I learned something over the last few days: I really enjoy submarine thrillers, which is something I didn’t know just a few weeks ago. And it was The Trident Deception that taught me that.
On April 1st of this year, I attended the author’s forum at the St. Mary’s County Library. One of the featured authors was Rick Campbell, a retired submarine officer. He told the assembled group all about his journey as an author and some funny stories about the FBI calling him in for a meeting because he was making phone calls researching terrorist activity; I guess the FBI gets a little squeamish about that sort of thing. Up until that time, I hadn’t read any of his books, but I resolved to do so when I had the chance, and I’m happy I did.
The Trident Deception was exceptional. One of the things Commander Campbell talked about at the author’s forum was how lucky he believed he was since he received a major publishing contract for his first novel. Well, clearly the publishing company knew what it was doing. The tension in the novel started on the first page and continued throughout the novel, and the action was non-stop. While Campbell mentions a few times that he had to deviate from actual submarine procedure so the novel wouldn’t be classified, I felt I was standing with the main characters in Control in the middle of the action. The author has included carefully crafted political intrigue into the novel as well.
It is difficult to see this as a first novel given how well developed it is. Readers who aren’t usually fans of submarine thrillers will be drawn in by the writing and excellent story. True fans of submarine thrillers will eagerly come back for more from Commander Campbell.
A true 5 star effort!
And feel free to visit his website at http://rickcampbellauthor.com/ and tell Commander Campbell you read this review at fjtalley.com!
