Welcome to Adventure Books Bestsellers Reviews.

The featured author for the month is a NY Times Bestselling Adventure Novelist. You can visit his home page here: Grand Master of Adventure

Cussler takes a breather from his several ongoing series with this historical thriller set in the western states, circa 1906. The U.S. government hires the renowned Van Dorn Detective Agency and its equally renowned lead agent, Isaac Bell, to capture the bank robber known as the Butcher Bandit. The Butcher has gunned down 38 men and women and two children, leaving behind neither witnesses nor clues. Bell heads the manhunt and finally figures out the Butcher’s true identity, which is when the real chase begins. Unfortunately, Cussler’s style is patterned on the clunky dialogue (I pray you catch the murdering scum) and improbable characters of the period’s dime novels, and his in-depth research makes his descriptions sound like advertising. Once San Francisco gets hit by the 1906 earthquake and the principals climb aboard a pair of fire-breathing locomotives, the novel cranks up a head of steam and some high-speed thrills. (Nov.)
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The Fauchards, successful developers and sellers of weapons, keep their place as a major power in the industry through many centuries. Kurt Austin and his crew of trained scientists and elite fighters from the National Underwater and Marine Agency begin investigating nefarious activities of the powerful Racine Fauchard and her son. Their dastardly project involves scientific experiments on humans in order to find an elixir of eternal youth. They are also leading a team of mercenaries who are melting down a massive glacier containing the remains of a Fauchard ancestor and a metal helmet on which is recorded the formula for the elixir. At the same time, the oceans of the world are under siege from a mutant strain of algae, one of the vile spin-off plots by the devilish Racine. Myriad subplots weave together until they form the ending. Along the way, the action fluctuates from a steady pace to racing forward when they intertwine. The story is set in the present, and historical events are added to help explain elements of the complex plot. Settings range from under the Atlantic Ocean to the French Alps and Greece. The Fauchards’ creepy castle, complete with dungeon and torture chamber, increases the feeling of science fiction that often accompanies Cussler’s stories. Interesting and entertaining reading.–Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reading a Clive Cussler novel is like watching several movies at once. He’s a master of the jump cut, moving the action from one continent to another with an entirely different cast of characters, good guys and bad, in each place. He always manages to pull the various characters, plots, and counter-plots together, though, and the heroes always triumph in the end after saving the world from eco-terrorists, megalomaniacs with their ambitions primed for world domination, and a few regular old criminals thrown in for good measure. In this new adventure from the National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA) files, Kurt Austin and his partner Joe Zavala nearly die during a powerboat race when a pod of dead, bloated gray whales bobs to the surface and obstructs the race course. Attempting to discover what killed the whales, Kurt and Joe track their migratory route to a mysterious underwater laboratory on the Baja Peninsula. Once again they narrowly miss death when the lab explodes, destroying their mini-submarine and almost poaching them alive. What seemed like a simple scientific investigation turns into something very different: a confrontation with a 7-foot Valkyrie who’s bent on taking over the earth’s depleted freshwater reserves. In order to thwart her plans, Austin and Zavala venture deep into the jungle of the Venezuelan rain forest to find a supposedly mythical tribal goddess (one with a Phd. in science, of course) whose secret formula to desalinate seawater can put the kibosh on the Valkyrie’s plans. Helped by a husband-wife NUMA team who’ve already made the goddess’s acquaintance, plus the always fascinating techno-toys so beloved of superheroes, Kurt and Joe save the day. But before they do, there’s plenty of heart-stopping action, random acts of murder and mutilation, and even a little romance. Great pacing, plenty of gadgets, a strong narrative, and bigger-than-life heroes and villains. If you’ve run out of summer action flicks already, make your own popcorn and curl up with Blue Gold instead. –Jane Adams –This text refers to the Paperback edition.

When most of us think of corsairs, we imagine swashbuckling pirates of the Johnny Depp variety. The Islamic terrorist corsairs that populate Clive Cussler’s Oregon Files novel, however, resemble nothing seen before. Juan Cabrillo’s interest in them originates in a plane crash and a top-level disappearance; the abduction or murder of the U.S. secretary of state propels the Oregon team on a near-frantic race that involves ancient manuscripts and a modern cabal. Full-throttle Cussler.