***The wind struck another hammer-blow.** The whaler wheeled away stern-on, and then came up with a sickening thump forward. "One anchor cable gone!" Minnaar shouted above the roar of the wind. "The other..."***---He never finished.**

*The whaler sprang free as the second cable parted. She had been secured facing south-west and now she plunged back into the maelstrom. **The water poured ankle deep on the bridge...***

"Killer deserts, grizzled prospectors, mass suicides, savage nomads ... and a vanishing U-boat patrol. I enjoyed it more than any other novel for ages."***--Daily Telegraph***

"Top-class, fascinating, scientifically plausible ... a brilliant example of how to mix the mundane and the fantastic. **" *--Observer***