Beneath the Rising Sun
The Silent Depths — Book Two
A U.S. Navy submarine. Routine, rivalry, and rising tension. Before the war begins… the sea is deciding who’s ready.
About the Book
Two years beneath the sea have changed Daniel Mason.
No longer the wide-eyed recruit, he now moves through the USS Pike with quiet confidence—listening to the engines, sensing trouble before alarms sound, earning the trust of men who depend on steel and instinct to stay alive.
But peace is deceptive.
As the Pacific grows tense, routine patrols turn unforgiving. Machinery fails far from help. Rivalries sharpen in the cramped darkness. One mistake nearly floods the boat—and forces Mason to choose between following orders and saving lives. Under the steady guidance of Chief Noland, Mason learns that mastery brings danger of its own: pride.
Liberty in Pearl Harbor offers sunlight, laughter, and the illusion of safety—but even there, the war is coming. Drills intensify. Live torpedoes are loaded. Whispers spread through the fleet.
When sealed orders arrive sending Pike west to Manila, Mason understands the truth at last:
the calm was never peace—it was preparation.
Beneath the Rising Sun is the tense, atmospheric second entry in The Silent Depths series—a story of brotherhood, humility, and the moment a sailor realizes the sea is done waiting.
Get Your Copy
Available in ebook, Paperback, and Hardcover.
Early Praise
★★★★★
“A powerful and deeply authentic story. You don’t just read it — you live inside the boat. The details, the tension, the brotherhood… it all feels absolutely real.”
★★★★★
“This isn’t a flashy submarine thriller. It’s better than that. It captures the soul of the Silent Service — the quiet professionalism, the grit, and the cost.”
★★★★★
“The author understands submariners in a way few writers do. The engine room scenes, the hierarchy, the humor under pressure — every page rings true.”
★★★★★
“It feels less like fiction and more like memory. By the end, I could hear the hull creaking and feel the diesels under my feet.”
★★★★★
“A masterclass in atmosphere and character. The boat feels alive, and the men inside her feel unforgettable.”
Read a Sample
📖 Read a Sample
The diesels didn’t sound right.
Daniel Mason stood with one hand braced against the engine-room railing, eyes on the gauges, listening past the noise. The Fairbanks Morse engines thundered as they always did—heat, vibration, the hammer of pistons—but something underneath it all felt uneven. Not broken. Just… off.
Above him, the Pacific rolled unseen. Below, the hull pressed back against the sea.
“Engines ahead two-thirds,” came the order.
Mason acknowledged automatically. Oil pressure steady. Cooling water holding. Exhaust temperatures within limits. Everything the manuals said should be right.
And yet.
He shifted his weight, pressing his boot flat against the deckplates. The vibration traveled up through the steel like a pulse.
The rhythm stumbled.
Not enough to trigger alarms. Not enough for most men to notice. But Mason felt it the way a man feels his own heartbeat skip.
“You good, Mason?” a junior machinist asked.
“Yeah,” Mason said. “Just listening.”
The kid snorted. “Boat’ll tell us when she’s hurt.”
Mason didn’t answer. He already knew she would—usually too late.
The USS Pike had been underway for days, running west under orders explained only as maintain readiness. No port calls. No radio chatter. Just watches broken into pieces too small to feel like rest.
Condition II. Engines hot. Sonar manned.
The ocean watched while they pretended this was routine.
Mason rested his palm against the warm steel.
Treat her right, and she’ll bring you home.
Out here, in the middle of the Pacific, there were no yards. No tugs. No second chances.
Only the boat.
And the sea, waiting to see who listened first.
The Silent Depths Series
- Book 1: The Living Boat
- Book 2: Beneath the Rising Sun
- Book 3: The Dying Light (Coming Soon)