Description
For four novels, Clive Cussler has charted the exploits of
the Oregon, a
clandestine spy ship completely dilapidated on the outside, but on the inside
packed with sophisticated weaponry and intelligence-gathering equipment.
Captained by the rakish, one-legged Juan Cabrillo and manned by a crew of
former military and spy personnel, it is a private enterprise, available for
any government agency that can afford it - and now Cussler sends the Oregon on
its most extraordinary mission yet. The crew has just completed a top-secret
mission against Iran in the Persian Gulf, when they come across a cruise ship adrift
in the sea. Hundreds of bodies litter its deck, and as Cabrillo tries to
determine what happened, explosions rack the length of the ship. Barely able to
escape with his own life and that of the liner's sole survivor, Cabrillo finds
himself plunged into a mystery as intricate - and as perilous - as any he has
ever known, and pitted against a cult with monstrously lethal plans for the
human race...plans he may already be too late to stop.
Praise and Reviews
Leave it to Clive Cussler and Jack DuBrul to create a story involving maritime exploration and a cult. PLAGUE SHIP has all the exciting intrigue and fast-paced escapades of the crew of the Oregon. Juan Cabrillo, the ship’s captain, leads the way as Cussler’s hero, in one of the most interesting plots yet conceived.
Looking like the oldest, most battered ship on the ocean, the Oregon actually has the most sophisticated technology and weaponry known to man. Additionally, it has a world-class chef and a highly trained staff, all working for NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency). Always with an international flavor, the book starts out in the port of Barnar Abbas, Iran. Soon they would venture forth on a mission to research the cause of a disaster on the cruise ship Golden Dawn. “There had to be 100 corpses on the deck, sprawled in twisted shapes of agony.”
When the Golden Dawn set off on its voyage, the hundreds of passengers onboard had two things in common: they were free from virus, and they were believers in the works of Dr. Lydell Cooper. His book is titled WE’RE BREEDING OURSELVES TO DEATH, and the organization founded on his beliefs is the Responsivists, those who are responsible. They have been working on a plan to intentionally sterilize three billion people on Earth! “This isn’t about preventing a few thousand passengers and a crew from having children. It’s about stopping half the world.”
It is the overwhelming task of Cabrillo and his Oregon crew to find out the cause of the tragedy on the Golden Dawn and prevent further incidents from taking place in the future. Is this the challenge that will stop NUMA in its tracks? Will this be their greatest victory, or their demise? We can immediately relate to the terror felt by the NUMA crew as they quite literally attempt to save the world from destruction.
Written with their usual panache and fervor, Cussler and DuBrul have produced a book that challenges readers to face real biological terrorism at the gut level. Beyond the cataclysmic possibilities of such an event, every adult on earth has an opinion on human rights and reproduction. Most countries in the world have human rights policies, which include the rights of their citizens to reproduce. Consider also the religious significance. Christians believe that Noah loaded animals two by two, to go forth and multiply, in an effort to save God’s creatures from extinction. This was his task in life, his responsibility. Responsivists believe that it is their responsibility to stop the human race from populating a future generation.
Even more frightening is Dr. Cooper’s tome on overpopulation: “Arguably the greatest transfer of wealth in human history occurred when the Plague swept through Europe and killed a third of its population. Lands were consolidated, allowing for a greater standard of living, not only for the owners but also for those who worked them. This event was the single greatest contributor to the Renaissance and gave rise to Europe’s eventual domination of the world.”
I invite you to join the NUMA crew as they work their magic.
--- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher