Date first published	3 June 2002
ISBN Number	0 14029736 7
Page Count	560 p/b
h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback

Storyline

The hero of "Serpent" and "Blue Gold" confronts a deadly global plot, in the breathtaking new Kurt Austin adventure. Austin, leader of NUMA's Special Assignment Team, faces a new menace, in the form of a mining tycoon who has proclaimed himself Czar of Russia. Claiming Romanov ancestry and backed by billions of dollars, he is determined to overthrow the already-shaky Russian government - and US opposition doesn't bother him one bit.

Review

The story starts off well enough but definitely tails off towards the end. Like all of Cusslers books you have a seemingly unconnected event, and then fast forward to the present day when the previous events take on a new meaning.

The story has a decent set of bad guys, namely Razov, and Boris. However they are mainly back ground figures, controlling, yet distant, and at the end of the day they are dispatched quickly and with out much of a fight. In the past we would have had the Pitt/Austin character having a bitter fight to the death, yet both of the bad guys are killed with little effort. Boris is shot, and Razov is killed in a silt filled river without any intervention from Austin. Gone are the days when Pitt battled with the likes of Foss Gly.(see Deep Six and Cyclops)

Putting aside the rather weak ending the rest of the book is a decent story, which is gradually unfolded. The Trouts are used by to a very lesser degree than in some stories, in some ways this is good, as it stops the series becoming to formulaic, and also bad, because in this series I think the Trouts, are the stronger and more interesting characters.

Zavala, also takes a bit part, I sometimes wonder whether this character is a mistake and the authors don't always know what to do with him. The relationship between Pitt and Giordino is much more straight forward, and they work together and closely. The relationship between Zavala and Austin is more of a muddle, and I think this comes through in the stories. It needs to be resolved. Either with the death of Zavala (brutal), or the development of a stronger connection with Austin.

To some up a decent story in the main let down by a weak ending.

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