Cold Choices

Jerry Mitchell, Book 2

By: Larry Bond

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 19 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Navy pilot turned submarine officer Jerry Mitchell is now the navigator aboard USS Seawolf. On a reconnaissance mission deep in the Barents Sea, Mitchell and his crew prepare to watch the Russian navy as it trains for battle. Although they are outside Russia's territorial waters, the U.S. boat is ambushed by Russia's newest attack submarine, Severodvinsk. Its aggressive new captain, Aleksey Petrov, harasses the American intruder with dangerously fast, insanely close passes.

The subs collide, and the Russian ship sinks to the bottom, crippled. Only Seawolf knows where Severodvinsk is, but the Russian authorities are too angry to listen to the Americans, even in matters of life and death.

Mitchell and his shipmates must keep their own damaged vessel afloat, figure out a way to make the Russians listen, and keep the trapped submariners alive until they can be saved - if that is even possible.

Larry Bond uses his experience as an intelligence officer, warfare analyst, and antisubmarine technology specialist to give readers an expertly crafted techno-thriller. Like Run Silent, Run Deep and The Hunt for Red October, Cold Choices takes readers deep into the minds of submariners and the treacherous world in which they dwell.

©2009 Larry Bond (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Slow start but worth the wait

If you could sum up Cold Choices in three words, what would they be?

Gripping, tense, exhilirating

What was one of the most memorable moments of Cold Choices?

That would be a spoiler

Which scene was your favorite?

That would also be a spoiler

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not at first, but by the half-way point - yes.

Any additional comments?

This was my first Larry Bond book. It won't be the last. At first I wasn't sure I was going to hang in, as gets off to a slow start. But by the half-way point I couldn't put it down. It really was worth the time, because you only care about the characters so much at the end, because Larry took enough time at the beginning to let you really get to know them. Dick Hill's narration was brilliant.

Good Submarine Yarn

From the viewpoint of a cold war submariner it was a good listen. However, a little unrealistic at the end but still a good story.

An epic submarine story

TrueType engaging until the very end
A really good listen
Best audible book yet
Highly recommended

Exceptional story line and narration!

Great story line and narration! Could not quit listening to it which means something
as a lot of these stories are sometimes dry!

good mariners tale with tons of detail

I'm not a military person but the story was intriguing. Dick Hill was superb, always a treat to hear his narrations.

Friendship, Mistrust, Honour and Respect

This novel is filled with many twists and turns caused by mistrust that in the end becomes respect.

Good Cold Choice

This book was a very good disaster movie in my head! Dick Hill made everything real every time. Lots of technical and strategic insights of submarine, naval, and leadership choices. Happy with this credit spending.

a great audio book.

As I am a retired U. S. submarine sailor I can tell you that this is a fantastic book as well as an audio book. The narrator, Dick Hill, did a excellent job in altering his voice slightly with each character so as to almost make you believe that each character was voiced by a different narrator. And the story itself was very exciting. I could almost picture myself back on my former subs.

sailor's respect for each other. Eternal Father, Strong to Save ...

Excellent novel. good attention to detail and procedure. very suspenseful, with a good mix of Navy monotony and occasional personnel issues. Dick Hill is fantastic as always as the reader.

This was great fun

Ever since I saw "Run Silent Run Deep" (Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Don Rickles) as a child, I've been drawn to stories about submarines. I've listened to most of the submarine fiction and non-fiction on Audible.
Sadly, most submarine fiction is kinda pulpy, especially the WWII books which are predictable with standard characters and seem to always end with the submarine out of options, up on the surface using its deck gun to shoot it out with some Japanese ship.
But "Cold Choices" was quality work. It seems like Larry Bond knows a whole lot about modern subs. When I was learning to be a writer, the axiom was, "It doesn't have to be realistic, just believable." This book was extremely believable. and filled with fascinating details.
Best of all, it was a good yarn and kept me entertained for nearly 20 hours.
Is this great literature? Of course not. But it's a genuinely entertaining read and there's a lot to be said for that.