Black Wind

Overview

In the waning days of World War II, the Japanese tried a last desperate measure - a different kind of kamikaze mission, this one carried out by two submarines bound for the west coast of the United States, their cargo a revolutionary new strain of deadly virus.
Neither sub made it to the designated target.

But that does not mean they were lost.

Someone knows about the subs and what they carried, knows too where they might be, and has an extraordinary plan in store for the prize inside - a plan that could reshape the world as we know it. All that stands in the way are three people: a marine biologist named Summer, a marine engineer named Dirk, and their father, Dirk Pitt, the new head of NUMA.

Pitt has faced devastating enemies before, has even teamed up with his children to track them down and end their menace, but never has he looked upon the face of pure evil...until now.

Editorial Reviews

About halfway through this rip-snorting adventure thriller, a "white-haired man" rescues heroes Dirk Pitt Jr. and his sister, Summer, from death by drowning. That man is revealed to be author Cussler (Trojan Odyssey, etc.), reminding Dirk of "an older version of his own father," legendary oceanographer Dirk Pitt, hero of Cussler's previous novels. Just as the primary action baton is passed in this tale from Pitt Sr. to Jr., readers may note that Cussler's coauthor is his own son. But even if Cussler is beginning to pass on his writing baton, he's doing so with panache: thriller fans will revel in this action-packed yarn of land- and sea-based derring-do stuffed with technical details on matters from biochemical weapons "chimeras" to rocket launches. The villain is a South Korean industrialist working for the North Koreans with an eye toward unifying Korea by ridding the country of American troops, allowing for an invasion of the South. His plan is to aim a sea-borne rocket filled with a combo of deadly viruses at Los Angeles, with clues laying blame on Japanese terrorists, thus distracting America while the North makes its move. But villain and modus operandi matter less than the series of exciting hairbreadth escapes wrought by Dirks Jr. and Sr. and Summer--including Dirk Sr.'s escape from being poached alive in a minisub trapped underneath massive rocket boosters spewing an inferno of flames. There's a slight, nasty gloss of "yellow peril" on the villain and his actions, and it's only the Americans who greet likely death with a grin and a quip, but that's a minor knock on some major entertainment that's bound toward the top of the charts.
Copyright (c) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler grew up in Alhambra, California. He attended Pasadena City College for two years, then enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War and served as an aircraft mechanic and flight engineer in the Military Air Transport Service. Upon discharge he became a copywriter and later creative director at two of the nation's leading ad agencies. He wrote and produced radio and television commercials in Hollywood that won numerous international honors including an award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Cussler began writing novels in 1965 and published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt, in 1973. His first non-fiction, The Sea Hunters, was released in 1996. The Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York, considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler a Doctor of Letters degree in May, 1997. It was the first time since the College was founded in 1874 that such a degree was bestowed. Cussler is an internationally recognized authority on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization (named after the fictional Federal agency in his novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history. He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers have discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, the Confederacy's Hunley, and its victim, the Union's Housatonic; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania; the Cumberland, which was sunk by the famous ironclad, Merrimack; the renowned Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship, Akron, the Republic of Texas Navy warship, Zavala, found under a parking lot in Galveston, and the Carpathia, which sank almost six years to-the-day after plucking Titanic's survivors from the sea. In September, 1998, NUMA - which turns over all artifacts to state and Federal authorities, or donates them to museums and universities - launched its own web site for those wishing more information about maritime history or wishing to make donations to the organization. In addition to being the Chairman of NUMA, Cussler is also a fellow in both the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographic Society in London. He has been honored with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration. Cussler's books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries and have a readership of more than 90 million avid fans. His past international bestsellers include Pacific Vortex, Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, The Sea Hunters (non-fiction), Flood Tide, and Clive Cussler Dirk Pitt(r) Revealed. Cussler is also the author, with Paul Kemprecos, of the first in a new Dirk Pitt spinoff series - The NUMA files. Cussler has been married to his wife, Barbara Knight, for more than 44 years. They have three children, two grandchildren, and divide their time between the mountains of Colorado and the deserts of Arizona.

Bio of Dirk Cussler

DIRK CUSSLER, has an MBA from Berkeley, worked many years in the financial arena and has been an active participant in the real-life NUMA(r) expeditions, and served as president of the NUMA(r) advisory board of trustees. He lives in Arizona.

Customer Reviews

• Even Sneaky plans go awry

  Posted May 04, 2008 by Jade, Wyoming USA

  Clive Cussler is like a cross between Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. I just finished this book and like usual I enjoyed his writing. I say Verne because of all the technical information. Verne was short on story but you could build a machine based off one of his fictional creations. Wells was long on story but not very adept at technical details. Cussler takes these two and meshes them together. Intentional or not, the melding of the two is wonderful. We can see the "blimp" in detail as well as cheer as it helps to fight the bad guys who want to destroy us all with thier horrible creation. I don't want to give anything away as a spoiler because some parts of the story should be a surprise until they are read. The older Dirk doesn't play as much in this story as does his young son (who like his father shows up to get the girl in a classic car) and his daughter. Both have a very action packed time and we are glad to see that in the face of adversity there is still a very satisfying ending.

Additional Info

Imprint

Penguin Group, Inc.

Filesize

1.65 MB

Number of Pages

656

eBook ISBN

9781429527613