Anybody read Red Star Rogue?

[Castout]

Well i'm a little late for asking opinions on the book since I already bought it. It was on the bargain shelves anyway but I'm about a fifth into it and it seems like a good read. I wonder why I never heard of this book before? Any of you got it? Is it a good read:hmm:?

Here's the complete title and author:

Red Star Rogue: The untold story of a Soviet Submarine's nuclear strike attempt on the US.

Author: Kenneth Swell and Clint Richmond.

Description: It's about an attempt by a Golf class diesel nuclear missile boat gone rogue and supposedly attempt to launch its nukes on Pearl Harbor masquerading it as an act of war by the PRC boat.

Edit: Well, at least I know now that Bill doesn't like it. I wonder why. Bill?

[TLAM Strike]

I found it entertaining but I didn't take it as a non-fiction book more of a specultive fiction book. Huchinson's quote from one of the Picture Pages basicly sums it up 'we'll never know what really happened to the K-129'.

[Castout]

You know somehow Red Star Rogue reminds me of the Hunt for Red October.

Anybody else see the correlation?

Both involve a ballistic nuclear missile boat that somehow gone rogue.
The soviet naval command launched a massive search(hunt) effort using surface forces banging with active sonar and its pacific submarine fleet.

Then the explosion(fake?) registered on SOSUS and the deceptive oil leak to mislead the Soviets on the whereabout of the sub wreck site.

In my wildest imagination I imagine that K-129 was handed over to the US governement, the crew seeking asylum and the boat stripped of its electronic/ sonar equipment and at least one of its missile(perhaps these were done underwater in a shallow ocean with another DSRV docking to the emergency hatch of the K-129). Subseguently the sub itself might have been destroyed by demolition charges.
Like I said this is just my wildest speculation. A ballistic nuclear missile diesel boat defection anyone?

[Bill Nichols]

Don't get me going...

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=83520

[Subnuts]

Originally Posted by Bill Nichols

Don't get me going...

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=83520

Interesting that the author (or perhaps one of his representatives) found it necessary to defend the book in this thread, taking offense to what you said. I wonder how he'll feel about the response to his Scorpion() book due out in April 2008? I've heard through another channel that Ed Offley was personally offended by my review of Scorpion Down. On the other hand, the author of Rogue Trident wasn't really bothered by my critical review of his book, and said he'd actually incorporate some of my suggestions into the sequel.

Some people just can't take criticism properly.

[Castout]

Hehehe I'm not trying to stir a hornet's nest here but I accept the fact that what I'm reading in Red Star Rogue may not have credible evidences to serve as its basis. But that is inevitable as the author is trying to unfold a story of the silent service so rumors and speculation may have to assist in some way or another to make story complete.

As long as the 11 mysterious additional crews added at the last minute are not considered Martian:rotfl:.

Edit:
Besides any adult would have learned not to accept anything at face value in the absence of hard evidence so I may not be convinced that the Golf II sub was trying to launch its ballistic missile but the exploit of the K-129 wreckage by the intelligence agencies is pretty much mentioned in at least 3 books: Blind man's bluff, Silent war and Red Star Rogue. So I accept Red Star Rogue as one of the perspective at looking into the event that lead to the successful exploit of Soviet military hardware by the US intelligence agencies. Something like that. Besides I'm a casual reader not a historian buffs. The details of the book will be completely lost from my head in a couple of weeks

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Castout

In my wildest imagination I imagine that K-129 was handed over to the US governement, the crew seeking asylum and the boat stripped of its electronic/ sonar equipment and at least one of its missile(perhaps these were done underwater in a shallow ocean with another DSRV docking to the emergency hatch of the K-129). Subseguently the sub itself might have been destroyed by demolition charges.
Like I said this is just my wildest speculation. A ballistic nuclear missile diesel boat defection anyone?

The K-129 sank 2 years before Mystic DSRV-1 was launched. (Four years before Avlon DSRV-2).