Skeleton Coast

Oregon Files #4

by Clive Cussler, Jack Du Brul

Chairman of the Corporation Juan Cabrillo and his mercenary crew steer theOregon into battle against a militant leader and his cult-like followers in this #1 New York Times-bestselling series.Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the covert combat ship Oregon have barely escaped a mission on the Congo River when they intercept a mayday from a defenseless boat under fire off the African coast. Still smarting from a weapons-trade gone bad and a double-cross, Cabrillo takes action. He manages to save the beautiful Sloane Macintyre, who's on a mission of her own, looking for a long-submerged ship that may hold a fortune in diamonds. But what surprises Cabrillo is her story about a crazy fisherman who claims to have been attacked on the open sea by giant metal snakes in the same area.What begins as a snake hunt leads Cabrillo onto the trail of a far more lethal quarry—a deranged militant and his followers who plan to unleash the devastating power of nature itself against all who oppose them.

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

386 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2006

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

[Paul Weiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Du Brul and Cussler succeed again!

The Corporation is a mercenary private enterprise for hire by any government agency that can afford its fees. Juan Cabrillo, the Chairman, runs his black ops from a ship called "The Oregon". Disguised as an overused, out of date, non-descript mercantile vessel that's destined for the scrap yard, the Oregon is actually a state of the art war vessel packed with high-tech intelligence gathering equipment, powerful weaponry and a fully muscled set of magnetohydrodynamic engines that, pushed to flank speed, will give virtually any ship on the high seas a run for its money. If you've read any Clive Cussler novels at all, it won't be a surprise to hear that Cabrillo is right over the top - an entirely unbelievable lead character (think Mr Phelps from Mission Impossible on steroids) leading an equally unbelievable crew with uncanny intelligence and virtually superhuman strength and endurance. The missions they accept in Cussler's Oregon Files series are typically of the "save the world from domination or destruction by a nefarious lunatic" variety.

When I reviewed GOLDEN BUDDHA, the first in the Oregon Files series, I gave it a grudging single star and swore that I would likely never read another Cussler novel again. Frankly, it was just awful! But after a two year abstinence, my past fondness for Cussler's earlier work over-ruled my reluctance and PLAGUE SHIP rewarded me with a thoroughly enjoyable read. I gave Jack Du Brul a second chance and I hit pay dirt again with SKELETON COAST.

A covert running gun battle with revolutionaries on the Congo River, a search for a long lost fortune in diamonds buried in the Kalahari desert, the typical sexy and beautiful female heroine who overcomes all odds against her, environmental terrorism, the miraculous rescue of a kidnapped industrialist from an abandoned prison - the details are actually not important. The fact is ... they're really quite forgettable within a very short period after you've finished the novel. What's much more important is that, unlike GOLDEN BUDDHA, for example, which was an exercise in nonsensical hyperbole, SKELETON COAST remained (just barely, mind you) within the bounds of an enjoyable credibility-stretching thriller that really should be turned into a rock-em, sock-em Hollywood SFX loaded James Bond style flick.

I found Cussler's brief sidebars on the evolution of hurricanes and the importance of ocean currents and water temperature in their development particularly interesting.

Literature? Certainly not! But a perfectly enjoyable break from the workaday world that any thriller reader will enjoy. Recommended.

Paul Weiss

[Eadie Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the 4th book in the Oregon series. I did enjoy the story lines but some of the technical stuff is way over my head. I like the crew members very much and find the characters very interesting. I will continue reading on as I want to see what else Juan Cabrillo and crew will get involved it. I would recommend these books to those who love adventure stories.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The late, great Clive Cussler lives on through his amazing adventure novels. With plenty of excitement and intensity, this is a prime example of the author's skilled writing.

[Cujo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chairman of the Corporation Juan Cabrillo and his mercenary crew steer the Oregon into battle against a militant leader and his cult-like followers..
To be honest the final confrontation with the main antagonist was weak and I expected a lot more. Also his "cult like" followers were only cult like in one or two scenarios. But....
I have a soft spot for the south west coast of Africa, so,being that's where most of this takes place, I gave it a few extra points

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a rather strange feeling when I have to give a book an apology - but I feel like I own this one a big one.

So far all the books from the imagination of Clive Cussler (I am starting to loose count of the various authors let loose in this world) they have all been driven, altruistic heros - here instead we have someone driven by hard cash. True I will say right now that this is the first Oregon files book I have read so I am sure I am missing something but it took me a lot longer than usual to warm to the hero and his crew aboard the aforementioned super vessel the Oregon.

That said it quickly changed when it became "personal" and the greater good came through but still it took many pages to convince me he was not some sort of modern day privateer.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me longer to read than I thought it would. It starts out with a story in the past to set things up for later in the book before jumping to "the present day". The technology introduced in this book is pretty cool, overall the pumps used to heat the water to help create more powerful hurricanes, the "flocculent gel" (or whatever it was called) also used to heat water while making it gelatinous in nature and able to hold its heat longer being used to force the eye of a hurricane to become smaller to create a more powerful storm. The character development was so-so (there's rarely much room for the "major/main characters" to develop in stories like these it seems, sadly).

As I said, it was a slow starting story, but it did pick up speed as it progressed (probably about halfway through the book). The villains' plan was nuts Let's force the world to recognize the danger of not protecting the environment by creating a superstorm to transport a toxic cloud across the ocean and kill untold numbers of human and non-human life when it crosses islands to reach North America! to begin with, and I personally am not sure how believable it was (despite the right conditions being created in the book for such an event to happen). I also took some comments to mean that the increasingly violence of subsequent hurricanes were because of this group's machinations, which means they were also indirectly responsible for the growing number of lives lost with each storm. I might have misunderstood that, though, but it seemed clear to me these deaths were being placed at the feet of these ecoterrorists because of how they were trying to manipulate weather patterns and create their own "perfect storm" to force the world to acknowledge environmental problems and what humanity was doing to the environment.

It does get crazy as it progresses though. A failed hostage rescue attempt, a prison break, a battle amongst a group of oil rigs, and having to sink the tanker being used to seed the ocean so that the current hurricane will become a super-hurricane and produce tremendous amounts of damage and death. Releasing enough water from a dam into an African river to lift the Oregon ten feet so that it could make it over an elevated river bottom - I was glad the team wasn't going to blow the dam like I thought they might. There is quite a bit that happens in a very short period of time, and some fortuitous moments like Juan encountering a team of soldiers bent on rescuing their beloved leader from the same prison holding members of Juan's crew after he "wind-surfaced" (sand-surfed?) across the desert to catch up with them AFTER his initial parachute failed to open and he was forced to use his backup chute. That was probably the most fortuitous moment - Juan's superhuman strength to use the desert winds to "surf the sand" in pursuit of the African soldiers and catching up with them. The "other" would probably be when the Oregon rescues Sloan Mcintyre and Tony Reardon from a yacht that was pursuing and attempting to kill them. But that is pretty standard fare in these books - somebody from NUMA or the Oregon "just happens" to show up at the right time to save the victims from their attackers.

Regarding the characters: I am not sure how I felt about how Susan Donleavy was written. It is probably because we are not supposed to know she is an ecoterrorist until "THE BIG REVEAL" when she grabs one of Eddie Seng's pistols and shoots Merrick in the chest when the Oregon HRT finds Merrick and attempts to take the two out of the prison holding Merrick. She is written one way in the beginning of the book, and it would probably have worked better in a movie because we would not be privy to her thoughts in a movie, but we are made somewhat privy to her thoughts, and her thoughts (or what we are told about how she was thinking) when she is introduced do not match her later behavior/thoughts when it is revealed she is a traitor and ecoterrorist. I feel that if she were truly the traitor she was meant to be later in the book, then her behavior and emotions should have been described "differently" earlier in the book. It was a bit of a disconnect for me when her identity was revealed, but I do remember thinking at one point it would have been amusing if she were not a victim but a villain herself. Did not expect to be right about that!

It was crazy how the ecoterrorists were all so willing to die for their cause, for their beliefs. Given the choice between capture and suicide, they always chose suicide. I am not sure how much I believed that kind of fanatical beliefs in this "kind" of terrorist. They had no issues with killing other people, though!

Cabrillo was funny to me at the end of this book. At the end of the prior book, Maurice kinda pushes Tory Ballinger into Cabrillo's arms, telling her a sob story about how wounded he was and had sworn of love forever and maybe, just maybe, she could be the woman to reignite the ability to love once again in Cabrillo's heart, a job to which she embraced with gusto. Enter Sloan in this book: next "conquest" for Cabrillo only she is offered a position on his crew -it would be interesting if she did join and ever shows up in future stories. I felt it was implied she was going to join the crew, but only after she had taken Cabrillo to bed and found out whether or not she could satisfy him and his appetites. That'd be kind awkward for future encounters if she did join the crew, I would think, 'cuz she deliberately "seduced" him and copulated with him knowing full well that it could never happen again because he would be her boss and such fraternization was strongly frowned upon and discouraged in the Corporation. It was just a weird moment to me with it occurring like it does at the end of the book. It was also odd to me that Cabrillo would be so willing to engage in such behavior with what sounded like a future crewmember and employee just because of the potential for future awkwardness. But I guess we are all adults here, right?

Cabrillo also seems superhuman to me at times. He endures crazy amounts of pain, punishment, and whathaveyou, and still finds some kind of "inner reserve" that allows him to dig deeper and keep on keepin' on better than the Energizer Bunny. It's whack what he endures and has to push through at times in order to complete a mission. Like being involved in a HAHO jump because, you know, he's Batman Juan Cabrillo and can handle any situation despite somebody else probably being a better option then him. But had he not been involved in the jump where his parachute fails to deploy and he lands several hundred miles from the original landing zone, then he never would have been able to sand ski/surf across the desert for many hours in pursuit of the African soldiers and convince them to help him free his men if he helps them rescue their president and former general. He's fun to read, but he comes across as a machine at times and not quite human, and the "love interests" that come his way do not really do much to make him seem "more human" than he actually is. We also see a bit of a more brutal side of Juan than I remember seeing in other books in how he orders the ship's surgeon to awaken her patient (Merrick) before his body has healed enough for her to feel comfortable waking him up. Juan gladly takes responsibility for this man's death if it will save millions, and he does not care about his doctor's feelings in the matter. So it was a harder edge to Juan than comes to mind in other books. But I'll keep reading these books 'cuz they can be (mostly) fun, mindless entertainment.

I felt like more of the Oregon's crew were introduced in this book (mostly the gun dogs) and maybe even given names, which I think is why it stood out to me. I sometimes feel like the Oregon is nearly 100% automated in future books because there are so few names given of other crew members, which has always seemed odd to me. I do not remember the size of the crew, but it is larger than I expected it to be (I think a future book puts it between 100 and 200 crewmembers).

It is funny - this book finally has a moment I have been waiting for ever since I started reading this series of books (albeit out of order, I grant you)! It finally has a moment with Juan speaking with Dirk Pitt! Maybe such a meeting happens in one of the first two books of this series, but based on the number of times the Oregon has encountered a NUMA vessel I keep expecting Dirk to be a brief part of the story (even if only to speak with Juan for a moment or three). Juan had a great line when he called Pitt directly: "You owe me a leg but I'll call it even if you lend me a hand" (278). That was probably the best line in the book, in my opinion. It was cool, too, to see Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala also make an appearance, being the leaders of the team sent to find the Rove on behalf of Cabrillo (as he had promised a large sum of money to the African president and former general to help Cabrillo stop the ecoterrorists; the payment was in the form of the diamonds lost when the Rove was buried in a sandstorm 100 years ago). I feel like Cabrillo encountered Kurt and Austin in a later book (both men are investigating a warehouse for different reasons and help each other escape from one or two groups of gunmen), but the name of that book escapes me.

Overall, it was a good book. I'd probably rank it 2.6-2.8 stars rounded up to 3 stars. That being said, while I am glad that I read the book, I may never read it again.

[Eli - Bookworm & Vine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am definitely hooked on the Oregon Files series now. As always, fast paced with some historical background. I can’t wait for the next one!

[矢倉穴熊 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The two best adventure writers currently drawing breath deliver another superb adventure from the Oregon Files. This book bears the distinct stamp of both Cussler and duBrul, which means a great read for us! Though I kind of miss the old format of the Corporation pulling off a multi-pronged heist of some sort, this book's more basic adventure yarn format is a smashing success. Juan Cabrillo is turning into one heck of a leading man.

Like all Cussler novels, this one begins with a story from the past, this time about millions of dollars worth of diamonds that disappear off the African coast. DeBeers investigator Sloane MacIntyre is searching for them when she needs to be rescued from some very dangerous men by Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon.

The Oregon happened to be in the area because of a job delivering weapons to some rebels on the Congo River that had gone awry. The ship also intercepts a piece of a satellite phone conversation regarding a kidnapped industrialist and, ever the capitalist, Juan Cabrillo decides to send in a team to rescue him, sure of a handsome reward. Of course, the same people who kidnapped the American businessman and one of his employees are also involved in an even bigger scheme that threatens millions of lives, and it also ties together with Sloane MacIntyre's diamond hunt.

This book is not for the squeamish, full of lots of violence and starring some really evil bad guys. Typical of both authors, we never turn away from the action, instead relishing every moment of it. When not embroiled in an intense, unflinching battle scene, the book delves even deeper into the character of Juan Cabrillo. He is fast climbing the ranks of my favorite adventure heroes, and I have to say we've got both Cussler and duBrul to thank for that. Cabrillo encompasses the best of both.

You can't go wrong reading Cussler or duBrul, and this book showcases the immense talents of both. If you haven't delved into the Oregon Files yet, get busy. You're missing out on some of the best adventure fiction being written today.

[Brenda H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skeleton Coast is the fourth book of the series, The Oregon Files. In this installment, the crew of The Oregon take on African rebel armies, eco terrorists, "giant snakes" and search for a cache of lost diamonds - all in a day's work. As usual, this is a fun, adrenaline-filled story with lots of high-tech weaponry and feats of derring-do.

Rating: 4 Stars.

[Dylan Graves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! I love that it goes into depth of the main characters but also stays true to Clive Cussler fashion of hard hitting adventure, action, and a bit of off hand humor. I could not put it down and even have the audio version so I can listen to it at work.

[Vegard Svenvik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Funny, but extremly heroic and exaggerated.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a difference a single author can make to a series.

I’ve made it no secret that I couldn’t really stand the first 2 books in the Oregon series. Whether Cussler bit off way more than he could chew, or didn’t care what Dirgo put out under his name, both Golden Buddha and Sacred Stone were huge disappointments.

And I’m guessing Cussler saw that because kicking Dirgo to the curb in favor of Jack DuBrul was clearly one of his, or the publisher’s, best moves. I know I missed his coauthor debut with Dark Watch but DuBrul is easily and far superior author to his predecessor and it shows in Skeleton Coast.

This book, and I’m assuming the rest of this series, takes the best parts of both Dirk Pitt and Kurt Austin, adds in some really great action and set pieces of its own and takes Juan Cabrillo and his crew to Mission Impossible levels.

The 3 star rating is more on my reading habits during my time reading it. 6 days is practically a lifetime when it comes to the rate at which I was previously devouring books earlier in 2020, but life got in the way and really put a governor on my speed reading. Had I been able to devour this one in my usual 2-3 days, I have no doubt it’d have been a 4 star novel.

[Jim Rickard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good plot and storyline line

I really enjoy this series. Each book seems to get better. I like the the author blends the plots together

[Tyler Hetland · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Clive Cussler book and I thoroughly enjoyed the African adventure! Lots of intertwining storylines and characters kept me intrigued with how it would all turn out. Will definitely have to read more from this author.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Skeleton Coast] by Clive Cussler & Jack DuBrul
Oregon Files series Boo# 4 (group read)
4 ★'s

From The Book:
juan Cabrillo and the crew of the covert combat ship Oregon have barely escaped a mission on the Congo River when they intercept a mayday from a defenseless boat under fire off the African coast. Cabrillo takes action, saving the beautiful Sloane Macintyre - who's looking for a long-submerged ship that may hold a fortune in diamonds. But what surprises Cabrillo is her story about a crazy fisherman who claims to have been attacked on the open sea by giant metal snakes in the same area.What begins as a snake hunt leads Cabrillo onto the trail of a far more lethal quarry - a deranged militant and his followers who plan to unleash the devastating power of nature itself against all who oppose them.

My Thoughts:
The story reads from start to finish like a James Bond movie. The crew of the Oregon barely has time to catch their breath before they find them selves in another battle.

Even though I didn't completely understand it all, I found Cussler's brief information on the evolution of hurricanes and the importance of ocean currents and water temperature in their development interesting. This book also offers yet more brief glimpses into the lives of the Oregon's crew. While this wasn't exactly my favorite book in the series it certainly rated very high. I recommend this series to anyone that wants a well formed and executed adventure with likable and believable characters even if they are a cross between James Band and Superman.

[Olivermagnus · Rating 4 out of 5]

You are always in for a rip roaring adventure when you read one of the books in The Oregon Files series. The fourth book, Skeleton Coast, starts out with an interesting prologue set in 1896 where four Englishmen are fleeing across the Kalahari Desert with stolen diamonds. They reach the HMS Rove just as the Herero warriors reach them, and what happens next is anyone's guess. Coming forward to present time, we meet the intrepid crew of the Oregon, a high tech ship disguised as a decrepit tramp steamer. They have been on a mission to deliver tagged weapons to Congolese rebels so the CIA can track them. When they hear about the kidnapping of Geoffrey Merrick, a famous industrialist, they decide to stick around for awhile.

If you've never read an Oregon Files book, let me briefly explain that the crew is a “corporation” that takes high paying jobs while disguising their intelligence gathering resources. Ex CIA agent, Juan Cabrillo, and his crew do anything and everything they can to complete their mission. Each and every character is interesting, especially Juan, and this book focuses a lot on him and some of the things that have happened to him in his past.

This series is like going to an action movie. There are multiple plots including environments terrorism, global warming and stolen diamonds. I thought it was an entertaining story with non stop action, maybe too much for some people.

[Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skeleton Coast is my first Cussler book and I'm a bit underwhelmed. It started off quite well with a decent idea of lost diamonds in the desert but as soon as the unbelievably, too-good-to-be-true heroes of the Oregon show up, all credibility went out the window.
These guys can go without sleep for days, walk through a hail of bullets and still come out the other end gleaming. Sure, there's plenty of action and lots of cheesy dialogue but it's all fairly predictable stuff but if that's your thing, it's sure to please although I prefer a bit of tale myself. To make it worse, with all that testosterone flooding the pages, there not even a glimmer of a sex scene in it.
Sadly disappointing but an easy read if all you need is something to pass a long train journey!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got hooked on Mr Cussler through Dirk Pitt...but that was many years ago. I needed a quick read just for fun and revisited Juan Cabrillo in the Oregon Files series.
There are many reviews that will tell you the plot and such, but, you, the prospective reader, just want to know if you needed to read the previous books of the series (no) and whether it was worth your time (yes).
The plot is totally unbelievable...the hero, super human...the countless supporting characters are, well, perfect. No heaving breasts or many four-letter words...just unending action.
Good fun read...you'll like it.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another exciting entry in the Oregon Files series.

After rescuing a beautiful woman in distress, Juan Cabrillo and company go looking for diamonds, metal sea serpents and an abducted billionaire. They find a radical environmentalist group trying to stop climate change...by producing climate change and killing a whole bunch of people.

Of course, Cabrillo and Crew stop it cold.

Pretty good stuff.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun way to experience adventure and global technology

[Suresh Vijendran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astounding rescue attempts and thrilling escapades is what you get after reading "Skeleton Coast". Very well written.

2024 - An entertaining book with a good climax

[Michael Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is copyrighted 2006 and is written by the famous and very successful Clive Cussler. While the motivation behind the prescient plot seems a stretch, it would probably be more at home today than it was at the time it was written. Juan Cabrillo is a relatively new protagonist for Cussler. He operates on a more military structure than Dirk Pitt, a previous and frequent protagonist. Cabrillo, his ship Oregon, and his crew are all civilians of a sort. They are mercenaries who only work for the “good guys.” They often handle jobs for the CIA and US government that the traditional military wants no part of. While maintaining the aura of a rust bucket, the Oregon contains high tech command, control and communication systems, an armoured hull and full army and naval weaponry including torpedoes. Her camouflage also hides two deep-water submersibles and a helicopter whose hanger is carried as cargo in one of the holds and lifts up to deck level by elevator. This was an interesting plot in a well written book that I enjoyed considerably.

The plot begins with Oregon delivering Russian AK49s from the CIA to a Namibian rebel leader who plans to overthrow the current, corrupt and incompetent government for his own corrupt and incompetent government. The arms delivery is actually wired so it can be followed, and the rebel leader destroyed. A serious contender has just escaped from prison and is waiting to take over a third option, popular democratic government. In the meantime, the beautiful Sloane McIntyre is looking for the Rose. The Rose is rumoured to hold bags of uncut diamonds and is thought to have sunk just off the coast during and extraordinary storm in the early 20th century. Instead of the Rose, McIntyre finds thugs who shoot at her and send her a note to leave the area ‘or else.’ As all this is happening, a wealthy industrialist is kidnapped from Switzerland and might be held in the Congo near Namibia and the Oregon.

While all this is happening, Sloan interviews a fisherman about the Rose. He claims to have fought metallic snakes attacking his small fishing boat at the possible location of the Rose. It is however, much further off the coast than Sloane expected. A weather low is forming into a hurricane that would be the 10th of the year to hit the US, near the area. The frequency and strength of these hurricanes is matching, if not exceeding, records for destruction and fatalities in the US hurricane belt.

As Cabrillo sorts all this out, he must decide what is the most important task and what should be resolved first. He is under pressure from the US government to help recover the kidnap victim and help the Namibian escapee to bring down his government.

This was an exciting story and a good read. I will be reading more Cussler. Four stars.

[Miku · Rating 4 out of 5]

Po raz kolejny specjalnie wyszkolona załoga Oregona wkracza do akcji. Tym razem przy wybrzeżu Afryki młoda kobieta o imieniu Sloane, będąca przedstawicielką firmy jubileskiej, szuka zaginionego statku. Na jego pokładzie znajdują się cenne kamienie szlachetne - diamenty. Jednak, żeby nie było zbyt nudno dla czytelnika to ten jacht, którym podróżowała, zostaje ostrzelany, a na pomoc przychodzi głowa załogi Oregona - kapitan Cabrillo. Okazuje się, że te kamienie szlachetne związane są z historią czterech Anglików, którzy ukradli diamenty pewnemu miejscowemu plemieniu Herero, a następnie giną wraz z wypuszczonym pościgiem, podczas burzy piaskowej. Jak można już przypuszczać - głównym celem będzie rozwiązanie tajemnicy skarbu, a przy okazji po raz kolejny kapitan Cabrillo zainteresuje się poboczną sprawą na tyle istotną, że rozpocznie się ratowanie świata przed katastrofą, tym razem ekologiczną.

Powieść ma lekko 300 stron, więc można spodziewać się napakowania wszystkiego po brzegi. Każdy rozdział ma w sobie pełno akcji, a historia idzie trzema torami. Oczywiście im bliżej końca książki to tym bardziej te trzy tory zaczynają się ze sobą zazębiać i współgrać. Czasami odczuwałam lekkie przytłoczenie terminologią typową dla opisu elementów lub oprzyrządowania statków oraz łodzi podwodnych, ale jest to do przeżycia.

[Wendell D'Costa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3☆

1896: HMS Rove vanishes in a shocking storm off the African coast. Aboard a fortune stolen in diamonds...
Present day: Juan Cabrillo and his team have just managed to escape a double cross on an arms deal. The Oregon and it's crew soon storm into action to stop an eco-terrorist who has pledged to make humanity suffer...

I'm gonna try and keep this one short. I had previously heard of Clive Cussler, and had recently come across this book and simply could not resist the urge to read it.
The story revolves around the disappearance of a billionaire and one of his working scientists, along with the diamonds aboard the missing Rove.
The story is filled with adventure and suspense, and is masterfully written by Cussler and Jack De Brul. But this wasn't the pacey thriller that one would expect. It was at times very slow and dense. Also, a certain main character was completely sidelined in the second half. Juan Cabrillo is a fascinating main character, and although the plot is weaved together at the end. I feel it would have been better to incorporate the Rove into story, instead of leaving it as an afterthought.
All things said it, it was an interesting, which I would only recommend reading if you have the patience of a voracious reader.

[Koit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Cussler novel in the fast-and-fun action category, the 'Skeleton Coast' was much as I imagined it to be. To be fair, I hadn't wanted to be entangled in the Oregon Files when I started the book but I believe that I'll carry on with the series.

I also enjoyed the other familiar Cussler characters showing up in order to save the day together. I don't imagine many of the books have a similar cross-over but the one in this book made the entire story more enjoyable.

That said, a lot about the Chairman Cabrillo also sounded as if it gets repeated in every novel. I hope that is not the case, but will have to get back on that note when I have read a few more of these. The character itself was interesting, if typically Cussler-esque action hero in his perfect nature and slightly tragic back story.

Overall, if you want some light entertainment over a number of plotlines, this is a good book. Cussler, if you already like his works, doesn't disappoint in the collaboration with Jack du Brul.

Originally posted here.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Action packed and well paced, without the drag of excessive description or introspection. If you like that sort of thing. Sometimes you just want a fast (relatively) read, without the need to reflect or reread complex passages, and this satisfies that need. The book has natural dialogue and brief but adequate characterization, but is a bit sexist when describing the female characters' physicality. I don't care for overly technical books that make me feel like I'm reading a gun owner's manual, but Cussler describes just enough detail so you can actually imagine the action (chases, shoot outs, blow-ups) easily without your eyes glazing over.

I only gave it two stars because the story was just kind of meh. The final confrontation was very brief. I think there could have been more personal interaction between the characters. I don't mind a little romance, but if you blinked you would miss it. He tried interjecting a bit of history to set up the basic premise, but it didn't really add anything to the final situation. I only selected this book because it looked lonely on a used book shelf. I think I'll try a Dirk Pitt series book next.

[Landshark82 Schatz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate to give Skeleton Coast a harsh review, I am a huge Cussler fan and love the Oregon Files dearly. However, Skelton Coast is no where near Cussler at his best. The plot lines weren’t bad or anything, but they really just failed to capture my attention like other Cussler books or even other books in the Oregon Files series. The final confrontation is perhaps the most poorly written section of the book, although by the resolution the story is wrapped up nicely. Another positive, Cabrillo gets substantially more character development then he typically does in the series. Cussler fails to capitalize on this however because the Cabrillo’s internal struggles are put on the back burner until the very end of the book, and don’t play a major role in the story at all, when they should be at the forefront. The core problem is that the story is just relatively forgettable. It’s a solid entry to the series, but newer readers should turn else where if they wish to get into the series or Clive Cussler.

[Marietta Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual there is a prologue which sets up the plot. Story begins in 1896 with the theft of diamonds from a Herero king in what is now known as Botswania by 5 Brits. Before the ship HMS Rove could leave the coast, a huge storm raged and lasted for days causing the coastline to change dramatically. Sand literally buried the ship.
Present Day: Story begins in Switzerland with Merrick speaking with Susan who shows him her invention: a substance that can make water turn into gel which could help with oil spills. At the same time, Captain Juan Cabrillo and the Corporation are trading *bugged* arms for diamonds to the Congo rebels.
At times I really needed a flow sheet to keep everything in order. I actually had to look up a cheat sheet to understand exactly what was happening. The story does come full circle and it does make sense in the end, but again, I was glad I had the cheat sheet.
Husband and I listened to the audio version on a recent trip. I am a huge Cussler fan while this was the first book of Cussler's husband had encountered.

[Toby Michaels · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading so many Cussler books, and so many "co-written" books, it's difficult to find them so enjoyable. They've become formulaic, novel-by-the-numbers, with no originality or spark. Maybe if it's the first of the series you've read, or you simply love all things Cussler.

I look more at co-written books as the lesser-known author's work, and after reading a few books by Morrison and DuBrul, I think this book (the 3rd or 4th DuBrul book I've tried) kills for me his contributions to the series.

DuBrul to me is more wordy than other Cussler co-authors, he has longer more exhausting chapters, and terribly long prologues of 20-25 pages that I skip altogether. Also, he has a bit more gritty violence than other Cusslerian novels. He really paints the picture of blood-splatter. Whether you like that or not, all combined, it's not something of Cussler's that I'd like to read. I'm still onboard with Morrison.