Facing Down Death!

Greedy mega corporations bent on ruling the world and a love for the sea and adventure have long been hallmarks of Clive Cussler’s large body of work. Whether his main character has been Dirk Pitt or more recently, Kurt Austin in a series of novels co written with Pail Kemprecos one always expects the same basic formula. The good guys are so very good while surviving multiple near death experiences that would kill any lesser man or woman. The bad guys are incredibly bad and driven by megalomania of a grand scale, which will ultimately play a large role in their complete and total destructive downfall. The read will be a good one and the good guys will win, saving the world once again. One does not read Clive Cussler for deep plots, complicated characters, or philosophical musings on life. Not to be taken seriously, one reads Cussler for the sheer thrill of adventure and he does not disappoint.

A case in point is his most recent release, which opens as so many of the Kurt Austin novels do. A ship sinks taking people down with it and Kurt Austin leader of the NUMA ® Special Assignments Team must try to do everything he can to save them. In this case, Kurt and his friend and colleague Joe Zavala make the rescue using an untried submersible and soon perform another feat of heroic daring do.

In the aftermath, it becomes clear that one of the ships involved in the incident was sabotaged by outside forces. Kurt begins to investigate and before long begins to feel hunted by a shadowy mega corporation led by a maniacal leader bent on taking over the world. To do so he will use genetic manipulation as well as anything else necessary to achieve an incredible power grab that would change the sea forever.

Blending in the relics of the Basques, a German Zeppelin and the culture of various Inuit (commonly referred to incorrectly as Eskimo) tribes, the authors once again create another grand adventure where the bad guys get a fatal dose of their own medicine in the end. While no new ground is plowed in terms of character development there are not any nasty surprises either. Kurt is still loved by all the women of the world, hated and fearfully respected by his enemies, and calm and collected in the snarling face of danger. He easily compares to Stuart Wood’s recent signature character of Stone Barrington, but he does not have as much money. Such is the life of a government employee.

The other usual characters make brief appearances. Admiral Sandecker is rarely seen or mentioned at all in this novel, which is a change from previously books in this series. He has little to do until the very end as opposed to the Trouts, who are given plenty to do in a secondary story line, which eventually peters back into the main storyline where they become sideline players.

Additionally, there is certain choppiness to the novel over the course of its more than 400 pages. In the past, the works flowed seamlessly and it was impossible to determine which part one of the authors write. That is not the case here where the sentence structure shifts from chapter to chapter and while one can’t tell precisely who wrote what, one does get a sense who might be responsible.

For what it is, this is another very enjoyable book. As in the others of this series, it is not filled with deep characters, or philosophical musings. Instead it is pure action and adventure and serves as a great break from all the serious pretentious literary stuff. In other words, it is fun and by all means, don’t take it seriously.


Book Facts:

White Death (A Kurt Austin Adventure)
By Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
2003
Hardback
0-399-15041-2