general the book felt as if it was rushed, and that would explain the repetitive language as well as some poor editing.

I know this probably reads as if I really disliked the work. I do like the work of Mr. Coonts and he is one of the better practitioners of this genre writing at present. However I do believe it is fair to ask of him to be meticulous if his goal is to write detailed high tech thrillers.

3.5 Stars

The story sinks when the action moves to a cruise ship
This time Stephen Coonts really let me down! I was getting ready to give "America" five stars until I hit the third-last chapter, at which point the action moves to a luxury cruise ship, and the good guys take their wives along for the jaunt!

When the going gets tough, the tough guys (and their wives) go for a luxury cruise? No way!

Until the last three chapters I really liked "America". OK, the plot is a bit farfetched, involving hackers meddling with the launch of a super-advanced military satellite and a CIA-trained team of Russians and East Germans stealing a likewise super-advanced US Navy submarine named "America". But if you can swallow the plot the story is very exciting, and the characterizations of the people in the book is fairly good.

The submarine "America" and its advanced equipment and weapons are the real stars of the show. I especially loved the descriptions of the havoc created by the Tomahawk cruise missiles with new EMP (electromagnetic pulse) warheads, the attempts by two F-16 Fighting Falcons to shoot down the cruise missiles, and the underwater battle between "America" and two Los Angeles class submarines. At times like this Stephen Coonts is even better than Tom Clancy.

There is also a whole array of bad guys who you can love to hate. The one who's presented best is the Russian captain Vladimir Kolnikov, the leader of the team that steals "America" and then inflicts major damage on the USA. Zelda Hudson, the American hacker who finds it only slightly challenging to re-program a satellite launch or to get into any of the Pentagon's weapons systems, is also a cool customer whose services are available to the highest bidder.

Unfortunately, the two top bad guys, the Frenchmen Antoine Jouany and Willi Schlegel, never get much coverage, remaining simply "the nasty Europeans" who want to challenge the dominance of the USA. It would have been nice if they got to play a larger role.

But then comes the last three chapters, and major disappointment. Willi Schlegel happens to own a luxury cruise ship and decides to use it to rendezvous with "America" off the coast of Portugal. This is totally crazy - what bad guy in his right mind would involve hundreds of paying passengers and hundreds of non-combatant crew members in his criminal activities?

Even crazier, the good guys then decide to get aboard the luxury cruise ship pretending to be ordinary passengers and they bring their wives along to provide cover. Of course the bad guys are on top of the situation and the next thing we know the good guys and their wives are being held at gunpoint! Is this dumb or what?

I don't know how you feel about your wife (or husband), but deliberately and unnecessarily putting her (or him) in harm's way when going up against cold-blooded killers is not my idea of proper behavior.

In summary, an exciting techno-thriller that's great until it breaches the reader's credulity when the action in the last three chapters moves to a luxury cruise ship and the good guys bring their wives along for the final confrontation. That twist in the plot is too much to swallow, and spoils the whole book.

Rennie Petersen

The story sinks when the action moves to a cruise ship
This time Stephen Coonts really let me down! I was getting ready to give "America" five stars until I hit the third-last chapter, at which point the action moves to a luxury cruise ship, and the good guys take their wives along for the jaunt!

When the going gets tough, the tough guys (and their wives) go for a luxury cruise? No way!

Until the last three chapters I really liked "America". OK, the plot is a bit farfetched, involving hackers meddling with the launch of a super-advanced military satellite and a CIA-trained team of Russians and East Germans stealing a likewise super-advanced US Navy submarine named "America". But if you can swallow the plot the story is very exciting, and the characterizations of the people in the book is fairly good.

The submarine "America" and its advanced equipment and weapons are the real stars of the show. I especially loved the descriptions of the havoc created by the Tomahawk cruise missiles with new EMP (electromagnetic pulse) warheads, the attempts by two F-16 Fighting Falcons to shoot down the cruise missiles, and the underwater battle between "America" and two Los Angeles class submarines. At times like this Stephen Coonts is even better than Tom Clancy.

There is also a whole array of bad guys who you can love to hate. The one who's presented best is the Russian captain Vladimir Kolnikov, the leader of the team that steals "America" and then inflicts major damage on the USA. Zelda Hudson, the American hacker who finds it only slightly challenging to re-program a satellite launch or to get into any of the Pentagon's weapons systems, is also a cool customer whose services are available to the highest bidder.

Unfortunately, the two top bad guys, the Frenchmen Antoine Jouany and Willi Schlegel, never get much coverage, remaining simply "the nasty Europeans" who want to challenge the dominance of the USA. It would have been nice if they got to play a larger role.

But then comes the last three chapters, and major disappointment. Willi Schlegel happens to own a luxury cruise ship and decides to use it to rendezvous with "America" off the coast of Portugal. This is totally crazy - what bad guy in his right mind would involve hundreds of paying passengers and hundreds of non-combatant crew members in his criminal activities?

Even crazier, the good guys then decide to get aboard the luxury cruise ship pretending to be ordinary passengers and they bring their wives along to provide cover. Of course the bad guys are on top of the situation and the next thing we know the good guys and their wives are being held at gunpoint! Is this dumb or what?

I don't know how you feel about your wife (or husband), but deliberately and unnecessarily putting her (or him) in harm's way when going up against cold-blooded killers is not my idea of proper behavior.

In summary, an exciting techno-thriller that's great until it breaches the reader's credulity when the action in the last three chapters moves to a luxury cruise ship and the good guys bring their wives along for the final confrontation. That twist in the plot is too much to swallow, and spoils the whole book.

Rennie Petersen