Seadragon

Imagine you're a 32-year-old Master Chief in the U.S. Navy named Walter Koch, and you're not just testing any old diving suit; you're in what's essentially a high-tech, sci-fi wetsuit for Project Seadragon. This suit lets you swim deeper than a submarine's dreams, without the hassle of tanks or the fear of the bends. But, as luck would have it, your test dive goes south faster than a penguin on a ski lift. An explosion sends you rocketing towards the surface, leaving your team in a rather permanent state of "rest." When you wake up, you're not just in the suit; you are the suit, in a manner of speaking. It's fused with you, and nobody's got a clue how to get you out.

The Epsilon Wave: Enter Brad Jefferies, head of the mysterious Epsilon Project, who's got more secrets than a government file on UFOs. He convinces Koch that the accident was no accident (because why would it be simple, right?). Koch finds himself in a world where the human mind's potential, dubbed the Epsilon Wave, has created beings known as Exotic Humans. It's like if your brain could manifest your deepest fears and fantasies, and then they started hanging out with you.

Ancient Cities and Underwater Wars: Just when you thought things couldn't get weirder, Koch discovers Mu, an ancient city that sank with Atlantis but decided to keep the party going underwater. Both cities, alive and kicking at the bottom of their respective oceans, are about to kick off a war that could make the surface world's problems look like a minor squabble over who ate the last slice of pizza.

This novel marks Richard Paolinelli's return to the Seadragon universe after over 35 years. He was the writer for the first two issues of the original comic series back in '85, so he's not just revisiting; he's expanding the lore with the depth of someone who's been there, done that, and got the t-shirt fused to his skin.

"Seadragon" isn't just a tale of underwater adventure; it's a dive into a world where the supernatural and the scientific collide, with enough plot twists to make a pretzel look straight. If you're into stories where the line between man and machine blurs, where ancient cities wage war beneath the waves, and where every dive might just be into the unknown, then "Seadragon" is your kind of deep-sea adventure. Just remember, when you're in over your head, sometimes the only way out is through.

*****

"Oh my god, what an adventure….I loved it, I had a hell of a binge of nostalgia reading of those characters again. Fantastic stuff. I couldn’t put it down wanting to read what came next for the old crew.!!!!" - Tom Floyd remarks after reading Seadragon