Pandora's Curse (Philip Mercer) [Paperback]

Jack Du Brul (Author)

Book Description

Series: Philip Mercer | Publication Date: September 5, 2001

During World War II, in a secret Nazi submarine base, boxes made from looted wartime gold were hidden away. These "Pandora's boxes" contained an artifact so lethal that whoever possessed them held the power to unleash hell upon the Earth. And now they have been found by a man who will use them to hold the world hostage-unless Philip Mercer can stop him...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Combining plenty of thrills and a touch of romance, Du Brul's action-packed contemporary adventure zips along like an out-of-control locomotive as geologist Philip Mercer, the James Bond-like hero from the author's previous novels (Charon's Landing, etc.), becomes embroiled in another mission to save the world. Duped by a good friend, Mercer travels to the arctic to reopen a long-abandoned American base camp. In the process, he uncovers a dead body and, eventually, the Pandora Project, a Nazi mercenary's plot to unearth a deadly radioactive element and sell it to the highest bidder. In an effort to derail the project, Mercer leads his team on an arctic odyssey of narrow escapes and death-defying maneuvers in boat, dirigible, submarine and plane. A well-researched foundation of facts and details grounds the reader in this frosty setting, but the story is sometimes difficult to swallow: a cruise ship filled with the world's religious leaders gets caught in the middle of the fray, and Mercer winds up rescuing the Dalai Lama. Mercer's love interest, Dr. Anika Klein, is his fitting counterpart and a strong heroine, and their romance adds a degree of warmth to this swift, sensational tale. Those who enjoy a good adrenaline rush will find plenty here to satisfy.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Jack Du Brul is the author of numerous thrillers, and he has also collaborated with Clive Cussler on the New York Times bestseller Dark Watch and the upcoming Skeleton Coast. Du Brul was educated at the Westminster School and holds a degree in international relations from George Washington University. He lives in Vermont with his wife, Debbie. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Onyx (September 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451409639
• ISBN-13: 978-0451409638
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Updated Nazi terror plot, November 11, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: Pandora's Curse (Philip Mercer) (Paperback)

Mining engineer/millionaire/secret agent/explorer/and general do gooder Philip Mercer is at it again. He's been sponsored for membership in the prestigious Surveyor's Society, a collection of explorers, wanna be explorers, and wealthy philanthropists who have nothing better to do than spend their money on explorations. Mercer's membership, a life long ambition, is contingent upon his joining an expedition to uncover Camp Decade, an abandoned U.S. army base on Greenland, presently buried under 30 feet of ice.

News of the expedition reaches the executive offices of Kohl Industries, a huge German industrial conglomerate. Kohl led by top executive Klaus Raeder and second in command and Neo-Nazi Gunther Rath, had profited greatly while serving the Nazi cause during WW2. They are presently negotiating reparations to Jewish organizations to keep themselves in good stead. European Nazi hunters simultaneously get wind of the expedition as well. They place German trauma surgeon Annika Klein, a grand daughter of a famous Austrian Nazi hunter in Mercer's group.

It seems that Kohl was instrumental in financing the Greenland based "Pandora Plot". The Surveyor Society expedition threatens to expose the plot, weakening Kohl's position in the world market. Kohl's execs are desperate to destroy the evidence of their involvement. They piggy back onto the Society's expedition with a group from a Kohl subsidiary, Geo-Research to secretly destroy the loose ends.

The Pandora Plot involved the stealing of Jewish gold by the Nazis. The gold was fashioned into shielding receptacles to hold intensely radioactive fragments of the 1908 Tunguska meteorite which exploded in Siberia. A cache of these boxes lay hidden in an underground cavern in Greenland.

While this is happening Pope Leo XIV is organizing what is called the Universal Convocation. Clerics representing all the worlds religions are being brought together on a huge cruise ship which will be sailing in the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland.

Mercer's mission is abundantly clear...............save the world.

Du Brul fashions a fascinating read in tying together all the fragments of his plot cohesively. He reminds me of Clive Cussler before he got lazy. As Cussler himself says Du Brul is "the finest adventure writer on the scene today". I wholeheartedly agree.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Worthwhile Read, November 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Pandora's Curse (Philip Mercer) (Paperback)

This is the first Jack Du Brul novel I have read and I found it to be very well put together and interesting. It contains a good mix of action with a decent dose of historical background tying it together well. The fact it is set in one of the most unhospitable places on earth, in Greenland adds to the suspense. Philip Mercer the main character of the novel is very likeable and a hero for the new millenium.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, October 20, 2001

By 

C. Guillory "xkm" (Shreveport, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pandora's Curse (Philip Mercer) (Paperback)

I guess that I can understand why some of these elitist reviewers feel the way they do, with their sharp criticisms and barbs. I imagine that no book would ever please them. However, I read Pandora's Curse not to criticize and let everyone know how smart I am, but simply to enjoy an adventure novel, and boy did I enjoy. The only thing I didn't like was Mr. DuBrul's tendency to jump around, but then there are a lot of successful authors who do the same. The end result? I plan on purchasing all of Mr. DuBrul's books ASAP. Highly recommended!!!