I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Mirage
by
Clive Cussler, Jack Du Brul
action & adventure, spy thriller, thriller in Hardcover edition that was published by Putnam Adult on November 5, 2013 and has 401 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Crescent Dawn, The Jungle, Kingdom, Devil's Gate, The Storm, The Tombs, Poseidon's Arrow, Zero Hour, The Mayan Secrets, Ghost Ship, The Eye of Heaven, Piranha, The Emperor's Revenge, Pirate, Odessa Sea, Havana Storm, Nighthawk, The Romanov Ransom, Typhoon Fury, The Rising Sea, The Gray Ghost, Shadow Tyrants, Sea of Greed, The Oracle, Final Option, Journey of the Pharaohs, Dragon's Moon, Marauder
Ninth in the Oregon Files spy thriller series revolving around the Chairman and his band of experts aboard the Oregon, a ship with its own illusions.
My Take
I do love this series. You can always trust the Corporation to have cool new toys and tricky strategies to bring to the action! When you add in the Oregon’s illusions as well as the moral fiber of Juan Cabrillo and his people along with the detecting, it’s a can’t miss.
Yeah, it’s similar to Cussler’s Dirk Pitt and NUMA Files series, the names and operations base are different, but the missions are the same: stop the bad guys and their S.P.E.C.T.R.E.-like plans for power. And as much as I adore Kurt and Dirk, Juan has my heart.
Cussler/Du Brul keep the humanity with the jokes and pranks, the compassion, and the chef’s ego when it comes to adding salt and pepper to a perfectly seasoned meatloaf, LOL.
This particular story pulls in the history of Nikola Tesla, a much-ignored genius who, in my mind, was much greater than Edison. You may well find yourself wanting to read more about Tesla after this story. There’s also an interesting side trip into a discussion on what constitutes science fiction: past and future.
As for drama and tension…there is no lack here. Cussler/Du Brul will keep you on the edge of your seat with foot, sea, and snowmobile chases; rescues from prison, florists, the deep, and capsized boats; and, pirates of all sorts.
It’s a fun, escapist read that saves the world and takes you out of yourself.
The Story
Juan Cabrillo has broken out of more than one prison in his life, and it won’t be the last, I’m sure. It’s a daring rescue that leads to confusion, but as the clues fall together, it becomes a desperate race to save the world, er, the U.S.
The Characters
Juan Cabrillo is the Chairman, ex-CIA, of the Corporation with lots of aliases including Captains Ramon Esteban and Ali Mohamed. His prosthetic leg allows for all sorts of, um, wardrobe changes.
The Corporation…
…is Cabrillo and his motley crew aboard a clandestine spy ship, and they make a very comfortable and very dangerous living working for high-powered interests. The Oregon itself is a hybrid warship/intelligence-gathering vessel disguised as a tramp freighter on its last legs. I do love the description of the ship — inside and outside as well as its capabilities.
Kevin Nixon is a former Hollywood special effects artist with a range from fake tattoos to set design. Max Hanley is Juan’s closest friend and second-in-command of the Oregon with his own alias in the Middle East of the Teutonic Fritz Zoeller. Mark Murphy, one of the few civilians and blessed with a near-photographic memory (and paranoid) — well, he is a former weapons designer, and Eric Stone, former Navy, are the crackerjack researchers. George “Gomez” Adams is their gifted pilot. Julia Huxley is a Navy-trained physician and the Oregon‘s chief medical officer. Maurice is the chief steward. Linda Ross is the ship’s number three and on assignment with one of the Corporation’s regular clients. Eddie Seng is another CIA veteran. Franklin Lincoln is a former Navy SEAL. Mike Trono, the only ex-Air Force, a pararescuer, who lives for wreck diving. MacD Lawless is a newbie. Hali Kasim is the communications officer.
Langston Overholt IV, a brilliant strategist and cheap, is Juan’s CIA mentor who provides the Corporation with most of its missions.
Yuri Borodin is the former commandant of the naval base in Vladivostok, the same shipyard that refitted the Oregon and added in the weapons system while another yard controlled by Yuri put in her magneto-hydrodynamic engines. Yeah, he’s corrupt too. And one of Kenin’s enemies. Captain Mikhail “Misha” Kasporov was Borodin’s longtime assistant and aide-de-camp.
Emir Abdullah of one of the United Arab Emirates insists on the Corporation as his protection whenever he leaves the UAR. He’s currently on his yacht, the Sakir. Heinz-Erik Vogel is the Sakir‘s chief engineer.
The Lady Marguerite was built for George Westinghouse, and her past is traced with Hiram Yaeger’s and St. Julian Perlmutter’s help. Professor Wesley Tennyson is a retired theoretical physicist with MIT and the author of the definitive Tesla biography. L’Enfant is one of the premier intelligence brokers in the world, and he’s never betrayed a client.
The Aral Sea
Karl Petrovski was a hydrologist working on revitalizing the Aral Sea and bringing life back to the Kazakh area. Mina is his wife, and they have two daughters. Arkin Kamsin is Petrovski’s boss with the Bureau of Reclamation of the Aral Sea. Yusuf is the old fisherman who knows the bottom of the Aral Sea like the back of his hand.
Coast Guard crew
Master Chief Warren Davies is first to board. Commander Bill Taggard captains the James Patke.
USS John C. Stennis , fleet, and jets
Captain Mike Davis, call sign Slider, is the first to prove to the Navy the power of Tesla’s invention. Commander Michelle O’Connell of the USS Ross may be doing a lot more than merely speaking to Cabrillo.
Pytor Kenin is a fleet admiral and very corrupt. Commander Viktor Gogol is his aide-de-camp.
The Akula
Kapitan Anton Patronov commands this Akula class fast-attack submarine. Commander Paulus Renko is the executive officer.
Ivan Karnov is a prisoner headed for a maximum security prison in North Siberia. Gunnery Sergeant Malcolm Winters USMC (Ret.) has his own plans. Former Deputy Under Secretary of the Army Hillman.
The Cover and Title
The cover makes me think of St. Elmo’s fire with a huge ship at sea against a green sky and the darker waters while yellowed lightning bolts strike the ship.
The title is what it’s all about, a Mirage with its shimmer of invisibility.
