While I’ve not read all he’s published thus far, I’m a fan of Jeremy Robinson. His books are a great mix of action and science fiction and are just plain fun to read.

SecondWorld is no exception.

Lincoln Miller is an ex-SEAL turned NCIS special agent. The story begins with Miller spending time in an underwater research facility called Aquarius, ostensibly watching for polluters and garbage dumpers. The reality is he is enjoying a couple weeks of quasi-vacation. Given his Navy background, he is in his element living under the sea for a while.

His leisure time comes to an end though when he finds fish all around him dying and a strange red debris floating down from the surface. As he explores the area using SCUBA gear, he can’t seem to make heads or tails of what has happened. There are no boats in the immediate area and the red flakes are just coming from the open sky. Then, a dead blue whale drifts into Aquarius, damaging it. Forced to flee to the surface, Miller finds there is no oxygen in the air.

He makes his way to Miami, using SCUBA tanks to breathe, and learns the entire area is full of corpses. Scavenging his way through the city, he discovers one lone survivor, a young girl at a hospital who was in an oxygen tent. He manages to keep them both alive, due in part to his SEAL training and part to his just stubborn will to live, as they find their way out of the city and eventually to breathable air once again.

While recovering from his harrowing journey, Miller learns the truth behind the catastrophe. The Fourth Reich has risen and this is just a sampling of what they have in store. In about a week, the entire planet will be just like Miami, with the Nazis hidden in safe underground structures, ready to rise like the fabled Phoenix and remake the planet into what they call SecondWorld.

As it turns out in the story, a significant percentage of the armed forces and U.S. government are secretly Nazis as well and have pooled their efforts to move this project along.

Miller is asked by the President of the United States to prevent the disaster from happening and promises him every resource he could ever need, save for a squad of soldiers as they cannot know who can be trusted.

There are double-crosses along the way, as well as not a small amount of action and adventure, some of it even more tongue in cheek than the overall premise of the book. He also has allies who come to his aid. One of whom, code-named Cowboy, grew to be my favorite character. The best way to describe him is to imagine Chekov from the old Star Trek series written as a total badass who gets all the best lines.

This book has a lot of classic conspiracy theory in it as well, borrowing from WWII UFOs, Operation Paperclip, and secret Nazi bases in Antarctica. As I’ve always had an interest in such legends, I was pleased to see them talked about here and worked into the story.

Yes, the science is implausible at best. But, if you use your suspension of disbelief skills, you’ll have a great time with this book. Part Indiana Jones, part Michael Crichton, with heavy doses of Matthew Reilly and James Rollins, SecondWorld pulls you in and doesn’t let go.

Find it here on Amazon or see if you can get it through your library.