Devil's Gate

NUMA Files #9

by Clive Cussler, Graham Brown

A Japanese cargo ship cruises the eastern Atlantic near the Azores- when it bursts into flames. A gang of pirates speeds to take advantage of the disaster-when their boat explodes. What is happening in this part of the world? As Kurt Austin, Joe Zavala, and the rest of the NUMA Special Assignments Team rush to investigate, they find themselves drawn into the extraordinary ambitions of an African dictator, the creation of a weapon of almost mythical power, and an unimaginably audacious plan to extort the world's major nations. The penalty for refusal? The destruction of their greatest cities. Filled with the high-stakes suspense and boundless invention unique to Cussler, Devil's Gate is one of the most thrilling novels yet from the grand master of adventure.

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Thriller, Action, Audiobook, Mystery, Suspense

474 pages, Hardcover

First published November 14, 2011

About the author

Cussler began writing novels in 1965 and published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt, in 1973. His first non-fiction, The Sea Hunters, was released in 1996. The Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York, considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler a Doctor of Letters degree in May, 1997. It was the first time since the College was founded in 1874 that such a degree was bestowed.

Cussler was an internationally recognized authority on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization (named after the fictional Federal agency in his novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history. He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, the Confederacy's Hunley, and its victim, the Union's Housatonic; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania; the Cumberland, which was sunk by the famous ironclad, Merrimack; the renowned Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship, Akron, the Republic of Texas Navy warship, Zavala, found under a parking lot in Galveston, and the Carpathia, which sank almost six years to-the-day after plucking Titanic's survivors from the sea.

In addition to being the Chairman of NUMA, Cussler was also a fellow in both the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographic Society in London. He was honored with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration.

Cussler's books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries. His past international bestsellers include Pacific Vortex, Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan Odyssey and Black Wind (this last with his son, Dirk Cussler); the nonfiction books The Sea Hunters, The Sea Hunters II and Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed; the NUMA® Files novels Serpent, Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death and Lost City (written with Paul Kemprecos); and the Oregon Files novels Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha (written with Craig Dirgo) and Dark Watch (written with Jack Du Brul).

Clive Cussler died at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 24, 2020.

Reviews

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

High adventure in and under the sea as NUMA races to foil a mad dictator’s vile plan. A mysterious phenomenon deep in the ocean leads the team to an African nation plotting to use an experimental directed energy weapon to bring the world’s nations to their knees. Action and adventure abounds in the ensuing pursuit to discover a solution.

[Alexander Draganov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have nothing bad to say about this thriller. It is my first book by Clive Cussler and it is fabulous - with interesting and kind of original plot, charming heroes, very, very bad villains, interesting popular science and lots and lots of action. It reminds me very much of the Sigma Force series by James Rollins - I don't know who started first, but now I get why Cussler is so respected among fans of thrillers and adventures. Five stars.

[Robert Finlay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Since Clive sold his name, and now sits back and lets others write his schlock, I am done with him. Sorry Clive. You made good money when you wrote, now you are fooling people with your crap. Look at the cover. Almost legal 'small print' for the actual writer. Buh Bye

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Devil's Gate, and I especially enjoyed this Kurt Austin where you had Dirk Pitt in it!! I'm at a loss how to explain this book other than I loved it lol. It kept you hanging onto the last page as usual!

[Elsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, like my friend Louise says, you always know what you are getting with a Clive Cussler book. I started reading about Dirk Pitt many years ago on a recommendation from Brent Erickson. I have been a fan every since and look forward to each and every book in any of the series. Like I started out. . . you always know what you are going to get: a hero and a villian. The bad guy is out to destroy or control the world and the hero of course, saves it! Whether it is Dirk Pitt or Kurt Austin, Joe Zavalo, or Joe Cabrillo, or Gamay and Paul you know that they will do anything to win and to protect each other. They are the ultimate good guys. Even though you many know what to expect it is entertaining getting there. I'll always be a Cussler fan.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The NUMA file novels were never amazing but they've always been fun, even when Kemprecos had worn out his welcome with non stop similes and metaphors.

Brown coming in to replace him was a welcome change,
upping the ante with Austin and Zavala, as well as making this spin off series a small bit darker, more violent, and even faster paced (just like Du Brul made the Oregon series infinitely more enjoyable when Dirgo, deservedly, got the boot).

Sure, Devil’s Gate is one of those books that requires more suspension of disbelief than previous entries into the series, but isn't that why these books are written in the first place?

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devil’s Gate = Someone threatening America with a super weapon (along with the tiny mentioning of one or two other countries to be fair) + The usual single American hero (middle aged, well built, single, good looking bloke) + A random but a cute girl with brains (a Russian ex-Olympian-surprisingly not a blonde) + Last second sabotage of a massive attack on America + Hero gets the girl + spices (Romanov family, little Asian adventures, kidnapping of scientists, destroying vessels, pirates, etc.)

In other words,

Devil’s Gate = A well written Hollywood movie

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars for Devils Gate: NUMA Files #9 (audiobook) by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown read by Scott Brick. Another great Kurt Austin adventure. This was a fun story to listen to. Scott Brick’s narration is great.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid (but not outstanding) input into the NUMA Files series as created by Clive Cussler. I find these books to be a lot of fun, but this is not the best. Onto the next in the series...

[Michael Clifton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clive Cussler has always written fast-paced, interesting thrillers, and he is one of a handful of authors in the action/adventure genre who I really never tire of reading. Somehow, he manages to keep his novels fresh even as he uses the same formula time and again (a historical incident involving bad guys as a prologue, then a flash forward to the present where somehow, the historical incident becomes ensnared with present-day bad guys and the National Underwater Marine Agency, or NUMA characters). Unfortunately, like James Patterson, Cussler has farmed out more and, more of the novels he releases. Like Patterson, Cussler provides the synopsis, and another author writes the novel. Whenever you see Cussler's name paired with another author's name in smaller print, you can be assured the name in smaller print is the person who actually wrote the novel. I will give this to Cussler however; he does pick authors who are faithful to the Dirk Pitt NUMA series and the personas he has created. Most, if not all, of Cussler's books over the past 5-10 years have been spin-offs from the original Pitt/NUMA novels, and again, most have been written by authors other than Cussler.

The Devils Gate is the ninth book in the NUMA series featuring Kurt Austin and Joe Zavalla as the main characters. In this novel, Kurt and Joe stumble across a plot by a African dictator to use a scientific breakthrough in particle beam technology to create a weapon capable of mass destruction. With ships, aircraft, and even cities vulnerable to total destruction, Kurt and Joe leap into action, ably helped by a beautiful Russian agent.

A good, fast-moving read and one worthy of the Cussler NUMA franchise. Three very solid stars!

[David Rasner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Japanese cargo ship cruises the eastern Atlantic near the Azores- when it bursts into flames. A gang of pirates speeds to take advantage of the disaster-when their boat explodes. What is happening in this part of the world?

As Kurt Austin, Joe Zavala, and the rest of the NUMA Special Assignments Team rush to investigate, they find themselves drawn into the extraordinary ambitions of an African dictator, the creation of a weapon of almost mythical power, and an unimaginably audacious plan to extort the world's major nations. The penalty for refusal? The destruction of their greatest cities. Filled with the high-stakes suspense and boundless invention unique to Cussler, Devil's Gate is one of the most thrilling novels yet from the grand master of adventure.

[Tiffany Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out as an intriguingly good book and had my interest in the beginning and middle of the action-packed story; yet, then it finished like every other stock action movie. Predictable. I was enjoying envisioning the character Kurt Austin as Eric Dane the actor, that peeked my focus. Honestly, I’d probably read/listen to another novel from the Numa Series, especially if read by Scott Brick (but it will be when I’m driving across the desert and have to sit still for a long while):

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

A hohum thriller novel. Didn't grab as others have from this author.

[Ashley Abate · Rating 3 out of 5]

super fun, as always

[Robert Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always good

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit I enjoy the Dirk Pitt novels more than the Kurt Austin ones, but Clive Cussler delivers a great thriller no matter which protagonist is the hero. I picked this book to listen to while on vacation and it didn't disappoint.

[Jen Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This definitely picked up in the last quarter of the book. The beginning was very slow for me. This book must have made it to my list thanks to my dad. Haha. Classic military and subs book.

[AshleyKantorski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always loved Clive Cussler. As usual the story is filled with adventure and action.
As Kurt Austin and NUMA race to foil a dictators plans a mysterious phenomenon in the deep sea leads them to and African nation plotting to bring the world to its knees.
I love how Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino are still involved and how they also find their way into the adventures

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read; I find myself wishing I had continued to give this series a chance even after being disappointed with the third book. It has an interesting premise; it moved at a good pace; it held my interest throughout, and it was hard to put down. It has interesting secondary characters, and I thought the author(s) did a decent job making them more than just "cardboard cutouts."

It was fun to read about Kurt's interactions with Dirk Pitt throughout the book; I find myself wondering when Dirk stops showing up in these books and both Rudi Gunn and Hiram Yaeger take his place in terms of appearances and relative "importance." Dirk always had access to Admiral Sandecker when Sandecker was in charge of NUMA; granted, I think Rudi is now in Dirk's old position, so perhaps that is the difference?

There were some moments in the book that were pretty cool or really stood out to me. One thing had to do with the NUMA ship Argo actually having a weapons arsenal onboard. I think once upon a time I read in one of the Dirk Pitt books that NUMA vessels could not carry a weapons locker onboard or any kind of arsenal due to some kind of international law (which I thought was kinda crazy), but this ship has an arsenal onboard. And I loved it. I found myself thinking, "It's about time!" But when Kurt sees sailors onboard the Kinjara Maru, he and other crew members arm themselves and head to the stricken cargo vessel in an attempt to save the lives of any potential living crewmembers. Only one passenger is saved; the former captain's wife.

There is a moment where the minisub that Paul and Gamay Trout are in is buried under sand in about 16,000 feet or so of water; they had been investigating the remains of the Kinjara Maru when its underwater resting place is attacked through the use of 2-4 torpedoes that cause an underwater landslide that forces the ship deeper into the ocean depths. Gamay is using an underwater remote-controlled drone/robot to try and find where their minisub is buried; there is a cool moment where the author describes how she feels: she is using a VR rig to help her control the drone and the author describes how she has a surreal out-of-body experience as she can see where she ought to be buried via the drone's imaging sensors but still cannot see herself or see outside the submarine's portals due to its bein buried in sand and silt. I am doing a poor job of describing this moment, but it was a pretty cool moment in the book.

I also enjoyed reading about Pitt's interactions with Takagawa. I swear the man is from Dragon, but I am not sure. Reference is made to an adventure in which Dirk saved this man's life thirty years prior to the events in this book, and the events in this book takes place in 2012. That would put the events mentioned where Pitt saves Takagawa around 1992, which would be about the right time frame for the events in either Cyclops or Dragon and it seems like Dragon is a better fit for the events that Takagawa remembers.

I liked how Kurt and Joe discover the "underwater graveyard" of ships and planes off the Azores; that was crazy cool, especially as it turns out the whole thing was a giant hoax. Especially when it is eventually discovered that various elements of modern technology have turned the giant pillar of rock into some kind giant "super magnet." I thought it was clever and interesting how it was described as working, and it was also a great hoax because of how it allowed all of these experts in the field from around the world to come together in one place and be easily taken hostage. And it is not so much that this underwater graveyard is "just" a hoax as much as it is part of an elaborate plan on the part of the villain to deceive the world by acting as a decoy and distracting the attention of the world (not that the rest of the global community had any idea what was going on or about to happen).

I enjoyed the discussion amongst elements of the Russian leadership at the end about whether or not the Americans should be warned that Washington, D.C., was not only going to be attacked but destroyed as well. They decided that if it ever came out that they knew the attack was about to occur and failed to warn the Americans, the consequences of such a revelation could be even more devastating in the long term than allowing D.C. to be destroyed.

I thought it was funny that the French team of scientists had been able to acquire a 3-4-foot-long core sample of the "magnetic tower" by having one of the team members practically drown himself as a distraction so that other team members could acquire the sample while Kurt and Joe rescued him from a watery grave. Dude nearly dies from his actions in order to allow the rest of his team to get the sample! It was pretty crazy stuff, to be sure!

Another crazy moment for me was when Kurt and Joe are trapped in their minisub and being dragged to the ocean's floor not far from the faked "magnetic mount." Kurt is given the keys to unlock his handcuffs, but this is a ploy on the part of the villain to make Kurt suffer because Joe needs a different key to unlock his handcuffs, which means while Kurt could escape and live Joe will die (either with Kurt watching him die or escaping with his life and the survivor's guilt that would follow him the rest of his life). Instead, they manage to tip the minisub over so as some valves are opened, oxygen is trapped in the cockpit of the sub. Kurt takes an emergency breather and swims to the nearby Constellation to grab larger oxygen tanks and some strips of aluminum. He lights a flare from his sub and, using the oxygen from the larger container he grabbed as fuel to fan the flare's flames, uses the flare, aluminum, and oxygen to create a kind of underwater blowtorch to free Joe from certain death and doom by cutting through the handcuffs. It was very clever and original and MacGyver-ish, and I loved it.

I also enjoy how Cussler (and his co-authors) are able to take technology that is currently available or potentially available and extrapolate from either what we know and are capable of doing or taking the theoretical postulations and creating technologies that are believable in how they are created and used, be it either as a weapon or for the good of mankind. I loved how the author(s) described how an energy-directed weapon is created and used by a small African nation that seeks to assert is independence from the West as well as influence the world like no other African nation has been able to do in years. What is especially cool about it is that this weapon involves not only the use of magnets and a type of "supercollider," but there is a heavily modified supertanker that acts as a type of "fulcrum" and allows the direction of energy beam fired from this weapon to be controlled and altered so that a target can be stuck from thousands of miles away around the curvature of the earth. It is a wicked-cool weapon because of how it is two-parts that have to be used in conjunction with each other, and I don't think this is ever really fully revealed until the end of the book. I assume the tanker was "the weapon", at first, or was a separate weapon (and maybe it does have its own elements that allow it to function independently as a weapon), but it is still cool that the path of the "particle beam" fired by the "platforms" off of Sierra Leone's coast could altered and controlled via the "Fulcrum" technology onboard the modified supertanker.

The Barracuda minisub was pretty cool, as were some of the other minisubs described in as participating in the underwater minisub race. That would have been an interesting race to watch, if such a thing were possible - a bunch of minisubs racing across an underwater course, each sub starting the course ten minutes or so after the one before had started.

It was a fun book to read. I love the blending of current modern technology as well as what future potential technology might look like and how it might be used; it makes these stories crazy-fun to read and think about (as I feel some of the descriptions are so well done in terms of how to build such technology and make it work that I wonder why we do not have it in use "today" "in real life," hahahah!). I am glad I took a chance on this book and finally got around to reading it. I can easily see myself finishing the rest of Kurt Austin stories based on how much I have enjoyed the last three books I have read.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

We start in the Azores with Hudson Wallace (great name!) and his Lockheed Constellation and the adventure quickly goes into high gear. Then starts the story of the Kinjara Maru and where we first see our main character Kurt Austin about to embark on a journey, he thought, to join his friend Joe Zavala for a submersible race in their prototype Barracuda and some much needed R&R. Of course if they actually GOT their R&R we wouldn't have a story, would we?

We travel all over the world in some very interesting manners (what could be more terrifying or cool than the Lunatic Express?). We also get a story that includes the realism of life and death situations that don't always turn out quite the way you expected them to causing injury and emotional turmoil, even the good guy gets hurt sometimes.

We go through explosions, near drownings, being shot at, a hair raising car chase, sinking ships, boa constrictors, underwater landslides, an ultralight escape...good lord, it's exciting even reading about all the excitement in this book!

The NUMA gang is all here, Kurt, Joe, Paul & Gamay Trout, we even get some serious input from our beloved Dirk Pitt and Admiral (now Vice President) Sandecker. This book was a great adventure from beginning to end and I loved it! I can really say that I didn't feel like I was reading a Dirk Pitt adventure with a younger, silver haired Dirk but I could actually see the differences (and similarities) between the two characters, they are similar enough that they can easily understand where the other is coming from but they are two very different men!

My favorite quote in the book is actually made by Dirk Pitt to Kurt and Joe:

"As I've gotten older I've learned a few things," he said. "One of them is: you get what you pay for. You and Joe are like one of my cars. Expensive, bad for the environment, and often a pain in the backside. But you're worth every penny."

Devil's Gate is a great read from start to finish and I loved the book. Graham Brown is an excellent choice to continue this series with Mr. Cussler and I do believe this is the best Kurt Austin adventure yet. I can't wait to read the next one!

[Kevin Kazokas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about magnets, and all the power therein. Hardly do principles of superconducting, particle acceleration and inexplicably powerful compounds make for compelling reading. But add some stock paper-thin characters and a mildly interesting, albeit totally impossible, storyline and there's enough inertia to drag dear reader to the finish. Mercifully!

That's "Devil's Gate" -- a totally linear, non-texturized progression through 474 pages of pseudo-scientific, vanilla-coated "meh."

The novel itself is akin to an analogy referenced by the title. Sunken objects get magnetically pulled through a rocky entrance into a narrowing undersea corridor, with the channel's other end pinched off, leaving no hope for egress. Essentially, that resembles the experience of reading this Cussler "adventure." Readers will find their eyes gazing through the pages ambivalently, as opposed to the usual immersive experience of thriller fiction, yet for some reason may opt to stay with this yawner.

Cussler resorts to his usual dramatis personae, with a few non-compelling throw-ins, both butressed by cardboard-cutout bureaucrats and villains. The characters inspire no reader investment whatsoever.

The plot, of a deadly particle beam capable of bending across the globe and causing destruction to U.S. and enemy cities alike -- however farfetched -- proves powerful enough to keep the reader page-turning -- in a very passive, non-vested way.

Things don't go off the rails enough to earn a slam-worthy review, and the ending actually ratchets up to a brisk, replenishing level, hence the three-star bailout. But several characters sort of drop off or are left dangling along the way, re-emerging at the end as mere afterthoughts. Again, nothing to sink your teeth into here or savor until the next book in the series.

After this "experience," the reader may opt to keep the NUMA file cabinet closed.

[Maria Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this #9 book of the NUMA Files series, we have Kurt and Joe get accidentally involved with a plot to create a weapon of mass destruction when they get involved with a rescue from a sinking tanker that they saw smoking while on an adventure on an iceberg catcher trip. The only survivor was the wife of the captain who escaped what happened to the rest on the ship because she was used as a distraction Kurt from following those who caused the ship to sink and not see the cargo they took off the ship. The ship's owner is found to be a person from Dirk Pitt's past history, a man whom he rescued from death. Eventually, he gives Pitt the information about the cargo that explains the situation but not until after Trout and Gamay are injured during their deep-dive explorations of the ship that sank. The two of them had to dig their way out of their submersible which was trapped by a sudden landslide and had to swim from the depths up without tanks of oxygen to help and they barely made it. But their experience created a listening skill and better information on what was happening. They were able to link it to power expelled using magnetic power from using the particle accelerator. the power needed for this machine is a manmade product that was on the tanker illegally by purpose. There's also a natural source of this same type of energy source that has created a gateway graveyard of downed ships, where the title of this book comes from. We also get a sub storyline concerning a plane called a Constellation style plane that had crashed in the area of the natural source that contains cargo that had been stolen from Russia, which contained the riches of the last Tzar. This book had the Cussler reference in Dirk Pitt's comment to the costs incurred by Kurt and Joe for the adventures in this book--The two of them are expensive like cars, are high maintenance but totally worth the cost.

[JBradford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another Kurt Austin adventure from the NUMA Files, and it's not bad. As a matter of fact, it is pretty darn good, considering that, as with all of Cussler's novels, it features an extraordinarily unlikely situation with wholly unbelievable action, based on science that just won't happen. But that has been true of all of Cussler's books, or books with which he is involved in these end-of-life pairings, and we still get the books and read them, because they're great fun to read. I really don't know why Hollywood does not make films out of more of Cussler's books.

Kurt Austin and his sidekick, Joe Zavala, just happen to be nearby when some bad guys start their plan of taking over the world--this time by stealing a mysterious cargo off a cargo ship off the Azores. Kurt leads the rescue effort and becomes marked by the bad guys as someone to dispose of. You might think he is gong to become romantically involved with the widowed captain's wife that he rescues, but instead the romance blooms when an attractive Russian scientist, who happens to be a former Olympics skating star, shows up to investigate an implausible physical anomaly that the our heroes discover while they're throwing a submarine race in order to rescue someone else … only she does not seem all that interested in the actual anomaly. Of course, we know that Kurt is going to save the world, but he has to go through some tough sledding in order to do it.

[Iceman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confesso que não sou um grande apreciador de livros de aventuras, tipo James Bond e afins, em todo o caso gosto de ir intercalando as minhas leituras e, durante o ano, acabo por ler livros de géneros muito diferentes.

O presente livro captou-me a atenção por ver envolvido o nome dos Açores e também porque o nome do autor já me havia despertado alguma curiosidade, decidi então empreender a leitura do livro.

E de facto a acção é estonteante de princípio ao fim, numa aventura cheia de peripécias que mete assassinos contratados por um ditador que anseia dominar o mundo, os bons que, para além de transpirarem charme por todos os poros, têm jeito para tudo, inclusivamente para comediantes, a bela sedutora ao serviço secreto de uma nação que tem interesses no que se está a passar, os habituais norte-americanos e porrada de princípio ao fim, com muitas mortes, atentados e acidentes. Novidade, falar-se várias vezes de Portugal e de portugueses.

Mas, em todo o caso, não pensem que não gostei.

É um livro que entretém, apenas e só, mas cujo tempo não é mal empregue. Gostei da escrita e da forma como a estrutura do livro foi trabalhada, sempre com pequenos capítulos cheios de suspense.

Para quem aprecia o género, penso que encontrará nesta obra uma leitura prazeirosa que o levará a vários cenários, onde a acção, a violência e a intriga andam alegremente de mãos dadas.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Clive Cussler's Devil's Gate, the 9th installment in the Kurt Austin NUMA Files action-adventure series, this captivating novel would have you hooked in no time. It all started for Kurt Austin and his crew with their latest assignment to salvage a sunken ship at the bottom of the ocean. That's when the Russians sent Katarina, a fellow scientist to be a spy on the same ship. But low and be hold, that's when they team up and join forces to eliminate another threat. Someone had gotten hold of a secret weapon that's so powerful with superconductive energy to wipe out the people at the end of the earth. They call it Devil's Gate, which is much stronger than the legendary Bermuda Triangle. But Kurt's old nemesis, Andras, has worked with a Sierra Leone leader named Djemma Garand, who wants to destroy the USA. Before they could deal with that, during the same mission, it had knocked out Paul Trout and put him into a coma, when he and Gamay had worked to salvage the ship from a submersible. After Paul recovers, Kurt learns how Andras had kidnapped several people including Katerina, when he had been taken hostage with Joe. For them, it's a race to escape and to save the USA from massive destruction in a grueling life-and-death battle.

[Mark Muckerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A favorite sweatshirt; a grilled cheese sandwich; the smell of warm towels fresh out of the dryer; any Cussler story from the Numa Files. Predictable and comforting are not necessarily equated to "bad". There has never been a Cussler book that doesn't have the ruggedly handsome hero, his ingenious sidekick of complementary ethnically diverse heritage, a textbook villain of the highest caliber of sinister, and the obligatory hottie who is immune to the charms of our hero.

But that's okay. As long as the premise continues to be interesting and the storytelling solid, Cussler delivers like a chef in a solid 3 star restaurant: always good, filling, satisfying and never falling short of expectations. A good literary repast where the dress code is jeans and a shirt with a collar.

If you're a Cussler fan, you'll continue to be pleased. If you're new to Cussler you'll be satisfied, but I'd suggest you go back to the early books first, and start with Raise the Titanic, or Sahara (the book, not the wretched movie).

[Don DeBon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ship sinks due to pirates and Kurt interviews. But this was no ordinary pirates since they sink the whole ship in such a short period. Normally they take the goods and run, but instead these methodically sink the ship as fast a possible. Then Kurt and Joe are in the middle of a underwater race when some sort of disturbance threatens to crash them into a large tower of rock, making a new discovery in the process. Yet, someone is watching Kurt's every move waiting for the right moment to strike. Someone Kurt has had previous dealings with long ago.

As usual the humor between Joe and Kurt is wonderful as is the other character interactions. I didn't like this particular story-line as much as other books I have read in the NUMA series. The ending felt too short. I can't put my finger on it, but it felt like something was missing. Regardless, I still enjoyed the book and it is a worthy addition to the "NUMA Files".

[Robynne Lozier · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPOILERS

There is not a lot of history in this book. It's mostly about Technology, Weapons of Mass Destruction and the like.

South of the Azore islands is a graveyard where many ships and planes have foundered and gone down in the ocean, and noone quite knows why.

Kurt is on board a NUMA boat heading to the Azores in order to particpate in a special race with high stakes for the winner. The object of this race is to test out a new submarine.

Kurt spots some smoke on the horizon - usually a sign of a ship going down - and the NUMA boat races to the rescue. Once at the sinking ship, he and some NUMA sailors must use guns to chase off some pirates and Kurt rescues the only survivor of the cargo ship that went down. The woman he rescued was the Captains wife. The captain and most of the crew died by being burnt from the inside out. Kurt wonders how that happened, and more importantly, why did it happen. The rest of the crew were killed by the pirates. Kurt recognizes the leader of the Pirates - a man named Andras - a man whom he had defeated about 10 to 12 years ago.

During the submarine race Joe and Kurt hear from another submarine that gets into trouble - it is being pulled towards a large cliff by unknown forces (Later found to be magnetism). The NUMA men go to the rescue and in doing so, they discover the underwater graveyard of ships and planes. They also find a cliff of stone with some very unusual properties.

When news of this magnetic anamoly gets out, the scientific world comes flooding in - as do the scientists.

NUMA takes charge of this science mission, but squabbles start breaking out between countries.

Kurt meets a new scientist - Katarina from Russia. They go on a date in the Azores, and while they are on their date, they are chased and shot at. They have to send their car over a cliff to get away from whomever is chasing them. While Kurt and Katarina are evading their wannabe killers, the scientists over the graveyard are kidnapped and abducted. Katarina is also eventually captured by the pirates.

The NUMA ship sails back to the Azores to find Kurt. Once Kurt is back on board the NUMA vessel, he discovers that his team members, Paul and Gamay Trout, were underwater in a submersible investigating the cargo ship that went down back at the beginning of the book. The one where the crew were cooked from the inside out. Their submersible is shot at by torpedos and the submersible is damaged. Paul and Gamay do eventually escape from the submersible but Paul has trouble and is found unconcious and when he is rescued, he is in a coma for several days. Someone does not want anyone to discover why the cargo ship was destroyed and sunk.

Kurt and Gamay and Dirk Pitt eventually come up with the idea of a laser of some kind that cooks humans from the inside out - someone is using a laser of enormous power. The cargo from the cargo ships was stolen but Dirk discovers from the ships owners that the cargo was something called YCBO - a man-made superconductor technology used in lasers and atom colliders (like the large one at CERN).

The YCBO was loaded into the Cargo ship at Freetown in Sierra Leone. Perhaps a place to start looking.

Djemma Garand the current dictator of Sierra Leone (one of the poorest nations in Africa and the world) decides that his country can no longer afford to keep paying the insurmountable debt that his country owes to the IMF, so he arbitrarily stops paying it.

He has hired a pirate named Andras. Andras arranges for 36 scientists to be gathered at a particular spot and then abducts them and takes them to Sierra Leone where they are put to work to help make the new weapon work. They are threatened with death if they do not do what they are told. One man who does resist is summarily shot and executed - just to prove the point.

Kurt and Joe are now on a deadline to find Andras before this new weapon/laser can be brought online. They eventually track Andras down to a ship called the Onyx (registered in Liberia - right next door to Sierra Leone).

The one thing about these new lasers is that they only work on line of sight and cannot follow the curve of the Earth. The higher up the emitter is, the longer the event horizon is.

BUT there is one way to bend a laser beam - by having another superconductor and magnets located exactly halfway between the emitter and the target. These magnets can pull the laser beam back down, so that it effectively turns a corner.

The race is then on to stop the weapons discharge before it hits its first target. The message leaks out that the first target will be Washington DC.

The ONYX ship (registered in Liberia) was found dead centre in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean - and away from all the major shipping routes. This ship can bend the Laser beam and DC can be burned and the people in DC can be burned and cooked from the inside out.

Kurt Austin has just a few hours to sneak aboard the ONYX and stop the magnet from bending the beam.

The US Navy is sent to Sierra Leone to try and bring down the weapon. Under the guise of ships and navy planes attacking on the surface, Paul and Gamay Trout are sent under water in their submersible to lay a bomb at the foot of the of the huge (and fake) oil rigs that holds up the emitter.

Their mission is successful - as is Kurt's mission to the Onyx - and this laser weapon is destroyed with just minutes to spare.

Despite all the techno-babble (as Jack O'Neill - from Stargate) calls it, I really enjoyed this novel.

[Jim Rickard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book of the series so far.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept a good pace. Didn't get bogged down. I liked the character development of the married couple. Look forward to reading the next one

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good God. Does Cussler even proof these things anymore?