Submerged

Horror fans will find this novel, which shifts between 1945 and the present, more tantalizing than satisfying. While there are glimpses of a realm Lovecraft could have created and a suggestion that more might be forthcoming in a sequel, they are overshadowed by a by-the-numbers thriller plot. In the past, German Kapitaenleutnant Erich Bruckner is commanding submarine U-5001 on a secret mission, carrying a plane known as the Little New Yorker. But before U-5001 can make much headway crossing the Atlantic, Berlin diverts it to perform a rescue operation for a covert scientific base, Station 111, housed under the Greenland Shelf. What Bruckner and his men encounter there defies belief. Their exploits alternate with those of Dexter Bucklin, who heads a team of six amateur divers in the present day. He and his friends discover the remains of U-5001 in Chesapeake Bay, setting off alarm bells with a shadowy group known as the Guild. Monteleone keeps things moving, even if the original aspects of the story are secondary to the formula. (Sept.)