Dragon

Dirk Pitt returns for his ninth and most improbable adventure as Cussler ( Treasure ) offers a page-turning romp that achieves a level of fast-paced action and derring-do that Robert Ludlum and other practitioners of modern pulp fiction might well envy. Less admirably, Cussler seasons his tale for the contemporary audience with a substantial dose of Japan-bashing in the tradition of the Yellow Peril of times past. The scenario posits that in 1945, a third atomic bomb directed at Japan disappeared into the sea when its B-29 transport was shot down. Half a century later, that long-forgotten weapon is the key to a tale in which wealthy Japanese nationalists have planted nuclear devices in major cities around the world as part of a grand scheme to create a new Japanese empire through international blackmail. A writer of the "kitchen sink" school, Cussler throws in wild automobile chases, pitched gun battles that apparently go unnoticed by the populace at large, a classic hunt with a human as prey, a newly discovered underground Nazi treasure trove, and even the author himself (as a bit player in an antique auto race). Solidly entertaining, this thriller is perfect beach reading. Literary Guild alternate.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Japanese businessmen have created a diabolical plot to control world economy, and all is going well until a radiation leak occurs on board the auto carrier Divine Star . Dirk Pitt is almost killed in the tremors from the explosion aboard the carrier, and the plot weaves suspensefully as he begins to solve the puzzles around him. Nuclear holocaust, secret underwater stations, Japanese art discovered in an old Nazi underground vault, and the kidnapping of two U. S. Congressmen carry readers through an exciting story of power and insatiable greed. Humor pervades the story; Cussler places himself in one scene, suggests in another that the yen become the currency of the United States, and dresses Pitt's Uncle Percy in a lavender sport coat and lizard-skin boots. An attention-holding novel set in 1993. --Linda Vretos, West Springfield High School, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.