I'm not a fan of Mr. Cussler's writing: to me it is like a low budget TV movie. You can predict so much of it. There will be a steely jawed hero who achieves seemingly impossible exploits in spite of circumstance or injury. There will be a brilliant and beautiful female scientist and / or spy for another nation. A romantically involved pair of characters will be stressed by the potential loss of one or both of them. There will be a nearly indestructible head bad guy with some sort of odd weapons fetish. A senior level government bureaucrat will risk mission failure and the lives of many because of an inappropriately intense political or personal ambition.
Well there you go. So why did I read this novel? The last time I tried one of Mr. Cussler's books was July of 2008. Two Sunday's ago I met someone who mentioned in passing his like of Mr. Cussler's books. So when I saw this title on the rack at the public library, I thought, "why not?"
There are good reasons why not. But the good news is, a library read is a free read. And the time spent wasn't entirely wasted because, even though I'm not a fan and the writing is formulaic, there was a notion of dramatic tension and the plot did advance.
Do I recommend this? Since I am guilty of enjoying predictable and formulaic novels myself, how can I throw (too many) stones? It is a fast read, and marginally entertaining.
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