Polaris: A Novel

“A riveting tale of warfare in the not too distant future, on a par with Clive Cussler’s best. Tucker takes his technological know-how as a former nuclear submariner and masterfully weaves it into a sensational thriller.” —R. Cameron Cooke, author of Pride Runs Deep

One day in the not-too-distant future, Pete Hamlin regains consciousness deep inside the nuclear submarine Polaris. He’s got a gun in his hand, a fire raging outside his door, and a dead man at his feet. Soon Pete discovers that the ship is in the middle of a mutiny—and he has no idea what side he’s on.

He finds the ship is now commanded by the beautiful but volatile Hana Moody. She’s locked the former captain, Finn McCallister, inside a steel trunk, accusing him of treason. Frank Holmes is Moody’s loyalist, an imposing physical presence who shares Moody’s unquestioning devotion to the cause of the Alliance. The ship’s feckless doctor hovers in the background, unable to help Pete find out the truth about the Polaris. And outside the ship’s steel hull lurks another submarine, yet another presence that might be either friend or deadly foe.

To save himself and discover the truth, Pete must journey with Polaris back to a forlorn piece of rock in the middle of a dangerous ocean: Eris Island. To get there he must fight murderous shipmates, a swarm of bomb-dropping drones, and a plague that is attacking everyone on both sides of a battle that Pete barely understands. Only on Eris Island does Hamlin finally learn the truth.

“One part Clancy, one part H.G. Wells, three parts pure Todd Tucker at his very best. . . . Fast-paced submarine action and adventure, Polaris keeps you riveted to your chair and challenges you to ever think of drone warfare the same way again!” —Jan Coffey, author of Silent Waters

“Equal parts tense psychodrama, breathless geopolitical action tale, and awesome look at the nature of near-future global war, Polaris will keep you up way past your bedtime!”—Joe Buff, author of Crush Depth and Seas of Crisis