The Rising Sea

January 29, 2018
Indefatigable bestseller Cussler shows no sign of flagging in his 15th NUMA Files novel (after 2017’s Nighthawk, also coauthored with Brown), an adventurous mix of archetypal mysterious substances, futuristic technology, ancient legends, and global ecological disaster. The sea levels are rising, and not just from boring old climate change. A secret Chinese operation mining golden adamant, a “living metamaterial... capable of accomplishing things no other material derived from the Earth or created in the lab can match,” triggers the release of water stored in minerals deep below the bottom of the sea that threatens to engulf the world. Kurt Austin, Joe Zavala, and the rest of the National Underwater and Marine Agency’s special assignments team race to stop the Chinese conspirators and stem the climbing tides. A far-fetched ending involving perfect android replicas of Austin and Zavala attempting to assassinate the prime minister of Japan strains credulity, but otherwise readers are deep in Cussler territory, and the water’s fine. Agent: Peter Lampack, Peter Lampack Agency.

March 1, 2018
In one of the best recent novels to bear the Cussler name, Kurt Austin and his NUMA colleagues wing their way to Japan, where a researcher widely dismissed as a crackpot claims to have discovered activity in the East China Sea?strange activity that can't be explained by natural events. After narrowly escaping a well-staged assassination attempt, the NUMA team launches a full investigation, soon stumbling onto a massive conspiracy involving a rare and hitherto unimagined alloy that could upset the balance of political and economic power across the globe. The writing here is spot-on: cowriter Brown, who presumably handled most of the actual wordsmithery, is the author of several other installments in the NUMA Files series?and the story is first-rate, with just enough of a ripped-from-the-headlines feel to it that we imagine it could actually happen. A fine entry in an always-popular series, and a sure bet for those who crave high-concept adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

October 15, 2017

The NUMA team finds the reason for an inexplicable surge in sea level: something deep in the East China Sea meant to upset the Pacific balance of power.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.