The Emperor's Revenge

May 2, 2016
A high level of tolerance for implausibility is required to enjoy bestseller Cussler's high-octane 11th Oregon Files adventure (after 2015's Piranha), the second in the series to be coauthored by Morrison. Juan Cabrillo runs the Corporation, an off-the-books U.S. government intelligence operation, based on the Oregon, a super-ship fitted with "revolutionary new magnetohydrodynamic engines" and an array of powerful weapons. The Oregon also features the amenities of a luxury liner, including an Olympic-sized swimming pool, chefs "trained at the Cordon Bleu," and a Navy-trained chief medical officer whose "lab coat remained spotless as it draped over her voluptuous curves." The Corporation is facing an unprecedented challenge after someone who hacked into a Monaco bank's systems threatens to plunge the European economy into chaos. The scheme is somehow connected with the search for "Napoleon's lost Russian treasure using a diary the emperor left behind after he was supposedly kidnapped from exile without anyone realizing it"; even the characters acknowledge that the premise is bizarre. The authors keep things moving at a fast pace, but there's nothing in this outing that genre fans haven't seen before. Agent: Peter Lampack, Peter Lampack Agency.