Posted by Kamaal on July 11th, 2010 11:17 PM |
Gold and Silver
Product Description
A POD OF WHALES, DEAD WITHOUT REASON IN SAN DIEGO BAY . . .
A PRIMITIVE BRAZILIAN TRIBE WHOSE SECRETS COULD SAVE LIVES . . .
A BILLIONAIRE TYCOON SET ON WORLD DOMINATION . . .
An investigation into the sudden deaths of a pod of gray whales leads National Underwater & Marine Agency leader Kurt Austin to the Mexican coast, where someone tries to put him and his mini-sub permanently out of commission. Meanwhile, in South America’s lush hills, a specially assigned NUMA® team discovers a murdered body—a member of a mysterious local tribe, who live like ghosts beyond a five-part waterfall the locals call the Hand of God, and are rumored to be led by a mythical white goddess. Now they are in danger from a vicious cadre of bio-pirates intent on stealing medicinal discoveries worth millions.
Soon, Austin and his crew realize that they’re working opposite ends of the same grand scheme, and must race against time to save the world’s freshwater supply from a twisted eco-extortionist. But every step toward salvation takes them deeper into a dense jungle of treachery, blackmail, and death.
A NOVEL FROM THE NUMA® FILESAmazon.com Review
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 counterplots 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 minisubmarine 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 Ph.D. 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
Blue Gold: A Novel from the NUMA Files
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I was very critical of the first joint effort by Mr. Cussler and Mr. Kemprecos (“Serpent”) because it was subpar by Cussler standards. I also thought he had let himself fall into the “franchise trap”, where he stamps his name on books authored by someone else and watches his credibility and reader base suffer. However, I wound up giving Mr. Cussler the benefit of the doubt and read “Blue Gold”.
“Blue Gold” is the second novel featuring the NUMA team of Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala. As with the first book, however, one cannot help but continually visualize Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino – the descriptions of the characters are that similar. Oh, there are some minor differences, but they only serve to make you feel that you are reading the adventures of “Pitt Lite” and “Giordino Lite”. The Trouts, minor characters spotlighted both here and in “Serpent”, are wholly unappealing because they don’t bring much to the overall story, other than an excuse to print an extra chapter or two revolving around a chase or escape.
This book is much improved over “Serpent” mostly due to its, shall we say, more judicious use of detail. Whereas “Serpent” was bogged down by mind-numbing, superficial detail, “Blue Gold” is free of most of these anchors. The end result is a story that reads slightly closer to the Cussler adventures we fans are accustomed to, and moves along at a much quicker pace. The plot is average, though the closing sequence is exciting and unique, with an interesting turn of events not typically found in the Dirk Pitt tales.
All in all, the “sophomore” Kurt Austin adventure is an average effort. It is much improved over the first outing in this series, but continues to be vexed by too many similarities in characters and plot. It seems to me that for this series to fly, Mr. Cussler needs to ditch Mr. Kemprecos and just write the stories himself. Also, if he does indeed have this wealth of material for stories, he should have not bothered creating Kurt Austin and stuck with the tried-and-true Dirk Pitt. After all, Cussler claims Pitt to be his “alter ego”, and that familiarity has lent itself to great storytelling. Creating a “mirror” alter ego in the persona of Austin has not had the same effect, in my opinion.
I will continue to anticipate and read the Dirk Pitt novels. However, this series has proven to be a general disappointment, and makes me less inclined to shell out a few extra dollars in between Pitt adventures. I hope that Mr. Cussler will realize that he can’t keep running with a knockoff version of the character that made him a top-notch author. His reputation will suffer otherwise, and he will quickly find that even lending his name to generate sales won’t work the same magic.
Rating: 3 / 5
Other best-selling Authors who have “co-authored” books that have gotten a marginal or strongly negative reception, heads up, “Blue Gold” is how it’s done.
This was not quite a five star read but the quality of the book that Mr. Cussler has put his name on and given to fans is not the compromised mess that other established stars of the genre have dealt recently. And while the paternity of the book is apparent, the outrageous “escape from Cuba in a bathtub” story lines have been toned down. They all were fun reads; I just enjoyed this work, as it didn’t stretch credulity on every page. The result is this latest effort that I enjoyed as much as some of Mr. Cussler’s best work. I mean no slight to Mr. Kemprecos, as I have no way of knowing to what degree he created this work, but whatever his involvement, he deserves high marks.
The book is very tightly written, well paced, and even though a bit less outlandish, is every bit as good as the previous 16 bestsellers this storyteller has given readers. The series while continuing more toward a stand-alone status still retains some crossover, and in this case Admiral Sandecker and Hiram Yaeger were very well integrated. This tale did not have a fairy tale ending, and for me that added a great deal to the book.
The villain brought to mind an extended Cruella DeVil, which these authors brought off very well when it could have fallen flat. Per the book’s description the “metal mouthed morons” were bordering on the annoying, but didn’t cross the line.
All considered a well-done work worthy of a genre that Cussler can almost claim as his own. That the book is priced at about half of what many hardcover books demand, is a bonus. Unlike some others who have attempted this new outlet for their work, I hope Mr. Cussler and Mr. Kemprecos produce many more.
The book is a nice bonus as it arrived within days of Mr. Cussler successfully bringing ashore the Confederate submarine “Hunley” which had lain on the ocean floor for almost 150 years.
Rating: 5 / 5
The faithful followers of Clive Cussler will find Blue Gold to be a great summer read. While I was initially drawn to the new series by Cussler and Kemprecos as a way to quench my thirst for Cussler in between the Dirk Pitt novels, the series starring Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala is clearly coming into its own. Blue Gold, the second installment in the series, is a classic Cussler story of good versus evil. An important event from the past – in this case a downed airplane carrying a beautiful scientist with an invention that will benefit mankind – sets the stage for the remainder of a novel filled with all of the action, suspense, and frequent plot twists that have become Cussler’s trademark. Like Serpent, Blue Gold provides a broader character set from NUMA that the typical Dirk Pitt novel, with each character’s personality adding to the depth and breadth of the story. The ongoing inclusion of crossover characters from the Pitt novels (i.e. Admiral Sandecker, Hiram Yeager) also adds substance. All-in-all, this book was a great read and very difficult to put down. The only downside was that, given that the book was under 400 pages, the enjoyment was over all too quickly.
Rating: 5 / 5
Clive Cussler’s knack for writing tales that seem beyond belief astounds me. In Blue Gold, he weaves such a fantastic tale that one wonders if it might possibly be true – were there trans-Atlantic ocean crossings that brought many different ethnicities together? How can one explain the different facial features in the rock carvings around the world, representing cultures that have never been found to exist in places like Mexico? Fantastic story, completely believable!
Cussler’s new tag-team of agents smoothly take over where Dirk Pitts and Al Giordino leave off. In fact, in a humorous way, Cussler works Pitts & Giordino into the storyline throughout; Joe Zavala and Kurt Austin are strongly written characters with all the zeal and gusto that we have grown to love about Pitts & Giordino. This is not a tale about the new guard replacing the old at NUMA, but rather a fascinating new wrinkle that makes me hope that eventually Zavala and Austin will team up with Pitts & Giordino in some lavishly written novel that requires each man’s special talents (more so than the brief involvement that Cussler has allowed Dirk and Al in Blue Gold).
I read this book way too quickly – and was disappointed that I had finished it so fast instead of savoring every page like a delicious dessert. I sincerely hope that soon Cussler will have the opportunity to see his works developed as motion pictures, as I thoroughly enjoy how his books play out in my imagination!
Peace Out.
Rating: 5 / 5
Clive Cussler has another winner. Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala are great new leading characters but it’s also nice to welcome back some old friends, Admiral Sandecker, Paul and Gamay Trout and of course Hiram Yaeger. A great plot full of action, wonderful descriptions and great characters. Who could ask for anything more!!
Rating: 5 / 5