Clive Cussler Cold Fire by Graham Brown
Clive Cussler books are synonymous with adventure, mostly at sea, but they are the epitome of thrilling stories well told. Cold Fire is the 22nd adventure of the NUMA Files series — yes, 22 books! Can you believe that? — Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala open at the climax of a joint forces operation with China to eliminate a major threat of environmental crimes. It feels like the pre-title sequence of a classic James Bond film. Yet, besides the seemingly unrelated action, the scene provides vital information for the rest of the plot and sets up a mystery. After a major explosion, readers are brought into a new adventure set two years later.
The Hunt for the Missing Weapon
An American C-17 carrying a prototype laser weapon capable of shooting ballistic missiles, or other jets, at a distance of almost four hundred miles flies over the Arctic Ocean for a final trial. The test is successful, but while the generals on the ground congratulate themselves for practically ending the need for future armed conflicts, the jet is hijacked and disappears from radar.
It’s uncertain if the plane crashed or landed safely. If it were destroyed, or if there were a chance for foreign nations to take control of this ultimate weapon. With so much on the line, the President of the United States entrusts Kurt Austin and NUMA with the mission to locate, then recover or destroy the missing C-17. The vast world becomes crowded as China and Russia take an interest and send their own recovery parties, with instructions to stop at nothing to get the weapon.
The first half of the book concentrates on the search for the missing plane, which is reminiscent, at least to me, of an episode during World War II, when the Germans launched their newest battleship, the Bismarck, and a massive twelve-day hunt took place with the single goal of sinking the ship, as its perceived capability could tip the scales of the war.
Action on Every Front
As usual, while Kurt and Joe play the main game, Paul and Gamay Trout, another set of expert NUMA operatives who save the day but seldom get mentioned in the main description of the books, play the varsity team with some side tracks that are always relevant and exhilarating.
The novel evolves from a garden-variety search and rescue mission into a situation that, unchecked, could break out into the next big war. Another aspect of the tale that’s worth mentioning is that it pits the three current powers against one another, showing them flexing their muscles and how hotheads could lead to war, while cooler heads are shoved aside.
In this book, former allies become enemies, enemies become rescuers, and in the end, one threat above the rest will cast a dark shadow over the world.
The tale is filled with chases in submarines and snowmobiles. There are car chases and one air battle that put the “thrill” in thrillers. Readers pick up Cussler books for the adventure, for the thrills, and the occasional historical mystery, and this novel will satisfy that hunger.
About Graham Brown:
Graham Brown is the author of Black Rain, Black Sun, Clive Cussler Condor’s Fury, and Clive Cussler’s Dark Vector, and the coauthor with Cussler of Devil’s Gate, The Storm, Zero Hour, Ghost Ship, The Pharaoh’s Secret, Nighthawk, The Rising Sea, Sea of Greed, Journey of the Pharaohs, andFast Ice. He is a pilot and an attorney.
