Goliath (novel)

Goliath is a science fiction novel by Steve Alten. It is about the world's most dangerous machine (a giant manta ray-shaped submarine equipped with nuclear weapons and a sentient AI program named SORCERESS) controlled by a madman. The Protagonist of the story is ex-Army Ranger Gunnar Wolfe, who had been on the team designing Goliath (the sub) before being falsely imprisoned for trying to wipe the data and cripple the project. The Follwoing is the official synopsis stright from SteveAlten.com; the webpage of the Author:

"20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA meets 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, "as a victim of terrorism hijacks the most lethal killing machine ever created.

The U.S. Navy designed Goliath, a futuristic nuclear stealth submarine the length of a football field in the shape of a giant stingray. But the plans were stolen. The Chinese built the sub covertly, only to have it hijacked by its creator, Simon Covah, a victim of terrorism who witnessed his family brutally murdered and was left for dead.

Covah aims to treat the disease of violence by using Goliath and its nuclear weapons to dictate world policy. Among his first demands: Execute Saddam or Baghdad gets nuked!

Unlike the U.S., Covah wants and needs no coalition to support his objectives, many of which read like a CIA wish-list. As the U.S. President "allows" him to wield his "big-stick," the question arises of how far we should go with national defense, advancing our own interests by encroaching on the sovereignty of other powers.

One Wild Card: SORCERESS, the sub's bio chemical computer, programmed with the capacity to evolve. Like a child, it is learning.