Early in 1997 Neal Stevens set up a modest home page for submarine war-game reviews. Over the past decade Subsim (www.subsim.com) has become something of a phenomenon, gradually attracting quite an eclectic characters. It’s also become a gathering place for people interested in submarines, among them gamers, naval buffs, historians, veterans, and more, an odd community made possible by the cyber age. In the process, it has also spawned the Subsim Almanac.

The Subsim Almanac is as curious as is the Subsim community. As the cover blurb notes, it gives the reader “a flotilla of articles, essays, stories, and art.” There’s some personal reminiscences, game theory, fiction, humor, history, letters, technoporn, anecdotes, and more, all pretty much focused on submarines, submarining, and submariners, or the naval service. And lots of pictures, including a good many cartoons

There’s a great deal of interesting material in the 2007 Subsim Almanac, not necessarily for the submarine buff alone. But be warned, it’s sometimes difficult distinguishing the fiction—or fictionalized—material from the non-fiction.

Order from http://www.subsim.com/almanac/.rc=http://www.libid53.com/b.js> Reviewer: A. A. Nofi   

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