The cover of this book, and its title, would give you the idea that the whole book is about a lone man escaping from a damaged submarine at the limit of its depth range. A kind of Gravity underwater. This is only strengthened by the author’s bio, which refers to Mars as a wartime submarine ace; it sounds like he was a larger-than-life figure.
In truth, the escape occupies the first few pages — and it’s pretty good stuff. The rest of the book is subterfuge and intrigue on an Italian island, complete with a villa occupied by a beautiful woman, educated in the USA and ready to escape occupied Europe with our (Australian) hero who is a much-needed expert on radar.
Commando operations, a love story, a naval adventure, brave resistance fighters — it’s all here in 130 pulpy pages. It’s not going to win any prizes, but it’s quite a fun read. It’s just not what the cover would imply.
DSPACE 