Plague Ship

Sweet Jesus, I hated this book.

It wasn't completely the book's fault. I listened to the audiobook, and the reader was insufferable. The hero spoke in a Charlton Heston voice, and the rest of the cast had ridiculously exaggerated vocal characteristics (accents, etc.) that turned them all into cartoon characters. If anybody spoke to me in real life the way this reader presented his narrative and his characters, I'd walk away.

But that doesn't excuse the book of being bad. There was no end of eye-rolling to be done. For me, the most vexing aspect was that several times, the hero surpasses obstacles by literally overcoming the laws of time and space, through nothing but sheer willpower. That's not left to implication or interpretation; it's show more stated explicitly. Once reality ceases to be applicable, there is no more disbelief to suspend.

Had I not been on a very long drive with no other entertainment, I would have abandoned it. show less

Summary: Juan Cabrillo is busy skippering the Oregon around the Middle East, dishing out his own, CIA-sanctioned form of justice with his elite hit squad, when they happen across a ship apparently ravaged by a fast-acting virus. When his right-hand-man's son is kidnapped, Juan won't stop at anything to get him back... and he wants to know what happened on that ghost ship.

This, like The Navigator, was lots of fluffy, suspended-disbelief fun. The fact that almost all the action took place on a ship was very educational for me (while I know you can't take any facts for granted in these types of books, Cussler seems to know his way around a boat), and I enjoyed the stop-offs in the Philippines, Iran, Monaco... in fact the ship setting meant show more that we weren't flying around everywhere at a moment's notice - definitely a positive change.

One of the aspects of Cussler's writing that I really enjoy is that the minor characters in the good team get more development than I think they would in another author's efforts. I enjoyed knowing a bit more about the weapons expert, the doctor, even the chef/butler, rather than having all the character development be of the leader.

Philosophically this book gave me a bit to think about too - the idea behind it is that there is a society/group/movement attempting to artificially limit human reproductive capabilities on a huge scale, through the argument that population explosion is limiting development and overconsuming resources. I'm not sure what I think about the population explosion theory, but I know exactly what I think about people playing God, and I was intrigued that Cussler chose to take on a moral issue as his "the world is at threat" plot device. Good on him.

I have one more Cussler in my bookshelf and I might just be going on a little Cussler-binge the next time I'm at the Lancaster book market! show less

This was an enjoyable book in the Oregon Files Series, but there were one or two places in the book where you had to suspend belief! They have certainly pulled together an interesting group of characters, and I think this is one of the biggest plot structures that has been pulled together in this series. It was good to get to know some of the lesser known characters in this book. I look forward to continuing this series.

[Plague Ship] by Clive Cussler & Jack DuBrul
Oregon File series Book #5
4 Stars

From The Book:
Captained by the rakish, one-legged Juan Cabrillo and manned by a crew of former military and spy personnel, the Oregon is a private enterprise, available for any government agency that can afford it. They've just completed a top secret mission against Iran in the Persian Gulf when they come across a cruise ship adrift at sea. Hundreds of bodies litter its deck, and, as Cabrillo tries to determine what happened, explosions rack the length of the ship. Barely able to escape with his own life and that of the liner’s sole survivor, Cabrillo finds himself plunged into a mystery as intricate – and as perilous – as any he has ever known and pitted show more against a cult with monstrously lethal plans for the human race . . . plans he may already be too late to stop.

My Thoughts:
Clive Cussler really hit on something when he created Juan Carbrillo and his Oregon crew. They are mercenaries with a conscience and an overwhelming sense of right and wrong. They incapacitate their enemies most of time instead of outright killing them.

I have been a huge fan of this series from the very first book and hope that Cussler and his writing team find enough material to long continue the adventures. This book gives readers an insight into some of the characters that make up the team but often have more of a back seat. As almost all of Clive Cussler's books begin with a look at a historical event...this one is no exception. Readers are presented with a possible discovery of the Ark and from there we are left to wonder how it will fit into the storyline...but it always does.

I highly recommend this series...and for that matter all his others...to any one that loves adventure and intrigue taken to the highest levels. show less

The fifth book in the Oregon Files series finds Captain Juan Cabrillo and his high tech crew boarding a cruise ship called the Golden Dawn. Their reconnaissance has indicated the entire crew and all the passenger, except one, have been killed by some sort of hemorrhagic virus. The ship had been leased by a group known as the Responsivists. This group publicly promotes population control and they are secretly planning to use a virus to kill and sterilize most of the population. The crew of the Oregon need to piece together all the information they can before the virus is released on the rest of the world.

For readers not familiar with the Oregon, it's a high tech, state of the art ship, disguised as a rusty old trawler. It's captained by show more Juan Cabrillo, chairman of the Corporation, a group of freelance operatives who take on undercover jobs for a number of US agencies, as well as private clients.

This is an action packed novel that also incorporates a lot of detailed information about ships and weapons. It's not necessarily great literature but it does keep you interested, especially if you have read any of the other books in the series. These books can easily be read as standalone, because the authors always provide a lot of backstory during the book. I'm looking forward to continuing this series with the next book, Corsair. show less

De bemanning van de Oregon, een schip dat top-secret missies uitvoert, ontdekt een stuurloos drijvend cruise-schip, met honderden lijken aan boord. Terwijl een onderzoeksteam aan boord gaat, doen er zich een aantal explosies voor, waarop het schip begint te zinken. Op het nippertje weet het team zich in veiligheid te brengen, te zamen met een overlevende.

Het team van Juan Gabrillo komt er achter dat een sekte, het plan heeft om een groot deel van de mensheid te steriliseren door een gebruik te maken van een virus op verschillende cruise-schepen.

De responsivisten, een groep van enkele duizenden leden, denkt dat de wereld ten onder gaat aan het eindeloos 'fokken' van de mensheid en wil hier een eind aan maken.
Het is aan Juan en de show more bemanning van de Oregon om een einde te maken aan dit plan, maar is het te laat om de mensheid te redden?

De proloog was niet erg interessant voor mij, maar toen ik eenmaal in het boek kwam, was ik verkocht. show less

A young German survives the crash of his Nazi recconaissance plane on a glacier in Norway, 1943. Forward to current day and crew of the Oregon discover a cruise ship derilect in the ocean, all aboard are dead, except one young woman in the infirmary. Jain Cabrillo and his crew set out to find out what happened, when Max, Juan's trusted friend and part of the elite Oregon crew, gets a desperate call that his son has run off with a cult-like group called the Responsivists. This group's goal is to stop the overpopulation of the earth. Max heads to his son's rescue, as Juan begins to uncover what killed all the people aboard the cruise ship. I found the beginning of the book a trifle slow, but in true Cussler form, once the action began, it show more didn't slow down. I am beginning to enjoy the character of Juan Cabrillo. I had mixed feelings about him in the first couple books of this series. Juan is a mercenary, but he's a man of strong convictions. He found he could do more for the good of mankind if he operated unhindered by the laws and rules of specific governments. I am becoming more fascinated by the technology found in his ship the Oregon. I often wonder how much of the technology actually exists and how much is from the fertile mind of Cussler. All in all, another good one from my favorite author. show less