Treasure of Khan
by Clive Cussler, Dirk Cussler
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Book Summary Information
Author: Clive Cussler, Dirk CusslerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2006-11-28
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 560
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Book Reviews of Treasure of Khan
Book Review: lackluster Pitt story
Summary: 3 Stars
WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
Centuries ago, a freak storm, a "divine wind" repulses Kublai Khan's great fleet from invading the island kingdom of Japan. One of the ships floats helplessly across the Pacific until making landfall on an inhabited island. Though initially assimilating into the island's population, the power of the Khan cannot be ignored, and the crew eventually finds its way back to Shang-tu, Kublai Khan's fabled capital with tales of the strange new land. Centuries later, with the Imperial Japanese army conquering China, a British archaeologist discovers the ruins of Shang-tu, and there a map leading to the burial place of Chingis, the great Khan also known as Genghis. Between treachery and the fateful meeting with a Japanese bomber, the secret is lost again.
Or so it seems.
In the present day, Dirk Pitt links a series of seemingly unrelated anomalies triggering earthquakes and tidal waves to a larger conspiracy. The catastrophes cripple large segments of the world's petroleum-industrial complex, sending markets into a freefall. Signs point to a small but sinister Mongolian oil company run by a power-hungry arch-criminal determined to corner the market for oil. His immediate target is China, but he has bigger plans in store for the rest of the world.
Okay, it sounds cool, but this story basically follows all the grooves of a standard NUMA story. Even though this was the 1st Dirk Pitt novel I've read in 4 years (last one was the superior "Valhalla Rising"; not counting "White Death" a "NUMA Files" story and "Black Watch" a streamlined and efficient, if not rousing "Oregon Files" story), "Khan" makes me feel as if I've been drowning in them, recycling typical "Dirk Pitt" story element, following well-tread story patterns (right down to introducing Pitt by having him rescue a bunch of strangers from a mysterious attack - one of the strangers being a beautiful woman; sheesh, Pitt's married and well on in years, but Cussler makes Pitt a perennial babe-magnet) and tossing in stand-by villains. Between his reliance on the basic pieces of a Pitt story, Cussler doesn't do much to make this a very meaty story. "Valhalla" had our heroes hopping the globe, piecing together pieces of a huge puzzle - "Khan" has us doing very little of that. Instead, he stalls the beginning of the story by dwelling on the specific ramifications of the petro-industrial disasters, and then taking a nosedive with an extended scene explaining the oil crisis by having an analyst explain the situation to a bunch of other clueless (and annoying) analysts. It's like an FAQ turned into a script, with few attempts to inject any drama and all parts played by clueless nebbish pencil pushers. The exotic locales and much of the action of previous books is gone here. For fans of the previous books (The Rotten Review has been deep into Pitt since cracking "Cyclops" in 1986), Cussler gives us Pitt and trusty sidekick Al Giordano peaking in his own trademark swashbuckler derring-do, but then brings in a subplot involving Dirk Pitt's adult kids Dirk & Summer (introduced in "Valhalla", there mother was Summer Moran from "Pacific Vortex") and they speak pretty much the same way. The modern day Mongol warriors are just serviceable here, no war of words between them and Pitt before things go all pear-shaped for them. Ever since Cussler widened his franchise to include other NUMA characters, and then created the "Oregon Files", the Dirk Pitt stories remained the crown jewels in terms of sheer fun - hopefully that's still the case, but not because of "Khan".
Summary of Treasure of Khan
Black Wind continued Dirk Pitt's meteoric career with one of Clive Cussler's most audacious, and well-received, novels yet: "Black Wind more than maintains the supercharged Cusslerian danger" (Kirkus Reviews). "Thriller fans will revel in this action-packed yarn" (Publishers Weekly). But now Cussler takes an extraordinary leap, with one of his most remarkable villains ever.Genghis Khan-the greatest conqueror of all time, who, at his peak, ruled an empire that stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea. His conquests are the stuff of legend, his tomb a forgotten mystery. Until now.
When Dirk Pitt is nearly killed rescuing an oil survey team from a freak wave on Russia's Lake Baikal, it appears a simple act of nature. When the survey team is abducted and Pitt's research vessel nearly sunk, however, it's obvious there's something more sinister involved. All trails lead to Mongolia, and a mysterious mogul who is conducting covert deals for supplying oil to the Chinese while wreaking havoc on global oil markets utilizing a secret technology. The Mongolian harbors a dream of restoring the conquests of his ancestors, and holds a dark secret about Genghis Khan that just might give him the wealth and power to make that dream come true.
From the frigid lakes of Siberia to the hot sands of the Gobi Desert, Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino find intrigue, adventure, and peril while collecting clues to the mysterious treasure of Xanadu. But first, they must keep the tycoon from murder-and the unleashing of a natural disaster of calamitous proportions. Filled with breathtaking suspense and brilliant imagination, his new novel is yet further proof that when it comes to adventure writing, nobody beats Clive Cussler.
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