Pocket in the Sea

"Lucius Tagget: I was accidentally a total asshole to him. Alexander Jensen: How are you accidentally a total asshole to someone?"

A book told in limited third-person, following around a depressed naval Petty Officer on a run-down, barely running submarine staffed by a badly mismatched crew of military criminals. Unlike most alternative history fantasies, the crew isn't trying to change the tide of the war, save the world or fix the timeline on purpose. That all happens accidentally, and purely in violation of Murphy's law.

The title refers to the submarine being a pocket of air when submerged.


 * Alternate History: As explained by the prologue. Without WWII to fuel a drastic change in the face of the planet, the world took a different path (though America still got into it with the Middle east around the dawn of the 21st century. Some things never change.)
 * Big No: Tagget, at the end.
 * Canine Companion: Vicky. This is later Lampshaded by Jensen.
 * Covers Always Lie; Averted: the book is about a submarine. The cover has a submarine.
 * Foreign Queasine: Some of the stuff that gets eaten on the submarine while underway. Unfortunately, a lot of what gets served is not too far a cry from what is served in modern times. Different ports of call, in different nations have entirely different ideas on what is or is not edible.
 * Future Slang: Played straight and averted, the slang in the book is primarily 1970's navy slang, which makes sense in-universe. The 'new' slang is slight variations on present-day slang. In some parts, it's thick enough that a few conversations become almost Billingual Bonus.
 * Literary Agent Hypothesis: The book is supposedly a transcription of a recording. The archivist's personality breaks through in footnotes.
 * My Beloved Smother: Aaron, at times, fills this role for Tagget
 * Non-Linear Sequel: This book was the first published, but it happens after the second published book in the series.
 * Psychic Link: Tagget and Aaron
 * Sweet on Polly Oliver: It turns out Steven's is right, after all.
 * Used Future: the submarine in question, nearly seventy years old.
 * Write What You Know: The main characters are from the Pacific Northwest, where the author lives.