Plague Ship (Oregon Files)

List Price: $26.95 Discount Price: $8.97

Customer Reviews:

A fine tense drama, perfect for audio lending libraries [Posted on 2008-08-18]
Jason Culp's acting abilities are well known and he holds many TV credits to his name as well as other audio productions, so his rendition of PLAGUE SHIP will especially please any who seek professional readers and highly charged recordings of dramas. Here the covert ship Oregon's adventures continue with a top secret mission in the Persian Gulf affected by the discovery of a cruise ship littered with bodies. The mystery that evolves could affect the Oregon and beyond in this fine tense drama, perfect for audio lending libraries.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

"...civilization would never recover ... this thing is a doomsday weapon" [Posted on 2008-08-19]

Rough-and-tumble adventure at sea with high-tech; Clive Cussler owns the genre. Plague Ship (Oregon Files) is the fourth book of the Oregon series but the first that I've read and it was no surprise to find a fantastic story line and implausible derring-do. Just what I was hoping for!

The Oregon series features Juan Cabrillo and his Corporation. Cabrillo is an ex-CIA operative turned paramilitary mercenary. Along with his hand-picked team he takes assignments mainly from the CIA. Oregon is the Corporation's base ship, a rust bucket refitted for speed, maneuverability and anonymity.

PLAGUE SHIP's plot is built around an organization called the Responsivists, whose aim is to redistribute wealth by population reduction; the plot is too complex to summarize easily but be assured that it's full of wild chases and battles on land and sea. Cabrillo and his Corporation achieve several rescues of team members from impossibly dangerous situations; there are some "MacGyver moments" and some exciting technology. The outcome is never in doubt.

This series is co-authored, in this case by Jack Du Brul, but it bears Cussler's stamp. I found it well written and fun, a four-star read. My main issues (besides predictability) were the rather lame "bracketing story" in the prologue and epilogue, and the possibly too-large Corporation team. Juan Cabrillo is no Dirk Pitt, but he does rule his operation with flair. I will definitely read more from this series.

Linda Bulger, 2008

Kept Me Riveted To My Seat [Posted on 2008-08-20]
I'll admit to being a tad disappointed in some of Clive's latest efforts, but combined with Jack DuBrul, this brings him back to the top of the heap. Despite being over 500 pages long, I read it in a day and a half.

Cussler and DuBrul have a writing style that fits me like a glove. Though it is a formula, it is what I come to expect from them, and the whole reason I seek out their books. It is easy to read, exciting, and follows most of the "rules" of writing. In this one, I noticed lots of times where they mix points of view within scenes, and though that is a big no-no for new writers, it did not detract from a great story.

The premise of sterilizing the world to stave off overpopulation kept my attention, especially when it is propagated by another flake religion. Though that plot device has been used before, in many different forms, it kept me wanting to find out what happens next.

The characters are pretty much larger than life (translate that to "unrealistic," as some think), but often, I like my heroes to be that way. Cussler and DuBrul never cross the line into the ridiculous, and keep their heroes and villains out of comic book territory.

After reading Plague Ship, I can't wait until the next one. If you are a Cussler fan, you should not be disappointed. Highly recommended.

Ho Hum... [Posted on 2008-08-23]
This is a cliche-ridden, plodding thriller with cardboard characters and stilted dialogue. Real people just don't talk like these characters. I struggled through this story because I hate to drop a book, always hoping that the story will improve. Didn't happen here. Avoid this one like the plague (pun intended).

Oops, Editing Errors! [Posted on 2008-08-23]
I read the reviews and concur with many comments that it is not Cussler's best work, but a fun ride for a quick read. However, I didn't see any reference to the editing mistakes in the book. The most notable is the switch in the villian's wife's name - from Heidi to Susan! Oops!

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