Medusa (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Paul Kemprecos (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the prologue to the winning eighth Kurt Austin adventure from bestseller Cussler and Shamus-winner Kemprecos (after The Navigator), 18-year-old Caleb Nye, a farm boy on his first sea voyage in 1848, finds himself a modern-day Jonah after being swallowed by a whale and then cut from the stomach, alive but forever changed. In the present, a Russian captain sees his Typhoon-class submarine sold to an unknown buyer, and in China, Dr. Song Lee, who's been banished to the countryside, gets orders to return to Beijing to fight a deadly SARS epidemic. Meanwhile, off Bermuda, Kurt Austin and the stalwart crew of the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) lower a bathysphere to the ocean depths, where something big snaps the cables connecting the vessel to the mother ship. Soon enough, the disparate plot lines converge in an action-packed tale that snags readers and drags them racing through heavy seas and high drama. 600,000 first printing.
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From Booklist

Kurt Austin must stop a deadly virus from decimating the world in the latest NUMA Files novel. Research using a newly discovered jellyfish shows promising results, but before the tests even start, scientists studying these Blue Medusas start dying. As the pandemic threatens to spread through China, the NUMA team realizes that a Chinese triad is behind the outbreak. Now in their eighth adventure, Austin and partner Zavala are becoming almost as entertaining as Dirk Pitt and his gang. Some clunky dialogue and an ending right out of a Scooby Doo cartoon hurt a bit, but Cussler fans will stick around for the action. --Jeff Ayers

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition first Printing edition (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399155651
• ISBN-13: 978-0399155659
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,520 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 8 in The NUMA Files Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More like 3.5 stars..., June 9, 2009

By	Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff" (Twin Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

As a HUGE Cussler fan, I've spent what seems like years in a mode of 'waiting 'til his next book came out'...and then something strange happened: he began writing different series. And then it became clear after a bit that all of the co-authors were the ACTUAL writers, to which Clive came up with story outlines and had the co-author actually pen the novels. At first Paul Kemprecos was brilliant--and by that I mean he mirrored Cussler's style and more importantly his *formula* to a Tee. Take ANY of the first 4 NUMA Files novels and exchange Kurt with Dirk, and Joe with Al and voila! you have a regular Dirk Pitt story.

Beginning with 'The Navigator' I noticed a distinct lack of...well, I can't exactly put my finger on it, and THAT kinda drives me a bit nuts to be honest. Something about that book just didn't GRAB me like a normal NUMA Files book usually does. Wish I could be more specific, but I just can't. With 'Medusa' that trend has continued--albeit I have to say I enjoyed it better than 'Navigator'.

As usual, Dirk--uh, I mean Kurt and Co. are in the right place at the right time to avert one disaster, only to get caught up in another, larger global far-reaching disaster much bigger than originally thought. This is the typical Cussler *formula* that has served him so well over the years. Maybe, just MAYBE I'm growing tired of the predictability of it all...? I don't know for certain. I DO plan on buying the next Cussler/Kemprecos NUMA Files book, but I cannot say how long I can be carried along with this same tried-but-true *formula* which unfortunately seems to have seen better days...unlike Kemprecos who tries to mimic Cussler's style, Jack Du Brul who pens the Oregon Files novels doesn't try to write LIKE Cussler at all. He has his own style and you can TELL. The novels seem fresh and entirely different, but at the same time, JUST as exciting and worthwhile.

Time will tell if this trend continues, or whether I'll keep buying or not.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars First actual review- just a generic thriller, June 3, 2009

By	Erik R. Carlseen (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I've been a huge fan of Cussler's work for about two decades now. Sadly, the books written "with" other authors (for "by" values of "with") don't live up to his standards. Medusa isn't the worst book I've read in the last year, but I can't bring myself to call it anywhere near good. The plot is a fairly generic "super virus must be stopped!" bit shoehorned into the maritime environment the NUMA heroes live in. There's pretty much no character development, and the "supporting cast" barely does anything. The research is inexcusably bad - stuff that ninety seconds with Google would catch. There's none of the pulpy / campy charm of the Dirk Pitt novels.

If it weren't for Cussler whoring his name out it would probably never be published. As it is, he should be embarrassed to have his name on the cover.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Struggled though this one!, July 1, 2009

By	J. White "Book lover to the max" (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yawn! This is definitely not Cussler's book! Too many characters. It jumped all over the place. Its as if he was paid by the word, so he put in as many descriptions and details as would fit. The story could have been reduced to 200 pages without losing a thing. Really really sick of the constant descriptions of "coral blue eyes" and Zavala's prowess with women. As I said, YAWN!
Cussler just fell off my favorites list!