Friday, January 25, 2008

Treasure of Kahn by Clive Cussler

A couple weeks ago my car broke down in this tiny little town in the Smoky Mountains, and I was trapped there for 2 days. The closest thing they had to a bookstore was a CVS, where I found this book.

It wasn't bad. It far exceeded my somewhat low expectations of the produced-for-mass-consumption paperback genre. Once I realized it was almost 100% plot, I kind of enjoyed it.

It's the latest in a series of novels following the adventures of Dirk Pitt, an Indiana Jones meets James Bond type character. The story is that a supposed descendant of Kublai Kahn, emperor of 13th century Asia, has discovered a technology that can create earthquakes. The evil genius then uses that technology to disrupt the international oil market and attempt to reconquer China in the name of Mongolia. Of course, Dirk and friends foil his plan and the world is saved. The utter predictability didn't really take away from the book. With most of the words dedicated to action, a lot was left to the imagination, which I had a fun time doing. Cussler apparently works with a crew that salvages shipwrecks, a job that's probably a lot less glamorous than how it's presented in the novel, but that's the fun in imagining, right?

5 comments:

Christopher said...

You were stuck in a podunk town for two days because your car broke down? Were you and all your attractive teenage friends brutally murdered at the local inn?

Christopher said...

Also, happy birthday.

Brent Waggoner said...

Also: Dirk Pitt?

Brooke said...

Watch out for those Vacany hotels... ;o)
I'm stuck in the mountains for 1.5 more years, but luckily (I suppose) it's in Boone.

Anonymous said...

lol I needed something to read in a hurry for a boring substitute teaching job so I ran into my local CVS. Is that the only place they sell this book? Currently finishing up this easy-to-read romp.