H.M.S. Unseen

Patrick Robinson might not be the smoothest writer in the world, but for action on and around the sea he's as good as Tom Clancy or the late, much-missed Hammond Innes. Robinson's latest finds ace Iraqi terrorist Benjamin Adnam--supposedly killed at the end of Nimitz Class--alive and decorated in Baghdad. Ben instinctively knows that he is no longer useful to Saddam Hussein, and sure enough, he surprises and kills an official hit squad waiting for him at his home. Burning with the desire for revenge, Ben walks to Iran (a two-week trek through desert and marshes wonderfully described by Robinson) and convinces that country's leaders to help him launch a scheme that will punish both Iraq and the Great Satan, America.

Commander Adnam, trained as a submariner in England and Israel, hijacks the HMS Unseen,, one of the world's most dangerous and undetectable subs, refits it with Russian missile launchers, and uses it to shoot down three very high-profile airplanes, including a supersonic Concorde and a plane carrying America's much beloved vice president (this is 2006, by the way). As planned, the Iraqis are widely suspected--but national security adviser Albert Morgan recognizes Adnam's handiwork and begins a global search. There's a beautifully detailed journey, across Scotland and Ireland, before the book settles down into a smaller but satisfying story of Adnam's personal quest for some kind of redemption. --Dick Adler