CLIVE CUSSLER COLD FIRE by Graham Brown

Here’s another exciting flight of fancy, the NUMA team involving aircraft as well as shipping in their latest adventure. CLIVE CUSSLER’S COLD FIRE is indeed cold, as the Arctic water is particularly frigid.

A test weapon aboard an American aircraft is hijacked by a vicious traitor (don’t worry, he will get what’s coming to him), and the plane vanishes from the radar. The advanced laser beam has operational drawbacks, but it’s close enough to being able to form a shield against missiles and aircraft. The race is on to track this plane across the empty ocean to anywhere it might land in the European Arctic.

The nearest NUMA vessel is operated by the usual team of Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala. These guys are able to kid around while doing deadly serious work, and they have their specialties, such as deep diving or piloting. They can still make mistakes or have something randomly go wrong. The Russians and Chinese are each hoping to buy – or steal – the advanced weaponry, and an enterprising Chinese ship has even provided a way for this plane to come down, although it’s not meant to land on a short deck. The more I read of these stories, the more ingenuity I see in the engineering.

Be prepared for cold, dark, underwater swimming in the most dangerous seas in the world. Saving a stricken ship or stealthily uncovering a plot are all in a day’s work for NUMA, the National and Underwater Marine Agency. Some admirable ladies are part of the team at times, including a newcomer, a smuggler called Prudence. Gamay Trout is a hard- working marine biologist who gets flung into all kinds of disasters and manages to survive, but I can never remember that Gamay is a female name. As usual, the rugged equipment is half the recipe for success.

I think if this were reality, about thirty individuals would be needed, as each incident would require a lot of medical time out. The dangerous scenes just keep on coming, with a nice change of location at the end. Graham Brown has created another highly readable thriller with interesting characters and motivations. CLIVE CUSSLER’S COLD FIRE is well worth a read if you like action with your ice.

When a NATO weapon that could ensure peace or start World War Three vanishes in the Arctic, Kurt Austin and NUMA race to recover it before it falls into enemy hands in the latest novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series created by the “grand master of adventure” Clive Cussler.

In the frigid air high above the Arctic Ocean American C-17 carrying a cutting-edge laser of immense power, successfully shoots down a ballistic missile nearly four hundred miles away. Before the celebration can even begin, the aircraft goes dark, vanishing off radar and disappearing into mist at the top of the world.

As the details emerge it becomes obvious that the aircraft has been hijacked, the crew murdered at their stations. Its last known heading would take it directly to Russia, but the CIA insisted it never arrived. An odd signal suggests it crashed into the Arctic Ocean halfway between Norway and the North Pole. In a tense meeting the President asks how deep the waters are in that area. Not deep enough, is the answer.

Russian ships are seen putting out to sea in large numbers. Chinese vessels are spotted north of Norway. The only American asset in the area is a small research vessel operated by NUMA. The President orders NUMA to send it into the fray. Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala lead the search but soon find that all is not as it seems. The Chinese were waiting for the planes arrival, the Russians had expected it to land on their territory and now all three are closing in on a shooting war to keep the others from finding the missing plane.

With the rules of engagement suspended and lives hanging in the balance, Kurt and the NUMA special projects team pull on the threads connecting the mystery only to discover the great nations of the world being manipulated by a single man with a deadly plan of revenge.