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Average Customer Rating:

Great escapism swashbuckling nonsense!!

Customer Rating:

Rough-and-tumble adventure at sea with high-tech; Clive Cussler owns the genre. Plague Ship (Oregon Files) is the fourth book of the Oregon series but the first that I've read and it was no surprise to find a fantastic story line and implausible derring-do. Just what I was hoping for! The Oregon series features Juan Cabrillo and his Corporation. Cabrillo is an ex-CIA operative turned paramilitary mercenary. Along with his hand-picked team he takes assignments mainly from the CIA. Oregon is the Corporation's base ship, a rust bucket refitted for speed, maneuverability and anonymity. PLAGUE SHIP's plot is built around an organization called the Responsivists, whose aim is to redistribute wealth by population reduction; the plot is too complex to summarize easily but be assured that it's full of wild chases and battles on land and sea. Cabrillo and his Corporation achieve several rescues of team members from impossibly dangerous situations; there are some "MacGyver moments" and some exciting technology. The outcome is never in doubt. This series is co-authored, in this case by Jack Du Brul, but it bears Cussler's stamp. I`m a big fan of serials, Dirk Pitt, Jack Reacher(Lee Child) Harry Bosch(Michael Connelly) Rebus(Ian Rankin) and more violent `John Tankersley aka `Tank`in the Soft Target books(Conrad Jones) are a source of reading matter that is almost endless as an action thriller genre, Cussler is far more fanciful, but I found it well written and fun, a four-star read. My main issues (besides predictability) were the rather lame "bracketing story" in the prologue and epilogue, and the possibly too-large Corporation team. Juan Cabrillo is no Dirk Pitt, but he does rule his operation with flair. I will definitely read more from this series.

Can't wait for the next one	Customer Rating:
Plague ship was even better than Skeleton Coast, I felt restricted in only being able to give this book five stars. Juan Cabrillo returns on the Oregon with his crew of mercenaries in yet another thrilling adventure. A must read for Cussler Fans and adventure lovers alike.

Great Escapes Entertain While the Epilogue Lands with an Embarrassing Thud

Customer Rating:

I love Clive Cussler and Jack Du Brul, but if they don't do better in future books in the Oregon Files series they won't keep me as a reader. The base story of Plague Ship could have only come from the imaginative mind of Clive Cussler. Jack Du Brul is a brilliant writer when it comes to describing difficult escapes. Unfortunately, the base story overwhelmed Jack Du Brul so that the book is threadbare in character development, almost devoid of menace derived from the villain's plots, and missing obvious elements to make the book's premises more credible. I found myself wondering why the book was so poorly constructed except in the excellent escape sequences involving the crew of the Oregon. The book opens with a historical sketch involving a Nazi reconnaissance plane looking for a convoy headed for Russia. I liked the opening. But in the epilogue, Du Brul fails to make enough of a connection between the two sections for the concept to work. I doubt if Cussler even read the two sections. A rookie editor could have made suggestions that would have helped. From there the book picks up as the Oregon's crew seeks to verify for the CIA that the Russians are selling advanced torpedoes to the Iranians. It is a grand adventure, and an even grander escape. The book drifts sideways on locating a derelict vessel littered with dead bodies. The book then dives downward quality-wise in describing a cult that favors reducing the world's population. Except for interruptions for interesting escapes, I found the rest of the book to be less and less interesting. In giving the book three stars, I would say Plague Ship went from five stars down to dribbling along at two stars and ending at one star in the epilogue. I wouldn't suggest that you avoid this book, but don't have very high expectations either.

Great Escapes Entertain While the Epilogue Lands with an Embarrassing Thud

Customer Rating:

I love Clive Cussler and Jack Du Brul, but if they don't do better in future books in the Oregon Files series they won't keep me as a reader. The base story of Plague Ship could have only come from the imaginative mind of Clive Cussler. Jack Du Brul is a brilliant writer when it comes to describing difficult escapes. Unfortunately, the base story overwhelmed Jack Du Brul so that the book is threadbare in character development, almost devoid of menace derived from the villain's plots, and missing obvious elements to make the book's premises more credible. I found myself wondering why the book was so poorly constructed except in the excellent escape sequences involving the crew of the Oregon. The book opens with a historical sketch involving a Nazi reconnaissance plane looking for a convoy headed for Russia. I liked the opening. But in the epilogue, Du Brul fails to make enough of a connection between the two sections for the concept to work. I doubt if Cussler even read the two sections. A rookie editor could have made suggestions that would have helped. From there the book picks up as the Oregon's crew seeks to verify for the CIA that the Russians are selling advanced torpedoes to the Iranians. It is a grand adventure, and an even grander escape. The book drifts sideways on locating a derelict vessel littered with dead bodies. The book then dives downward quality-wise in describing a cult that favors reducing the world's population. Except for interruptions for interesting escapes, I found the rest of the book to be less and less interesting. In giving the book three stars, I would say Plague Ship went from five stars down to dribbling along at two stars and ending at one star in the epilogue. I wouldn't suggest that you avoid this book, but don't have very high expectations either.