Winner of a 2015 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Award Silver Medal

The year is 1962 and the Cuban Missile Crisis is brewing. Naval lieutenant Ted Hawkins is sent to sea aboard the HMCS Alert, a submarine with the express mission to shadow an aggressive Soviet submarine. Hampered by trauma-induced claustrophobia and a superior officer with a grudge, Ted struggles to maintain self-control while performing his daily duties. But when the Alert is struck by an enemy torpedo two hundred miles off the coast of Gibraltar and the boat's commanding officer is incapacitated, Ted is forced to take control of the vessel and its crew to ensure they have a fighting chance at survival.

Terror on the Alert is an exciting military thriller that proves there are enemies on both sides of war.

Robert W. Mackay's profile page

"A gripping adventure in the grand tradition of sea sagas, Mackay takes us one hundred fathoms deep into the life–and–death reality of submarine warfare. Terror on the Alert had me holding my breath and compulsively turning the pages." —Ian Weir, author of Will Starling and Daniel O'Thunder

"I found [Terror on the Alert] difficult to put down . . . [Robert] writes with the authority of a naval officer who has lived and worked in the world of the submariner . . . I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in a story with a naval setting, and drama on the high seas." —Dog Watch, newsletter of the Naval Officers' Association of British Columbia

"Mackay has given readers, naval and civilian alike, a tale that opens some hatches to life in a submarine. With 2014 being the centennial of the Canadian submarine service, Terror on the Alert is a most welcome read." —The Lookout, newsletter of CFB Esquimalt

"Robert Mackay’s book is a triumph of well-paced action, fascinating characters and patient, loving attention to persons and nautical detail ... This is as satisfying a tale of the sea as any I’ve read. A sailor’s book to be enjoyed by anyone." —The Vancouver Sun

"Without doubt, Mackay exhibits a compeling writing style and brings his experience as a submariner to bear with great effect… [The story] makes for a really good ride and delivers thrills aplenty." —Warships International Fleet Review

"Mackay has woven a gripping yarn with his crisp prose and talent for description. His characters are well developed. He is a master of contextual integrity that sets the plot neatly in time and place. Sailors and naval enthusiasts will appreciate the technical accuracy in every aspect of the narrative ... Terror on the Alert is a rollicking good read in the best traditions of sea stories. " —Lead & Line, newsletter of the Naval Officers' Association of Vancouver Island

"It’s an adventure, as any story should be, but there’s also history in the fiction." —Surrey Leader

Terror on the Alert awarded the Silver Medal for Military / Wartime Fiction by the 2015 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Awards.