Fire Ice

May 13, 2002
This newest addition to the Kurt Austin series (after Blue Gold) has the men from NUMA (Native Underwater & Marine Agency) team up with former KGB spies to face down a Russian mobster with czarist aspirations and a zealot's hatred for the "corruption and materialism" of the Western lifestyle. The NUMA research vessel Argo
is in the Black Sea for a PR jaunt when Austin spots the overdue TV crew being chased down an island beach by mounted Cossacks. Austin learns from his old KGB Cold War adversary Vladimir Petrov that the island is a mothballed submarine base commandeered by paranoid mobster Mikhail Razov (employer of the Cossacks), a billionaire who built Ataman Industries by taking over utilities and mines sold by the state. Razov claims descent from the Romanovs and is plotting to assume the throne. Meanwhile, when a U.S. Navy sub goes missing and a mysterious tidal wave swamps a Maine coastal town, the NUMA team figures out that Ataman is mining "fire ice"—unstable and explosive solid methane in the high-pressure deep-sea bottom. Austin and his oceanographic team join forces with Petrov and set out to foil Razov's plot. Cussler is in top form here, working in a role for Old Ironsides and Czar Nicholas II's crown while throwing in enough derring-do and eco-lore to leave his fans breathless. Coauthor Kemprecos (Blue Gold, with Cussler) adds his oceanographic expertise to the mix. 400,000 first printing; $400,000 ad/promo; author tour; simultaneous release of Putnam Berkley Audio editions on tape and CD.

Scott Brick's clear, resonant voice conjures up visions of steely-eyed men of the sea, portraying the manly men who make up the staff of NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency) as they delve into disparate but linked events, including a tsunami hitting the Maine coast and Cossacks attacking a TV crew on a Black Sea beach. Even though the Russians, from the mad monk descendant of Rasputin to the billionaire Tsar-wannabe, are done with an accent that sounds Russian and is also easy to understand, some of the characters are not easily differentiated. But overall this is a competently done presentation. D.T.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

February 1, 2002
Having met Kurt Austin in Serpent and Blue Gold, readers will be eager to see how he handles the nasty mining tycoon who declares himself czar of all Russia. Alas, this new ruler has a secret plan to distract the United States from his shenanigans.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.