Written with a blazing intensity, it is a stirring and compellingly authentic journey through the greatest conflict in history, drawing upon the author's first-hand experience.
Surface! is Fullerton's first novel, released in 1953 and based on his own life as a submarine torpedo officer: a tale of one crew's hardship, camaraderie and great daring on board a British submarine serving during the Second World War.
This is life on HMS Seahound: routine and special operations; boarding Chinese junks; creeping through minefields; engaging a Japanese cruiser; evading depth charges; returning to the port of Ceylon and the Depot Ship; and then off again into action with unerring zeal. But can they keep evading tragedy forever? And if the war ends, will they really be able to cope with life on the surface?
Surface!is a must-read for fans of real-life military stories such as Sniper One, 3 Paraor Apache Down. Alexander Fullerton was a bestselling author of British naval fiction, whose writing career spanned over fifty years. He served with distinction as gunnery and torpedo officer of HM Submarine Seadog during World War Two. He was a fluent Russian speaker, and after the war served in Germany as the Royal Navy liaison with the Red Army.
His first novel, Surface!, was written on the backs of old cargo manifests. It sold over 500,000 copies and needed five reprints in six weeks. Fullerton is perhaps best known though for his nine-volume Nicholas Everard series, which was translated into many languages, winning him fans all round the world. His fiftieth novel, Submariner, was published in 2008, the year of his death.
