The Rising Sea

January 29, 2018
Indefatigable bestseller Cussler shows no sign of flagging in his 15th NUMA Files novel (after 2017’s Nighthawk, also coauthored with Brown), an adventurous mix of archetypal mysterious substances, futuristic technology, ancient legends, and global ecological disaster. The sea levels are rising, and not just from boring old climate change. A secret Chinese operation mining golden adamant, a “living metamaterial... capable of accomplishing things no other material derived from the Earth or created in the lab can match,” triggers the release of water stored in minerals deep below the bottom of the sea that threatens to engulf the world. Kurt Austin, Joe Zavala, and the rest of the National Underwater and Marine Agency’s special assignments team race to stop the Chinese conspirators and stem the climbing tides. A far-fetched ending involving perfect android replicas of Austin and Zavala attempting to assassinate the prime minister of Japan strains credulity, but otherwise readers are deep in Cussler territory, and the water’s fine. Agent: Peter Lampack, Peter Lampack Agency.