Book Review: Shock Wave, By Clive Cussler

While investigating the death of thousands of marine animals on Seymour island in Antarctica, Dirk Pitt  rescues Maeve Fletcher and some tourists after the same thing kills all the two hundred people who remained on the cruise ship. Dirk investigates and finds that it is caused by the resonant waves from Maeve's father Arthur Dorsett's mines. Dirk goes off to investigate and learns that the mines are cause being worked over time to mine enough diamonds to bring the entire world diamond market down making Arthur Dorsett billions in a new market, the colored gemstone market. To avert the catastrophe from striking Oahu Hawaii one of the mines must be shut down. Dirk Pitt goes off to Australia to stop a mine when he is captured by Arthur Dorsett and put adrift in a tiny dingy in the south pacific. He manages to find the wreckage of another boat and build a sail boat to go back to the mine. I enjoyed the book and found my self not able to put it down. I enjoyed the authors authors use of vivid imagery and humor. I also found even though it had many elements of an airport book it had a very good plot and well described characters. The main character Dirk Pitt is a cross between James bond and MacGiyver. All though a little cliche he is very inventive and intelligent. I this scene he is held by two of Arthur's henchmen and is going to be killed.  "Before we bury him with the others," said Crutcher with seeming anticipation "we'll persuade him to fill in any details he may have purposely left out." "So I'm to be tortured and then executed," Pitt said nonchalantly, helping himself to another shot of tequila while his mind desperately created and discarded a dozen useless plans for escape."