Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Mirage by Clive Cussler, Jack Du Brul


The extraordinary new novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series from the grand master of adventure.

In October 1943, a U.S. destroyer sailed out of Philadelphia and supposedly vanished, the result of a Navy experiment with electromagnetic radiation. The story was considered a hoax — but now Juan Cabrillo and his Oregon colleagues aren’t so sure.

There is talk of a new weapon soon to be auctioned, something very dangerous to America’s interests, and the rumors link it to the great inventor Nikola Tesla, who was working with the Navy when he died in 1943. Was he responsible for the experiment? Are his notes in the hands of enemies? As Cabrillo races to find the truth, he discovers there is even more at stake than he could have imagined — but by the time he realizes it, he may already be too late.

REVIEW:
Clive Cussler, author of the bestselling National Underwater and Marine Agency and Dirk Pitt series, created his most intriguing high seas action hero: the enigmatic captain of the Oregon, Juan Cabrillo who was introduced with the first Oregon Files series Golden Buddha in 2003.

Juan Cabrillo is Chairman of the "Corporation", a special US Government-sponsored group that operates out of a ship called the Oregon; a marvel of scientific research equipment bristling with state-of-the-art weaponry - but disguised as a heap of junk.

Cabrillo and his crew of mercenaries with a conscience are able to cross the high seas in their 'rusting' tub unmolested, seeking out those beyond the arms of the law and dealing out justice to any who would plot chaos on a global scale.

Fans of the series who have waited for almost three year since the release of the last book in the series, The Jungle (2011), will heave a sigh of relief, and gobble up this latest addition to the Oregon Files series, Mirage, which is a continuation of the extraordinary adventures of Juan Cabrillo - Golden Buddah (2003) was followed by Sacred Stone (2004), Dark Watch (2005), Skeleton Coast (2006), Plague Ship (2008), Corsair (2009), The Silent Sea (2010), and The Jungle (2011).

In Mirage, Cussler with co-author Jack Du Brul bring to the reader Juan Cabrillo on a dangerous mission to save his old friend Yuri Borodin from a maximum Siberian prison. But the mission goes horribly wrong and in the process Yuri dies. But the mention of “Tesla” by Yuri before his death takes Cabrillo in a new direction trying to unravel why a dying man would utter “Tesla.”

“Tesla” mentioned by Yuri is Nikola Tesla, a mysterious and shadowy Serbian scientist whose immense knowledge and understanding of modern science and technology could prove disastrous if it is not use for good purposes. Tesla has invented alternating-current electricity and it is also widely believed that he has also developed a number of secret weapons, including a death ray, an earthquake machine, and an invisibility field.

Dubbed the second-most corrupt man on the planet, Russian fleet admiral Pytor Kenin is a man with sinister designs. To serve his nefarious purposes he has formed a private army and is using Tesla’s secret technology to that end. When there is talk of a new weapon soon to be auctioned Cabrillo embarked on the most dangerous mission of his life and discovered that the stakes are much higher than earlier thought to be. What is Pytor Kenin up to? Will Cabrillo manage to thwart him?

Mirage is exciting, engrossing and totally enjoyable, and fans of the Oregon Files series will find the latest addition a great reading escape.

My rating ➳ 👍👍👍👍