The Canberra Swift is a mid-sized cargo ship. Despite her relatively unattractive shape, the ship has been in high demand for transporting oversized cargo, such as fuselage sections of large planes.  Not only is her stern ramp wide enough for six lanes of traffic, but the Swift is also fast and could cross the Pacific Ocean in seven days.  

Given all the ship’s capabilities, when the news came in that not only had the Swift disappeared off the radar, but that she had sunk in an unknown place. The owners were justifiably worried and shocked, but people in the Pentagon were as well.  Whatever had caused the sinking was not an accident!  What had happened to the Canberra Swift and where is her cargo?

DARK VECTOR (NUMA Files #19), the latest Clive Cussler adventure novel written by Graham Brown. The book opens dramatically in 1808 as Chinese pirates engage in a sea attack over stolen treasure. Then suddenly, a loud rumble is heard. A volcano erupts, the battling ships are struck by disaster, and the treasure sinks deeply into the sea!

Brown swiftly moves the action and story to current times when the Swift is attacked by pirates using high tech equipment, then jumps to an island where NUMA’s Kurt Austin is working with Yan Li, a beautiful nautical historian with the People’s Republic of China, trying to locate the Silken Dragon sunk in 1808 off the coast of Vietnam.

In true Cussler style, Austin is called on another mission and joined by his longtime friend and associate Joe Zavala.   DARK VECTOR contains a slew of highly talented characters, both from previous novels and new ones who are all credible.  It is a great feature that there is a Character List at the beginning if one needs a refresher on who everybody is.

Similarly in the Cussler style, there’s lots of old and new technology utilized throughout DARK VECTOR. The secret high-speed computers happen to require water cooling, since they are so fast. Also featured in DARK VECTOR are fast ships, drones, diving Robots, submersibles, Flying Trucks, round subs, surface-effect airplanes (Ekranoplan), skimmers and autonomous vehicles. Some are from NUMA’s development, some are non-existent technologies, but all are plausible and possible (according to my techie friend)!

The Evil Bay Guy, Kinnard Emmerson, has the mantra “Value of Information” controls the world. This philosophy is why he wants the high-speed computers that were in the cargo and getting access to the data on the Internet.  In addition to the fast-paced physical action, there is nail-biting concerns with the technology (Servers, Drives, Phones, Hacking same, Worms). It keeps the storyline so intriguing and very current with countries, such as China, Russia, Iran and the USA.

I must confess I am a relatively new fan of Cussler’s books and have only read about seven of his many previous novels. I thoroughly enjoyed DARK VECTOR and regretted every moment that life took me away from this exciting and totally five-star, top-of-class novel!  DARK VECTOR is a great blend of history, advanced science, and high tech everything. It’s all interwoven with an exciting and suspenseful storyline that is futuristic, but highly possible storyline.

I also love the way Brown can do a complete circle, starting with the 1808 sinking of a Pirate Ship and ending with the same! With a ton of heart-stopping excitement and almost non-stop action from start to finish, I heartily recommend DARK VECTOR!

Given that, I am looking forward to reading more Clive Cussler books written by Graham Brown!  Grab your copy and get in on the exciting DARK VECTOR action today!