Product Description

Planet Earth is a paradox - a lush, fertile world three-quarters-covered by water, yet in danger of running dry. Fresh water is disappearing from overuse and pollution and the only hope lies in desalination, a process to convert salt water into fresh. Francesca Carval is a brilliant scientist whose newest discovery will save the human race. She has perfected the process of desalination, and is flying to a conference in Rio to announce it to the world. Then a group of terrorists attempts to hijack her plane which crashes in the Venezuelan jungle. Francesca is taken in and protected by a native tribe: she is not heard from again. Ten years later, Kurt Austin and his NUMA team come across the mysterious death of a pod of grey whales off the coast of California. The path leads Austin to the heart of South America where he discovers Francesca, the 'white goddess' of the jungle, living among the tribe that took her in. At the same time Austin stumbles upon a group that aims to control the world's fresh water supply, and which will kill anyone who stands in its way. Racing from the open oceans off the United States to the deep jungles of Venezuela, Austin and the NUMA team engage in a thrilling new adventure with the future of the world at stake...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43022 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Reading a Clive Cussler novel is like watching several movies at once. He's a master of the jump cut, moving the action from one continent to another with an entirely different cast of characters, good guys and bad, in each place. He always manages to pull the various characters, plots, and counterplots together, though, and the heroes always triumph in the end after saving the world from eco-terrorists, megalomaniacs with their ambitions primed for world domination, and a few regular old criminals thrown in for good measure. In this new adventure from the National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA) files, Kurt Austin and his partner Joe Zavala nearly die during a powerboat race when a pod of dead, bloated grey whales bobs to the surface and obstructs the race course. Attempting to discover what killed the whales, Kurt and Joe track their migratory route to a mysterious underwater laboratory on the Baja Peninsula. Once again they narrowly miss death when the lab explodes, destroying their minisubmarine and almost poaching them alive. What seemed like a simple scientific investigation turns into something very different: a confrontation with a seven-foot Valkyrie who's bent on taking over the earth's depleted freshwater reserves. In order to thwart her plans, Austin and Zavala venture deep into the jungle of the Venezuelan rain forest to find a supposedly mythical tribal goddess (one with a PhD in science, of course) whose secret formula to desalinate seawater can put the kibosh on the Valkyrie's plans. Helped by a husband-wife NUMA team who've already made the goddess's acquaintance, plus the always fascinating techno-toys so beloved of superheroes, Kurt and Joe save the day. But before they do, there's plenty of heart-stopping action, random acts of murder and mutilation, and even a little romance. Great pacing, plenty of gadgets, a strong narrative, and bigger-than-life heroes and villains. If you've run out of summer action flicks already, make your own popcorn and curl up with Blue Gold instead. --Jane Adams

About the Author
Clive Cussler is as active an adventurer as his fictional heroes which adds a thrilling authenticity to his writing. He is an avid collector of classic cars and has 75 examples of hand-built coachwork. He lives in Colorado with his wife and 3 children.

Customer Reviews

The definition of intelligent collaboration
Other best-selling authors who have "co-authored" books that have gotten a marginal or strongly negative reception, heads up, "Blue Gold", is how it's done.

This was not quite a five star read but the quality of the book that Mr. Cussler has put his name on and given to fans is not the compromised mess that other established stars of the genre have dealt recently. And while the paternity of the book is apparent, the outrageous "escape from Cuba in a bathtub" story lines have been toned down. They all were fun reads; I just enjoyed this work, as it didn't stretch credulity on every page. The result is this latest effort that I enjoyed as much as some of Mr. Cussler's best work. I mean no slight to Mr. Kemprecos, as I have no way of knowing to what degree he created this work, but whatever his involvement, he deserves high marks.

The book is very tightly written, well paced, and even though a bit less outlandish, is every bit as good as the previous 16 bestsellers this storyteller has given readers. The series, while continuing more toward a stand-alone status, still retains some crossover, and in this case Admiral Sandecker and Hiram Yaeger were very well integrated. This tale did not have a fairy tale ending, and for me that added a great deal to the book.

The villain brought to mind an extended Cruella DeVil, which these authors brought off very well when it could have fallen flat. Per the book's description the "metal mouthed morons" bordered on the annoying, but didn't cross the line.

All considered a well-done work worthy of a genre that Cussler can almost claim as his own. That the book is priced at about half of what many hardcover books demand, is a bonus. Unlike some others who have attempted this new outlet for their work, I hope Mr. Cussler and Mr. Kemprecos produce many more.

The book is a nice bonus as it arrived within days of Mr. Cussler successfully bringing ashore the Confederate submarine "Hunley" which had lain on the ocean floor for almost 150 years.

Kirk Austin is no Dirk Pitt
Unfortunately this book fails to deliver. It tries to be a Pitt novel, without Pitt! Throughtout the whole book you keep forgeting it's not Pitt & Giordano in the thick of it. Even if they were in it, it would still not be worthy of them. Mr Cussler has writen much better, & I hope will do so again. BRING BACK PITT!

A cracking novel, unputdownable.
Blue gold is the second novel in the new numa files. The new series continues the excitement of the dirk pitt novels.

Blue Gold is a fantastic idea that makes you think about where the power really lies in modern society, and what could happen if it gets into the wrong hands.

Although personally I prefer "Sahara" and "Inca Gold," this deserves nothing less than five stars. A definite must have for any fan or newcomer, although i would certainly recommend that you read its predecessor "Serpent" first. ENJOY!!