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| Cover art by Michael Herring |
| THE WATCH BELOW James White New York: Ballantine Books, October 1978 |
Rating: 4.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-0-345-27691-9 | |||||
| ISBN 0-345-27691-4 | 189pp. | SC | $1.75 | ||
A converted fleet oiler, the Gulf Trader, bound across the North Atlantic for final refit in Britain into a weapon against the submarine wolf packs of the Third Reich. She survives a storm, only to be torpedoed by one of those submarines. But the empty tanks give her such bouyancy that she floats below the surface despite the damage. Some of her crew survive in her undamaged tanks, improvising heat, light and air renewal, persisting as the months stretch into years, then generations.
A vast armada of aquatic aliens, the Untha, fleeing from the world that nourished them until their sun's growing brightness caused its seas to boil.
Both groups in a desperate struggle for survival. Both facing the critical problems of keeping themselves fed and healthy. Both meeting the challenge of reproducing their species — one through natural urges, the other from dire need. Both fighting a deadly sense of boredom. And both destined to meet in a confrontation that nearly destroys them.
James White has penned a gripping tale, but one that does drag in places. It is a bit like certain books of the Bible as he describes one generation taking the place of another. The final confrontation, while plausible, seems almost to happen in the blink of an eye. This is not his best work. I'll give it a 4.
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