The Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler

This is the second of Dirk Pitt series by this author. This is set in the Med as the name suggests and starts with an attack on the Brady Airfield on the island of Thasos. The attack is carried out by an old bi-wing plane with familiar black Maltese Cross markings of World War I Germany. The pilot shoots at all the ground aircrafts and at the control tower. The young sergeant sends out a mayday.

Dirk and Al were flying in at this time to join the National Underwater Marine Agency’s research boat, First Attempt, lying off the Thasos island. They came racing across to see what assistance they can provide. They are amazed to see the old albatross shooting at the Air field. Dirk had been called in to investigate the strange accidents taking place on the First Attempt, while they are looking for a rare species of fish. They force the attacking plane away but are hit themselves and have to land at the air base. This curious incident leads them to try and find out what is happening and how if at all is this connected to the woes of the First Attempt. 

Dirk meets a young lady on the beach and get invited to dinner at her uncle’s home, a rich, reclusive and influential man on the island. The place is like a well-guarded manor with strange and old furnishing. The uncle, Bruno von Till, is mysterious and not at all happy when he realises Dirk is a US Major. When the niece Teri comes, she also behaves oddly and looks scared. Dirk catches the undercurrents and palms a knife from the table. Von Till sends Teri away and succeeds in getting Dirk into a dark passage way and shuts the door. Where will this dark passage lead to? What is that strange noise he can hear in the passageway? Will he be able to save himself from this unknown peril? 

Dirk and Al get stuck in finding out what secret Von Till is hiding? It does not appear to be something ordinary as he has been trying to get the NUMA ship to move away from the particular area. He more or less admitted that as the purpose of attack on the Brady Airfield and later on the First Attempt. There is something hidden in the waters around there which he does not want discovered. How involved is his niece Teri in this? Why is Interpol keeping an eye on the comings and goings at the Manor? 

It is a fairly fast paced novel and describes in detail the surroundings, the planes and ship and of course marine biology. There are lot of tense situations faced by Dirk and Al and keeps one on the edge and reading to know the outcome. A real good thriller and a good plot line that keep you glued right to the end.

Medusa by Clive Cussler

This is a Kurt Austin Adventure who is one of my favourite heroes of Clive Cussler books. These are part of the NUMA adventures. For many years I had seen the books on library and bookstore shelves but not read any, as I thought it was all about ships and marine things. I was not interested in ocean themes and read about raising wrecks or ocean travelling. Little did I know that these books are as exciting as other adventures and mysteries that I have read. While Medusa is not my first book by Clive Cussler, it’s the first I have read since writing book reviews on my blog. I have some of his books and as I reread them I will put up information about my impressions of the novels.

So NUMA is this underwater US government agency which handles all sorts of things from marine research, oceanography, raising old wrecks and helping with any world threats that involve ships, submersibles and all things deep…. Kurt is a big man with a background in CIA and knowledge of ships and oceans while his partner is Joe who is a brilliant engineer and can design and use all sorts of machinery. From submersibles to planes he can pilot all.

In this story, as in most Clive Cussler books, there are a couple of strands that run parallel for a while and then merge into the single plot. One strand is about an outbreak of a virulent flu (even worse than SARS) in a small village in China. A Dr Lee is sent to work with an American research team headed by Dr Kane, to look for a vaccine made from deep sea. While the second strand runs with a publicised dive in a bathysphere which will descend to great depths by its maker and pilot Joe from NUMA. Dr Kane has been chosen to accompany Joe on this dive. Something goes wrong and the cable is broken off sending the machine plummeting to the ocean floor and sinks into the mud with the force of the impact. Austin mounts a rescue, only to discover sabotage by cutting off the cable and is himself attacked by something. He manages to fight it off and get a piece of metal from it.

What is the link between this and the hijacking of an underwater research facility where the final stages of vaccine production was taking place? Some vast organisation only can be at the centre of this, as it is a worldwide and organised crime – the sinking of bathysphere, having a submersible capable of cutting underwater cables, crippling the ship that stood as a link with the underwater lab with a missile and finally just picking up the lab and moving it to some unknown location.

With the lab missing and the threat to the flu outbreak getting closer NUMA is offers to help the Navy find the lab and to get the vaccine back from whoever has stolen it. There is also a link (yet another strand) of an ancient tale / legend of whalers. A whaler got swallowed by a whale but survived to tell the tale and the ship’s crew got a virulent illness from one port visit. They were mysteriously cured after landing on another island and the people thinking the whale survivor (who has grown aged looking and totally white) was a ghost and if they did not help the crew it would curse them. Was this ancient medicine anything to do with the current research into the flu vaccine? It appears that the chemicals or microbes seemed to protect the individual from all illnesses.

The metal piece found by Austin leads them to a big Chinese company that is a front for the triads and is extremely rich and powerful across the world. The Trouts are part of Kurt’s team and they are sent to get more information on this legend as well as find out more about what is happening at the research lab that was on an island where Dr Kane’s team worked before moving part of the lab underwater in secret. The story as usual is full of action and excitement with danger lurking at every turn whether on a dive to search for the ancient ruins of the Nan Madol temples or finding an atoll that looked harmless but was at the site of the ancient island where the whalers of past had landed. The strands from all ends keep a tight grip on you as the author also goes into what is the motivation and methods of the Pyramid who are bent on being the sole owners of this vaccine. The heroes are all over the place, kidnapped to a warehouse by the Chinese henchmen, shot at by them underwater, ambushed on their ship, taken prisoner of an old Russian submarine…………. Of course they find the lab but will they be in time to stop the pandemic that threatens the world?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it kept the level of excitement constant. The heroes kept your faith in them…. Kurt and Joe make a wonderful team along with the Trouts who all are best in their field.