* * * The masterful, thrill-a-minute sequel to Rick Campbell’s *The Trident Deception* -the best novel about a submarine since Tom Clancy’s classic *The Hunt For Red October* ( *Booklist,* starred review). The President of the People’s Republic of China has a problem: The limited supply of oil available to his country threatens to derail its economic growth and prosperity. His plan: Aggressive diplomacy-which, in this case, means all-out war. Tawian is invaded, and the U.S. military is sent in to repel the Chinese. But the mission turns out to be far more difficult than the American fleet had expected. With state-of-the-art submarines, hidden batteries of long-range missiles, and other secret weapons, China wipes out the U.S. forces, leaving it to its main objective: Invasion and expansion across Asia, starting with the four main Islands of Japan. EMPIRE RISING While the U.S. struggles to respond to the destruction and defend its allies, an unlikely alliance is formed: National Security Advisor Christine O’Connor, who has critical information but is trapped in Beijing; Captain Murray Wilson, commanding officer of the USS *Michigan* , charged with infiltrating the Chinese submarine blockade; and Navy SEAL Jake Harrison, who must lead a strike team into hostile territory. And they have only a matter of hours left to stop the incursion-and prevent an all-but-inevitable global war… **No one puts the reader inside a submarine like Rick Campbell.-Jack Coughlin, *New York Times *bestselling author of* Shooter *and* Time to Kill*** **This edition of the book is the deluxe, tall rack mass market paperback.**