The Medusa Stone (Philip Mercer) [Kindle Edition]

Jack Du Brul (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

James Bond-like globetrotting geologist Philip Mercer (he favors vodka gimlets) has made a name in international political and law-enforcement circles as a can-do guy. When his octogenarian best friend, Harry, is kidnapped by Israeli terrorists, Mercer undertakes a search for his friend that takes him to remote, exotic, dirt-poor Eritrea, where he sets out to locate a legendary diamond mine. Elsewhere, Sudanese rebels and sadistic Boers are following the leadership of a corrupt Italian industrialist determined to fulfill his family's African legacy. As bodies begin to pile up, and mayhem and destruction mount, Mercer, as he races to save Harry, has to decide if gorgeous, willowy Eritrean Jewess Selome Nagast is plotting against him. While tunneling through dangerous, long-disused mines and trekking across harsh, unforgiving desert, Mercer uncovers a biblical secret that puts him in even greater danger. This novel's nearly 500 pages of fast-paced prose propel DuBrul (Charon's Landing) closer to the front ranks of thriller authors. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“[The Medusa Stone’s] nearly 500 pages of fast-paced prose propel Du Brul closer to the front ranks of thriller authors.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“With novels like Charon’s Landing, Vulcan’s Forge, and now The Medusa Stone, Jack Du Brul is one of the leaders of adventurous intrigue novels. The story line of his latest thriller continually ebbs and flows, but each new spurt builds the tension even further until the audience realizes that this is a one sitting novel in spite of its size. Philip is a fabulous lead character and the support cast brings to life Eritrea and some questionable activities in the Mediterranean area. However, in hindsight what makes Mr. Du Brul’s novel a strong candidate for adventure book of the year is the brilliant fusion of Eritrea, its people and customs woven into a dramatic plot.”—Midwest Book Review

 

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 724 KB
• Publisher: Onyx (April 1, 2000)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002DQDOAW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,204 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Jack du Brul is the author of the Philip Mercer series [Vulcan's Forge, Charon's Landing, The Medusa Stone, Pandora's Curse, River of Ruin, Deep Fire Rising, Havoc] and the coauthor with Clive Cussler of six Oregon Files novels with the upcoming release of THE JUNGLE. He lives in Vermont.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good addition to the adventure-thriller genre, April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Medusa Stone (Philip Mercer) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Medusa Stone, by Jack DuBrul, is a fast-paced and exciting read. The plot involves a crashed super-surveillance satellite, and the reader is hooked quickly. The hero, the hard-boiled geologist Philip Mercer, returns from two previous novels along with a cast of humorous yet touching supporting characters and promptly gets himself and his pals into a slew of dangerous situations. The historical background on Eritrea was interesting to me, as I didn't know much about that part of the world. Fans of Clive Cussler and Stephen Coonts will find this one hard to put down!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something more precious than diamonds, September 16, 2002

By 

Cory D. Slipman (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Medusa Stone (Philip Mercer) (Mass Market Paperback)

The U.S. has launched the Medusa, a super sophisticated surveillance satellite as part of the Star Wars defense initiative. It is capable of uncovering subterrean features such as bunkers and missile silos much like xrays reveal bones. An accidental collision with some space junk causes the Medusa to plummet back to the Earth's surface. Spinning wildly out of control the satellite manages to take photographs of a remote desert area of Eritrea in northeast Africa. The top secret photos disclose what appears to be a massive underground diamond bearing kimberlite structure that rivals that of the famous South African kimbelite.

Years pass and the clandestine photos come into the possession of the unscrupulous Prescott Hyde, an Undersecretary of State. Hyde attempts to recruit geologist, mining engineer and hero Philip Mercer to cover the cache of diamonds. In concert with Hyde, Selome Nagast, a gorgeous Eritrean national with diplomatic connections implores Mercer to lend his expertise to uncover the treasure. When Mercer refuses to comply, his best friend the hard drinking octagenarian Harry White is kidnapped by an armed group of Middle Easterers. Mercer is forced to cooperate and make plans to unveil and mine the diamonds in the brutal, unforgiving and land mined Eritrean desert.

As the plot unfolds, we learn that two rival groups are racing to discover the whereabouts of the diamond mine. A cartel lead by wealthy Italian industrialist Giancarlo Gianelli has designs on flooding the market with this new source of diamonds. The other group a syndicate of rogue Mossad agents lead by Israeli Defense Minister Chaim Levine believe the mine to be the resting place of an object more dear than a hoard of diamonds. Both groups will use any means to procure their prize.

Mercer using his vast geologic knowledge and guile and with the aid of the Medusa photographs leads us on a rollicking tale of adventure. Du Brul really steps up his writing skills and produces a superb and fast paced yarn that makes me beg for more of the same. Being a rockhound further ameliorates my interest in the scientifically based subject matter.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great thriller along the lines of Cussler, April 6, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Medusa Stone (Philip Mercer) (Mass Market Paperback)

After his adventures and romance in Alaska and Hawaii, mining engineer Dr. Philip Mercer is bored writing reports in DC. He mentions his lethargy to his eighty-year-old drinking buddy Harry White.

Undersecretary of State for African Affairs Prescott Hyde tries to hire Philip to locate a large diamond mine in the dangerous Northern Eritea. In spite of showing pictures taken from the Medusa satellite that crashed a decade ago, neither Prescott nor partner Selome Nagast convince Philip that a lode as large as that in South Africa has gone undetected.

Philip's mind is changed when a group of Mid-eastern terrorists abduct Harry, threatening to kill him if the mining engineer fails to find the mine in six weeks. Philip races to Africa to begin to search for a needle that might not exist in a haystack overrun by terrorists, outlaws, and deadly land mines. Philip quickly realizes that a second group is also interested in obtaining the diamond mine. Both groups share the goal that Philip must die.

With novels like CHARON'S LANDING, VULCAN'S FORGE, and now THE MEDUSA STONE, Jack DuBrul is proving he is one of the leaders of adventurous intrigue novels. The story line of his latest thriller continually ebbs and flows, but each new spurt builds the tension even further until the audience realizes that this is a one sitting novel in spite of its size. Philip is a fabulous lead character and the support cast brings to life Eritea and some questionable activities in the Mediterranean area. However, in hindsight what makes Mr. DuBrul's novel a strong candidate for adventure book of the year is the brilliant infusion of Eritea, its people and customs woven into a dramatic plot.

Harriet Klausner