Corsair by Clive Cussler

Jack Du Brul is the co-author with Cussler on this one, just as he was on Plague Ship. A corsair is a pirate ship and Cussler, as usual, puts the modern day adventure in a historical context. This one starts with the Jeffersonian era Barbary pirates of Libya, works its way to modern day Somali pirates, and then to the specific current action in modern day Libya. He intertwines two main plot lines. One is solving the ancient day mystery and the other is the current action that involves the kidnap of today’s Secretary of State as she flies to Libya with promising plans to bring peace to the Middle East and to bring harmony to Arabs and all of their perceived enemies. Of course, at the end of the book, Cussler brings the two story lines together. For the most part, this book is plausible, but there was one dire fight scene that was hysterical. The protagonist is Juan Cabrillo, not Dirk Pitt, who is only mentioned once in the book. This is one of the “Oregon Files” books, the Oregon being the ship run by Cabrillo. Cabrillo had one of his legs blown off in a prior altercation. (I can’t remember whether it was right or left leg, but forgive me, that is an error that doctors have been known to make.) It was replaced with a remarkable prosthetic. The fight scene takes place on top of a moving train and it takes place between Cabrillo and a terrorist. At one point, Cabrillo unsnaps his prosthesis and starts clubbing his adversary with it. As he pursues the terrorist, with Cabrillo’s superior balance, he is hopping atop the moving train on one leg while swinging at his foe with the other. Maybe it’s just me, but I found that one to be a bit over the top. This was fun and quick read, and I’d put in my “airplane book” category – make sure you buy it in paperback.

West Coast Don