Treasure of Khan

If a satellite in space ever mapped the myriad of lone tracks and trails across Mongolia, it would resemble a plate of spaghetti dropped on the floor.

Haven't we done this before? With the desert and Khans?

In a nutshell, Ghenghis Khan was asked to be buried without a fancy tomb or even a grave marker (as was the custom among his people). In all the years since, it's never actually been found. So of course Pitt has to stumble upon a mysterious group of traditionally armed and trained Mongolian soldiers ... and of course eventually on the tomb itself.

There are a handful of very cool action scenes (surviving a giant wave by way of airdropped diving equipment), but it's not a terribly strong book. At this point, Cussler is co-writing with show more his son (Dirk Cussler, I'm not even kissing) and the change in style shows.

It's not great, but it's not terrible. Pretty much par for the course for Dirk Pitt. show less

Genghis Khan conquered half the world, now another Mongolian looks to conquer the rest through oil but inadvertently runs into the one man who can stop him. Treasure of Khan is the nineteenth book in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and the second written with his son Dirk, as the elder Pitt returns to centerstage in a mostly land based adventure.

During the second failed Mongol invasion of Japan, a ship is swept out into the Pacific by a series of typhoons and survive long enough to land in the Hawaiian Islands. Several years later, reconstructing an old Polynesian ship and an elderly navigator the Mongol leader returns to China and a personal audience with Kublai Khan. In 1937, a British archaeologist unearths a box containing a show more scroll to the location of Genghis Khan burial location, but it is stolen by his Mongolian assistant as the archaeologist evacuates before the advancing Japanese. A relatively small oil company headed by Borjin, a Mongolian who is bent on taking control of the world oil market and re-uniting the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia—where he has found significant oil deposits buried at unusual depths—with Mongolia, has stolen a machine which can create an earthquake. He uses the machine to destroy major oil production facilities through the world, crippling China oil supply in a matter of weeks along with the rest of the worlds. He then uses this shortage to make an offer to supply China all the oil it needs. He demands that Inner Mongolia be ceded to Mongolia, and China pay market price for the oil he will supply them, which he guarantees will meet the colossal demands of the Chinese economy. China accepts this deal, not knowing of the hidden oil deposits they are handing to him. Dirk Pitt intervenes to end the situation and discovers that the grave of Genghis Khan has been located by Borjin, whose father stole the scroll to the burial location, and used the treasures to finance his company. Off the Big Island, Summer Pitt discovers a 13th-Century Chinese royal junk that eventually leads to Dirk Sr. figuring out where Kublai Khan’s tomb is located on the island from the other scroll that the elder Borjin did not take.

The return of the elder Dirk to the main character and the focus on Summer not being the damsel-in-distress Hawaiian subplot was a new wrinkle after the previous book. Both the main and subplots were well-written and resulted in a quick page turning story that is one of the best in the series. Unlike the previous novel, Borjin and his siblings were not memorable antagonists especially compared to some that the Pitts have faced in the past. Besides this one blemish, this second father-son effort by the Cusslers is a great follow up to their first.

Treasure of Khan is a particularly good installment in the decades-long Dirk Pitt franchise coming off the heels of another great previous installment. The decision to have Dirk Cussler join Clive in writing the series as so far paid off in a rise in quality. show less

If a thing is continual excitement, then there is no excitement. This book has no ups and downs--it's all action--that's boring and I almost quit listening. And yet, I listened to 18 of the author's books before that happened! You can read the plot lines in the public release and in other reviews. One (Khan) held little interest for me--the other, that a human could cause an earthquake for profit, was of interest. Oh well, on to book #20...maybe Dirk needs a haitus?

I never have - and still don't - think much of Cussler's ability to write credible dialogue: it's often infodump heavy, and much of the rest of the time it's full of trivialities, to say nothing of the fact that it doesn't contain the contractions one associates with normal speech (unless that's just something specific to Cussler's own locale? Always a possibility...).

That aside, though, this book, like all his others, is an engaging, gripping, action-packed thriller.

Yet again Cussler hits the mark. He has come up with another page turner, this time concerning land and oil rights in Mongolia and China, along with a development that makes the locating of such oilfields much easier. This development, however, also lends itself to causing strata disruption enabling terrorist-like attacks on major oil installations.
The prospect of these things in the hand of a megalomaniac who believes himself to be a descendant of Genghis Khan gives rise to an engrossing story that is hard to put down. This book returns to action centred on Dirk and Al Giordino, rather than the two Pitt children, who do feature, but in contrastingly smaller roles. A fun read that shows Cussler is back on song, some of the previous show more novels having lost their way a little. Cussler does of course show up in his own book again, and yet again is not recognised even when his name is given to Pitt and Giordino who have encountered him before! show less

For all its formulaic gung-ho-ery and impossible black and white villains and heroes, this is an enjoyable book. Good for a quick read (don't take the time to stop and think about the plot or characters) the narrative barrels along with such exuberance you become caught up in it and finally, when you realise you will not be thrown out of the car, you start to enjoy the buzz.

While Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures will probably never qualify as great literature, I always enjoy the over-the-top fun and escapism that his escapades offer. There is enough historical and geographical information to make what what would otherwise be unbelievable situations into more believable adventures. Pitt and Giordino find themselves yet again enmeshed in international intrigue and treasure seeking, in daring escapes and fantastic rescues, and as always in globe trotting action. The book is well written and the James Bond-ish Pitt is at his best since Sahara. So, if you enjoy a fun read and lots of action & adventure, this will be a good place to find them. Like Fleming's Bond, Cussler's Pitt is always ready no matter the show more problem and this book is no exception as he again overcomes despots and thugs, mystery and murder to claim the treasure. show less