Date first published	3 March 2011
ISBN Number	978-0-718-15692-3
Page Count	406 h/b
h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback

Storyline

Jungles come in many forms. there are the steamy rainforests of the Burmese highlands.

There are the lies and betrayals of the world of covert operations. And there are the dark and twisted thoughts of a man bent on near global domination. to pull off there latest mission, Cabrillo and his remarkable men and women must survive them all.

A devastating new weapon unleashed in thirteenth-century China... a daring rescue in the snowbound mountains along the Afghanistan border... a woman gone missing in the jungles of northern Thailand and Myanmar... for Cabrillo and company, all of these events will come together - leading to the greatest threat against US security that the country has ever known.

Review

When the story opens we find Cabrillo and team out in the cold both literally and figuratively. Trying to rescue a hostage from the Taliban, and doing so for a private individual, rather than the US Government, who wants nothing more to do with the team. We also get to meet a potential new team member.

The story cracks along at quite a pace, and at times the lesser crew members get a chance to come from out of Cabrillo's shadow. The book enters some new territory, with the crew left to try and turn an operation that has gone badly wrong around. This makes a change from the usual smooth operations which they normally encounter, so makes a pleasant change.

It is of course only matter of time before you realise that Cabrillo is working on the other end of the stick that is threatening the US, but it takes quite a while to work out exactly what is going on. A few red herrings to throw you of the trail, and you have the makings of a really good story, that keeps you guessing until the end, with you left in some doubt as to who the enemy really is.

The only let down to the story is the slight fantasy trip that the book goes off when we encounter the Quantum Computer, especially at the end when the computer having been destroyed somehow manages to ring Cabrillo. This has shades of the Lawnmower man, and a story written in Ludlums Covert 1 series. I wasn't convinced then about a sentient all knowing computer.

Apart from that minor niggle, this is a good solid story. This is perhaps the strongest of the current Cussler franchises, although the Fargo adventures are not far behind. If they can keep the quality this high then this series will run for a good while yet .. Just reign in the fanatasy elements!

Previous	Index	Next