Review by Booklist Review
This is the fifth Cussler-Kemprecos novel involving Kurt Austin, the leader of the National Underwater Marine Agency's Special Assignments Team. Austin had come to NUMA from the CIA, where he had worked for a little-known branch that specialized in underwater intelligence gathering. In this new novel, an enzyme that can prolong life has been discovered 2,500 feet down in the North Atlantic, in a place known as the Lost City. Conditions there are similar to those that existed at the dawn of life on earth. There is the threat of ecological catastrophe, people are killed, Austin is attacked by a man with a sword and an ax, he and his crew are hijacked, and all of this is tied in with a body found in a glacier in the Alps. The usual technical babble--side-scan sonar displays and lateral thrusters--is present and accounted for, as is the usual glamorous woman. Despite all the peril, our hero survives, and no matter that the ending is given away, because Austin's survival will come as no surprise to anyone. Besides, getting to that end is a page-turning adventure. --George Cohen Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Kurt Austin, leader of the National Underwater and Marine Agency's Special Assignments Team, battles international evildoers again in the fifth installment of this excellent series. There are several parallel plots: a mysterious aviator has been found frozen in a massive glacier; a mutant seaweed is threatening to choke the world's oceans; a giant submarine is roaming the thermal vents of the deep sea area known as the Lost City; and the secretive, arms-dealing Fauchard family, run by ruthless black-widow Racine and her homicidal son, Emil, is up to no good. Also there's a mysterious 16th-century helmet, a search for the philosopher's stone and an island of filthy, mutant cannibals. Austin's love interest is lush, sensual Skye Labelle, an archeologist specializing in arms and armor ("She had a good body, but it would never make the cover of Sports Illustrated"). Kidnappings, hair's-breadth escapes, fierce battles, strange science, beautiful women and plenty of action add up to vintage Cussler. Of course, one of the secrets of the genre is to waste no time on ancillary details: "Before long, a cigar-shaped object came into view"; "Before long, they were stepping out of the cockpit onto the deck." Readers will find that, before long, they're racing through the pages as Austin and his band of merry men fight to stop the Fauchards from reaching the ultimate evildoer's goal: world domination. Agent, Peter Lampack. 600,000 first printing; simultaneous Penguin Audio. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
A body is discovered frozen in the Alps, scientists begin disappearing from a Greek lab, and death greets anyone intent on recovering a life-prolonging enzyme discovered deep in the ocean. Sounds like a job (and it is one job) for Kurt Austin, leader of the National Underwater Marine Agency's (NUMA) Special Assignments Team. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Adult/High School-The Fauchards, successful developers and sellers of weapons, keep their place as a major power in the industry through many centuries. Kurt Austin and his crew of trained scientists and elite fighters from the National Underwater and Marine Agency begin investigating nefarious activities of the powerful Racine Fauchard and her son. Their dastardly project involves scientific experiments on humans in order to find an elixir of eternal youth. They are also leading a team of mercenaries who are melting down a massive glacier containing the remains of a Fauchard ancestor and a metal helmet on which is recorded the formula for the elixir. At the same time, the oceans of the world are under siege from a mutant strain of algae, one of the vile spin-off plots by the devilish Racine. Myriad subplots weave together until they form the ending. Along the way, the action fluctuates from a steady pace to racing forward when they intertwine. The story is set in the present, and historical events are added to help explain elements of the complex plot. Settings range from under the Atlantic Ocean to the French Alps and Greece. The Fauchards' creepy castle, complete with dungeon and torture chamber, increases the feeling of science fiction that often accompanies Cussler's stories. Interesting and entertaining reading.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
