Mirage

Jack Du Brul (with help from Clive Cussler) gives us another fantastic novel in the Oregon Files. This time Juan Cabrillo and his crew of the Oregon are not just saving a friend, but they inadvertently are also saving the world. Just like any Clive Cussler novel this one starts off with a bang and just keeps getting more and more action. Chairman Cabrillo is breaking into a Russian prison in Siberia to try and save his Russian friend. Well, OK, not so much a friend as an adversary that he has grown to appreciate. And it doesn't hurt that this Russian has friends who are willing to pay Cabrillo and the Corporation a huge sum of money to get him rescued. So Cabrillo and friends break Yuri Borodin out of prison. In doing so Yuri passes along information that will lead Cabrillo on an adventure of epic proportions. The gist of the novel is that Nikola Tesla, the man who truly developed electricity, was not just a genius but he had inventions that are still moving the world today towards things like, time travel, teleportation, stealth technology, binding light, etc. What Juan and crew are going to discover is that Tesla's inventiveness has lead to the development of a "cloaking device" that can be used to make a ship invisible to those around it. Basically it produces an electromagnetic field that shields the ship from being seen. But there are other uses for this electromagnetic field, it can also be used to destroy things. The EMP that it produces can be used as a weapon. But how that happens is the main plot of this book. Juan and his crew will be driven through three or four adventures before the story comes to an end. Just when you think the adventure is over something else will happen. My one criticism is that it seems as though Juan Cabrillo can cheat death multiple times in every book. That seems a bit unrealistic. But that is what makes him such an interesting character and might we say an interesting hero? The way Du Brul develops the story is fantastic. The energy level starts high and keeps building until the end. Frankly I got this book yesterday and couldn't put it down until I finished it. I think my family wondered why I was so enthralled. Well, it's because the writing is so good. Bottom line, if you are a Clive Cussler fan, or an Oregon Files fan you will love this book. Let's just be a bit more pragmatic here, if you love this book and the other Oregon Files books you really are a Jack Du Brul fan, not a Clive Cussler fan. I appreciate Cussler giving help to other new authors, but please lets give credit where it is due. Du Brul does a great job. I can't wait for his next novel. Enjoy!

I liked this one, and it's probably up there in my top three Oregon Files books so far. The story involves the Oregon crew going up against a corrupt Russian admiral who has discovered a naval superweapon developed by Nikola Tesla. It's something a little different and very entertaining. Cabrillo and crew are their usual superhero selves, going from one life endangering situation to the next without breaking a sweat. The only issue I really had was about three quarters through the book we suddenly go from the Oregon crew chasing the villains to them suddenly taking a couple of weeks off to go and take part in a smuggling sting involving a billion dollars in missing US funding. It comes completely out of left field and kills the momentum of the main story since it has zero relevance. Maybe its the seed for a new story later down the line, but it just felt out of place, and added nothing to the book except an extra 30 pages or so. Not a huge deal, and still a very enjoyable book.

The name 'Clive Cussler' sold a book by itself fifteen years ago; but as Mr. Cussler has aged, he has added writing partners and gotten away from the original story. This has forced us Cussler fans to pick and chose from among the several writers whose names have appeared beside the great writer's on the cover. When I see Jack du Brul, I snap it up. This book was one of the best. du Brul writes of a disguised ship, the Oregon. It looks like it's on its last legs from the outside, but if you know how to access its inner workings you find a ship that can race down (almost) anything on the ocean staffed with A-One personnel, right down to the chef. Each story begins as Cussler began his, with a tip of the hat to the past, but when this story gets down to business it's personal. Juan Cabrillo, the Chairman of the Oregon (those who serve on the Oregon don't receive a salary-they are invested in their little activities) has set out to rescue a friend from a prison. He'll be paid $25 million for his efforts. The final words his friend speaks sets Juan off on the kind of trek that has no equal. Since I have a degree in mathematics, I'm quite familiar with Tesla, both the facts and the fiction about the man. Were he backed better I believe we would be living in a different world, a more efficient world. It's refreshing to see his name in fiction and see someone who loves to imagine as much as I do. I will admit, du Brul created something I've only seen in movies, and used it differently. What creativity!! At first the idea of 'beaming' a submarine from one side of the planet to another is batted around. When a ship is found completely upside down, though there have been calms seas, that's when the brains on the Oregon start their work. When someone figures out that was just a demonstration for a buyer, that's when the engines on the Oregon really heat up. This is du Brul at his best!! Thank you Clive Cussler for bringing him to our attention!

What can I say.....another fun book to read! Lots of action, adventure, history, technology, geography all crafted together to make another exciting story which was educational as well. I somehow missed the fact that the The Sea of Aral was drained by the Soviets. When Aral was first mentioned in the book I pulled up some current overhead pictures of where the sea should have been and it was gone! Further research confirmed what the book included about the Sea and revealed several telling photos. I love how the author weaves fiction in real events and places. I read the book on my Kindle Fire HD and had no issues.

Fun read that was entertaining and a good plane turner. Crazy how many twists were employed. It's a good book and pure I suspect I'll re-read.

Great read, it was hard to put the book down. Cuddler does it again. Always a great author and story teller.

Great Read

Schönen Einband und klar verfasst. Wie beschieben gerne immer wieder neue Bücher bestellen um meine Sachen auf dem laufenden zu halten.

spedizione in ritardo a causa di problemi del servizio postale, ma venditore gentile ed accorto, tutto ok!

Once again Cussler tells the story and the pages just kept turning. I was a little disappointed that something I was expecting, didn't turn up in the story, that was part of a previous Oregon File. It was mentioned but didn't capitalise on what could be a work of fiction, but with a big element of truth. I enjoyed this book regardless and recommend it to pass away a day and a half.

So says Tom Clancy and how right he is. Once again, Cussler has come out with a blockbuster. Lovely storyline, superbly developed and a smooth ending. However, for the first time in his writings, it appears that he had had to resort to small alternate storylines only to increase the length of the book, which would be unfair to his loyal readers. All in all, money well spent and no harm in reading the book repeat.