Copyright 1990 by Clive Cussler Enterprises, Inc., published by Pocket Books.
Another Clive Cussler adventure yarn featuring the intrepid Dirk Pitt. As usual, Dirk gets the girl. Two girls in this case. The interesting part about that is that they have lunch together at the end of the book, as they are tipping a glass to the dearly departed Dirk (no, not really, but they thought he was gone) and one – the long-term squeeze who happens to also be a member of Congress – asks the other whether she and Dirk, um, you know… The other lies and says “no”.
Damn! I was really hoping for a knock-down-drag-out catfight in one of DC’s finer dining establishments.
This book probably didn’t sell well in Japan because the plot involves a nefarious plot by a criminal/industrial group loosely associated with the Japanese government to take over the world via nuclear blackmail. Unbeknownst (wink, wink) to the Japanese government, this group develops a nuclear weapons factory and ships compact nuclear weapons around the world disguised as automobile air conditioners. The cars are marked by being painted shit brown, which should have been a sure-fire giveaway because who buys a shit-brown car? Ok, the US government, sure, but who else?
The US government catches wind of the plot when one of the cars accidentally detonates in the Pacific enroute to LA. The reason it detonated? There was a gunshot fired in the hold of the cargo ship and the bullet pierced the bogus air conditioner. Hmmm… makes me wonder what would have happened if one of these bomb cars had collided with an 18-wheeler while on its way to its final destination. The Japanese apparently knew how to build a sophisticated nuclear weapon but couldn’t figure out a way to keep it from detonating accidentally.
An even more implausible plot element is this: the US government learned the location of 4 of the bomb cars, found a way to clandestinely infiltrate the storage area and steal one of the A/C nukes for study, but didn’t bother to keep the rest of the cars under surveillance. They didn’t even attach tracking devices. So, hours before the control center that could send the signal to explode the nuclear bombs and kill millions became operational, it is discovered that the other vehicles have vanished, leading to a frantic search.
Really? Four nuclear weapons on US soil and putting them under surveillance is too much trouble?
I actually enjoyed this book, but you have to swallow a whole lot of unpalatable nonsense to enjoy the main course, which is, of course, Dirk Pitt single-handedly saving the world and not only killing all the bad guys but sinking their island home into the sea. What a guy! He is definitely catfight material.
7.5 out of 10.